Repelling a boarder, INSECT ALERT, and Red Food

 Warm humid day, so it was time to do a bit of garden cleanup.But first I captured and took outside this little friend, found exploring the kitchen 

I reduced this picture in size in case people would rather move on by. I love them all, but I get that not everyone does.

The coneflowers are about done, so I cut them back and brought in a few late ones.

And the Montauk daisies are finally budding, the latest of my flowering plants, so I cleaned dead foliage off them

and, as usual knocked off a head, which is now in water and may be too tightly furled to flower. We'll see.

Here's the result of cleaning dead foliage and flowers off the chrysanthemum. All those buds it exposed are here, blazing away.

Then it was lunchtime. Some foods just need to be put in a dish, they're so good.

 Here's my Red Salad, diced beets, farm tomatoes,  a rainbow carrot. Dressed with Mrs Moon Dressing, and lovely Tellicherry pepper fresh ground with the new toy grinder.

Did I mention how good this pepper is? Several times? Aren't you glad you don't live here, and hear me going on about it and moaning in ecstasy? 

I've never been a fan of beets. This beet shows me how good they can be. It's really better than ones I grew in the past, or the ones at the local farm. I think maybe the soil composition and climate must be why.  Anyway if they were all like this one, I'd like beets.