Lemonade in the Wild Garden

I've become a fan of a drink at Starbucks called Tazo Passion Tea Lemonade. To make it at home, I first brew a full pot of the Tazo passion tea.  I put the pot in the refrigerator and it lasts all day (or two days). I mix about half tea and half lemonade. I find the lemonade is sweet enough that I don't need any additional sweetener.  An extra squeeze of lemon gives it a bit more punch.  Fresh ice is very important too, or the drink will be tainted by old ice flavor.  I love to sip on this stuff anytime during the summer.

The cat was on the patio but not in the garden.

Bloomtastic clematis!

First comes the sweet pea flower. Next comes the pea pods. This seems to be a sure crop for us again this year. I love easy plants.
This little guy fell out of the rafters into the garden below. I'm not sure if he was wounded, ill or just disoriented. At first he clung to the wall and took a rest.
But then he hopped out of the garden and came to the attention of the dog. When the dog barked at the bat, he put up quite a display of tiny fangs and clicking noises. I put the dog inside and stepped aside to watch, as the bat hopped and crawled across the lawn and into the woods. I hope he was alright. It's difficult to watch wild animals in distress. I wish I could rescue them all but I really don't know anything about helping bats. When in doubt, better not to interfere.
The bat was exciting but I'd have to say the highlight of my day was teaching tennis camp this morning, when a young girl asked if I was coming back tomorrow.  I told her I'll be back Thursday and (thankfully) she said, "Good." She said it in a nice way, which made me very happy.

One of the hardest parts of being a parent or teacher is that we try so hard all the time without much expectation of gratitude or appreciation. To notice, you have to be attentive and a little bit lucky, at just the right moment.