It was a blink-and-you-missed-it summer, full of fun moments with family and friends, puppy love, laughs, and good food. I’ve been collecting stories to share with you, so stay tuned for backyard creatures, Global Supper Club: Southern Edition, and Stella’s doggy swim day in DC’s pools. You might have seen sneak peeks at some of these on my Twitter or (newly acquired) Instagram, but each photo deserves more than 140 characters of explanation!

Were you able to spot this giant freaky thing hanging out on the tomato plant in the first picture? I woke up to my dad texting me pictures of this monster and thought I was having a nightmare! My dad found it when he was examining his tomato plant and noticed a strange looking leaf. He squeezed the leaf, but the leaf was squishy!! I can’t imagine, I just can’t imagine. Turns out, this multi-eyed green fatty is a tobacco caterpillar that can devour a whole tomato plant in a single sitting. I’ve never seen such a painted-looking bug before! Don’t worry- my dad simply relocated the caterpillar, and I’m sure that it’s fluttering around as a giant, freaky moth somewhere. I can’t even look at it without getting the chills.

Transitioning to something a little more appetizing… the Global Supper Club met again, this time feasting on food from the Southern US. It was a fantastic meal. Starting at the top left of the plate and going clockwise, we had the juiciest fried chicken (probably the best I’ve ever had), vegetarian collard greens (amped up with peanut butter!), potato salad with cracked rye and dill, sweet corn cake, coleslaw, and mac and cheese is in the center. Not pictured were fantastic fried green tomatoes and equally delicious fried catfish. How could I forget about dessert? An elaborate banana pudding meringue and TWO apple pies did not disappoint. And yes, I went to the gym today.

Despite not getting to taste a single morsel from the Supper Club, Stella has been having a fantastic summer. We took her to the doggie swim day at DC’s public pools to work on her swimming wading. She was willing to walk into the pool on her own this year, which was an improvement from last year.

But she did everything she could to keep her tail dry! And once she reached a certain depth, she practically stood on her tip-toes. I didn’t let her get away with that and soaked her down, thinking that she’d be more willing to swim if she was already wet.

That plan didn’t work, but she did look REALLY cute. I love her little freckle face when she gets wet.

Stella is such a natural mountain dog, and can easily traverse any solid terrain. I think she feels uncomfortable in the water because her motions are not as effortless. Naturally, Stella took off into the dirt and ran around like a lunatic while all of the other dogs were paddling around and retrieving balls. Not our girl. See the dirty streak on her face?

She was filthy. All kinds of twigs and branches were stuck in her knee hairs and tail hairs. This level of dirt guaranteed her a final dip in the pool. I carried her in, set her down, and the water around us turned to mud. We took that as our cue to leave, and Stella set off for home. Little did she know that she was heading straight for a shower. (NOT MORE WATER!!)