I'm standing on the front deck with my mom. She grew up on a ranch in Montana. My grandparents were homesteaders. We're heading up there this weekend to relax and garden a bit.

Here's Lida on horseback being led by Jan. The tarweed are in bloom. The nights are getting cooler.

Walking back to my house at sunset. I wish that it was as surrounded by oaks as it appears to be.

When the house was just built, the copper gutters would glow at sunset. It looked like a castle, wonderful but a bit ostentatious. Even after four years, I'm glad we have it. I just wish we had more time to spend there.

The community pond looks a bit low at the end of the summer. There's a paddleboat that's fun to take out. You can see quite a few fish from the boat.

Here's a buckeye at the demonstration garden. Turning yellow, losing its leaves, all part of the cycle.

What a beautiful smoke tree. My little one at the ranch was badly chewed on the first year. It has made a good recovery, spreading horizontally rather than growing tall.

Standing under a buckeye tree in the demonstration garden on Taylor Street. The buckeye is interesting in all seasons, particularly now with seedpods hanging down in various stages of development.

Don't these redbud shoots look healthy? The ones at the ranch have to withstand the hot, dry summers.

Here's a close up of the seed pods on a western redbud.

The mountain clematis vine spread over its host tree and then died.

What a gorgeous sunset from the deck with a glass of wine in my hand.

The sunset adds a rosy glow to the east. The catalpa tree still blooms, but will finish soon.

Here's the white oak that fell down and died last year cut up into firewood. The wood looks so light and dark and gnarled. We usually let these burn piles sit for a few years to provide a home for the birds.

Poison oak adds a note of color under the trees. I'm feeling itchy just looking at it.

Another unidentified water plant that livens up August. It attracts huge, prehistoric-looking insects who seem glad to see any flowers at this time of year.

Here's another plant I can't identify and maddeningly appears everywhere. It looks like it's going to bloom and then the main stalk begins to turn purple.

Watching that full moon come out after the sun sets, I rush out to capture it on film. August has been mild so far even coolish in the evenings.

Oh no, the tarweed is beginning to bloom. It's going to be sticker season before you know it. The distinctive mustard yellow blossoms signal the end of the summer.

The huge bottle of Dawn in the guest bathroom is my main weapon against the stickers that cling to my dog's coat.

A tree now long dead that grew around a rock and in fact completely encased it. All around it's possible to see the power of water and glaciers shaping the landscape. It's amazing to see a tree change the landscape by overpowering a rock and maintaining its hold as it decomposes.

A little bit of clover in August looks very lush. There are a few such surprises in shady areas if one is willing to search for them.

The full moon rises. Let the mayhem commence. The white oaks gleam in the moonlight. I'm convinced that more wildlife come out to play on nights such as this.

Phoebe's herding instinct takes over and she starts moving those cows along. It's over a hundred degrees, so none of the participants are exhibiting a high energy level.

One of the taller white oaks on our property. It is difficult to propagate these oaks, so we are very fortunate to have so many small trees coming up.

The marsh next to the Indian grinding holes still has puddles of water despite the punishing heat wave. This should sustain the cattle and the wildlife through the summer. It also supports a variety of riparian plants.

The very last of the flowers. This is one I have not been able to identify. We are very grateful for the cooler temperatures which make for lovely evenings and lots of time outside.

This blossoms of this buckeye tree are starting to brown and form small seed pods. Next all the foliage will brown and fall off. It's August, and I'm looking a little harder for the magic of nature to capture in photographs.

Here's a little touch of green in the summer. Otherwise, it's rocks and dead grass with a few oak trees.

The summer affords the fewest photographic opportunities. So I'm reduced to trying to identify scat.

This scat is filled with berries, probably manzanita. So which herbivore does this belong to? Bobcat or fox? I don't think it's coyote.

These tiny black elderberries on a bush near my house are looking a bit sad. There don't seem to be enough to try to make syrup or wine. Elsewhere on the ranch, some of the bushes are bent over double with the weight of berries.