Dahlia With Bee*

After a leisurely walk we undertook a confusing search for a new coffee place which was recommended by one of the baristas at Flying Goat. It is in what I like to call the Bermuda Triangle of Santa Rosa, a maze of one way streets, odd intersections, streets which can only be approached from one direction and poor signage. On foot, it is a charming residential neighborhood of frame bungalows and aging victorians a stone's throw away from whatever passes for 'downtown' in Santa Rosa. In a car it is a nightmare. We wound up parking several blocks away and finding it on foot. The coffee was disappointing and all the contents of the planter boxes around the edge of the small patio had been allowed to die, so we probably won't be going back soon, despite a very friendly woman who admired Ozzie and chatted with us.

Things got complicated when we got home and we invited our neighbors, the artist and the pilot, to come for drinks. My carefully calibrated timing went to pot when I stood practically jumping from one foot to the other waiting at the deli counter at Oliver's. There must have been fifteen people behind the counter, and I must have gotten the slowest one to slice some prosciutto. I suppose I should have been grateful that she meticulously cleaned the entire slicing machine before beginning, but I felt like OilMan must have felt yesterday in the dress shop. As a result, I forgot the melon and made hurried choices at the cheese counter, but it looks like I am going to have 4 minutes in which to change my clothes.

I took this shot of a bee on a dahlia blossom while picking tomatoes and basil for the 'caprese on a stick' and some flowers for the undusted living room table. Maybe we'll be able to sit outside….

*I didn't have a moment to do anything with this photo so even though it doesn't look like it, it is just as it came from the camera. I didn't have time to change the settings on it either….