Friday Night Summer Cocktails

                       Lord Roman feels so good with his Adequan that we have run into a problem.  He thinks he can take a long walk now, but finds out in the heat and with the distance he went, he cannot get home.  
 

                Two Fridays ago that happened around 4:00, I watched him go under the magnolia tree, go back into the woods to the path by the chicken coop and come out under the other magnolia tree and make his way to the pasture.  He has a lot of stops along the way.  He weighs 90 lbs. and once he gets too far, I have to pick him up, he walks two steps and lays down to rest, I repeat and this time it took two hours to get him up to the house.  

                     I brought down my chair because with my injured knee I couldn't stand or get on the ground with him, so while he rested, I sat in the chair.  I have to follow up with his water bowl and make sure he stays hydrated.  And speaking of being hydrated, I remembered I had a little tequila left in the freezer and some lime jalepeno juice from Trader Joes, so made myself a little cocktail and sat in my chair.

                   This is when the idea of Friday night cocktails occurred to me, with just finger foods and maybe setting up the chairs and trays in different areas each time to sit and observe what's in bloom and watch the wildlife and fireflies.  Atena who came to get bamboo said she and her husband pick a night a week to have dinner in their gazebo to just relax and take in all the hard work they do in their garden, and sitting there that sounded like a great idea.

                        I was under a magnolia tree that was just starting to bloom.

                      Lilies were in bloom at the top of the path.

                  I could smell the gardenias in full bloom.

         And take in the hydrangeas in front of the house that have been in full bloom for quite a while and will soon fade.

           My flock of geese (gooseneck loosestrife) are doing gangbusters!

        Bee balm is mixed in with the flock.  First year in bloom.

     And something not so pretty, the pileated destroying the fascia board on the garage UGH!!

                  The farmhouse was the first site of the first Friday night cocktail hour.  I brought down my vintage trays found at a Frog & Swan estate sale.

            When gardenias are in bloom, I have one in a vase everywhere I sit.  One of my favorite fragrances!

                               Geisha saw the food and came down for a snack.

                           The cocktail, found on Pinterest, is a version of the Long Island Tea.  There is so much alcohol in it, one was plenty.  There is Spiced Rum, Gin, Tequila, Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka, sweet and sour mix, homemade, of course, Coke and sweet tea.  It was very refreshing.

                     The farmhouse was picked because I wanted to sit Bob down in front of it and discuss renovating it.  I have lots of ideas, and I'm already on the hunt for vintage windows and light fixtures.  We have a contract on the boathouse for the price we wanted and should close in August if all goes well.  Soon as that happens, I hope to have Jake take the roof off, bust through the bedroom, kitchen and living room to have vaulted roofs.  The little vents in the attic is where I will put vintage glass windows to let in more light.  I can't wait to get started!