Battleground

That column on the right is less serene than it looks.

Barn swallows built a nest at the top a few weeks back, and Robert has kept me from attacking it until the fledglings fled. Unfortunately, it was unilateral. The swallows attacked me and everyone else who went by, buzzing like little dive-bombers and even scoring a few wing-taps.

But Saturday the five babies flew, and this morning I went into action with the high-pressure hose, erasing the nest (and the guano down the column and crusting the plinth) in one big, satisfying flood.

- - -

Again, digging through some old files, I found this shot of the tee garden from three years ago.

We got the idea for the plants and pattern from the park on Margitsziget in Budapest the previous year -- celosias with three colors of marigolds -- and they were pretty glorious.

But that was then, and this year we've gone with perennials. The "endless summer" hydrangeas we put in are still getting established, and a long way from endless, so I'll have to settle with a color blast from the past.

Mom hosted her card group's potluck here Saturday -- 14 for dinner and cards -- and everybody still thought the garden looked pretty. Little did they know.