The bee balm is intensely blooming red and the butterflies and hummingbirds are crazy for it. What spectacle! I went out early to wander around the property, avoiding the buggy woods and the smelly river. Immediately standing near the garden with my milkweed pods and cone flower and lilies and black eyed Susan and bee balm, I was dazzled by a pair of monarchs flitting through the blooms and across the grass. Oh, that was such good news for the day. Particularly after my attempt to feed the birds. Frank will be sad to find out that we have banned his bird seed stash finally from the porch. I went to fill the feeders as he requested, and as I tried to open the bird seed bag a surprised chipmunk or red squirrel shot out of the container and dashed off the porch; enough! My daughter and I bagged up the stash and he needs to find a new way to store his seed, even if it means a few seedless days for feeders. A wonderful swim at noon with my daughter at my friend’s dock, where we all watched startled and stunned and amazed by a massive aged snapper who came out from under the dock to say hello. My daughter shot a video of it, standing up on its hind legs to pose for the camera! I felt super energetic and had a fine swim with my new buoy. In the late afternoon, I went out to water the garden and pick some cherrie tomatoes for my dinner. I stopped at the bee balm, and there was a black swallowtail shivering on the blooms; and then, the hummingbird! And then, the monarch! What delight! Next year, maybe later this summer, I shall double the amount of bee balm I’m growing. I have it in a few places; but where it gets the most sun is where I’m finding this attraction of butterflies and humming. Picked a cucumber gave everything a very good soak and felt so grateful for all the liveliness in this day. I enjoyed our poetry workshop in a similar way; the poems were stimulating, fresh, surprising, beautifully crafted. My own needs much work. I believed in creative energy very strongly today; the invisible way it’s working; as much as the visible.