It was difficult to say goodbye to my sis, Melis, after a weeklong visit filled with equal parts sunshine and laughter. On one of our outings we stopped in at the Dungeness River Audubon Center. There I learned that I may have misidentified the visiting raptor as a Northern Goshawk; it could be a Cooper’s Hawk since they are known to come in close to feeders.

One of our three dahlia beds received new additions early last week. I was glad I took decent photos last July as the dahlias began to fill out and again in September so that I could review where space for new tubers was available.

All three beds in July, revealing the beginnings of a wide variety:

Bed 1 in September, nearest the greenhouse:

Bed 2, in the middle, with space for new tubers:

Bed 3, nearest the blueberries:

We planted tubers for the varieties Thomas Edison and Mom’s Special into the corners of bed 2, bringing that bed to capacity with four varieties. I look forward to the deep purple blooms of the Thomas, plus lavender striped blooms of the Mom’s dahlias. Those were two hues absent from the beds. If all goes well, we will be enjoying these this summer!