This is Man Ray, our new 'keeper' puppy from Solo and Trouble - we opted to have his ears cropped, the first since Solo's disasterous crop - and hope he continues to grow into the dog we think he will.

After 2.5" of rain in the past 24 hours, we were astonished this morning to see our Nelly Moser clematis in bloom!  This has been a reliable clematis for us ~ maybe not the showiest but a delight nonetheless!