Flowers!

Marigolds protectors of the garden veggies. They make awesome companion plants and help protect against many garden pests, including nematodes. I harvested a bunch of seed heads a few weeks ago and planted the seeds. Now I have 9 more pots of marigold seedlings to distribute throughout the veggie patch.
And who can identify this strange plant? It is an alien or something worse? No, it's the reproductive flowering structure of the hen and chick succulents. This one is in our front yard, and it sprouts out every 2-3 years.

Today all the suburban farmers went to the velodrome to see more of the bike races. We also went to the Bellevue Arts Fair. Our friend, Lisa, dropped by to visit the chickens and the garden. The chickens were very well behaved, sitting on her arm, eating dandelions, and not pooping on our guest. All activities were awesome, but it was very warm. We are experiencing a real blast of heat today and for the next week, with temps in the 90+ range, unusual for the Seattle area where most homes don't have air conditioning. I predict, we'll be visiting the library and pool frequently.