Too Darned HOT!

I didn't believe that it would hit 100 F today, but it did...holy cow was it hot. Well, it still is!  A mere 96 now at 6 pm! Tomorrow is forecast to be a wee bit hotter, but it moderates after that, thank goodness. 

But I had a marvelous day! I went to my co-grandmother's house - she lives in SW Portland about 20 minutes away. We have a tradition of taking the grandchildren on a weekend day, but until recently I wasn't able to join them because of the virus. Today my 6 1/2 year old granddaughter and I played in the above-ground pool for a good hour at least. It felt downright chilly at first, but gosh what a way to while away a hot afternoon. We played inside and out with my grandson until I finally left at the end of the afternoon feeling so full of joy! 

But much earlier today I went out to the garden to shoot a blip. I have a new lens - a 70-200 mm that is pretty darned amazing and I was keen to play with it. I'm very happy with it - shots that I can't ordinarily are all of a sudden within my reach. 

This its a Globe Thistle - or Echinops bannaticus - but what I love about it, besides the bee of course, is the background of Sneezeweed -Helenium autumnale (that featured in a blip just a couple of days ago). It sets off the blue of the thistle and of course highlights the bee.

Hope you've all had great weekends! I'll be trying to catch up with journals tonight, but if I don't, I will over the next couple of days - I am woefully far behind. I'm eternally grateful for the lovely comments and stars and hearts on yesterday's dragonfly blip!