~flowers in the fall~

 

Days and nights are getting cooler here in the Mid-South,

but that doesn’t mean you can’t still play in the dirt.

  Don’t be fooled by the dainty look of these tiny little blooms. 

Pansies are very hardy and love the cool weather.

Through the years, we tried planting just about everything around our patio,

but the ground was so hard and shallow, nothing would flourish. 

So, Cigar Man and I decided to build a border around the patio

and fill in with a foot or so of good rich dirt. 

We decided on these rock pavers we picked up at a local “rock” store

(for lack of a better word).  HA!

The temp got down to 29 degrees the other night and these little guys are still standing!

I’m looking forward to holding a cup of warm tea in my cold hands

and gazing out my window at these cheery pansies all the cold winter long.

Sharing with Before and After and Outdoor Wednesday.

sunday eve ~ an autumn blessing

 

Wishing my blog friends an

autumn weekend

full of

beauty, bliss,

and blessings!

{sunday eve…a harvest moon}

Late yesterday afternoon, I started out for a walk,

camera in hand and a photography project in mind,

when I saw THIS and my direction changed instantly.

 What wonders God has blessed us with if we only stop to look.

“The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands”

Psalm 19:1

sharing with Spiritual Sunday.

{Change…}

Thanks to Razmataz’s Red Challenge for the inspiration of my post!

Looking up into the maple tree, I’m struck by these two leaves, side by side.

One green ~ hanging on to summer hues.

One red ~ proud to have changed to autumn’s splendor.

Both beautiful in their own way.

People are like leaves.

Which are you? 

Hanging on to yesterday’s hues or…

 Reaching for tomorrow’s changes?

 “The summer fades and passes and October comes.

We’ll smell smoke then,

and feel an unexpected sharpness,

a thrill of nervousness,

swift elation,

a sense of sadness and departure.”

~Thomas Wolfe

stop and smell the zinnias

This week Cigar Man and I are working on building a rock wall around our patio.  I’ll show you some pics if it turns out.  If I don’t, you will know it didn’t!   ;=)

We took a break yesterday to walk a two mile path along some lovely historic homes.  I love to see the homes decorated for autumn and Halloween.  I took lots of photos which I’ll display later in the week.  It was kind of our version of “trick or treating”.   You see, instead of walking up to the porch and knocking on the door for treats, I just took photos from the street.  The photos are my treats, for sure!

On the way, we found a patch of  beautiful red zinnias,

but not before these delicate Monarchs found them.

I couldn’t help but stop and take some shots. 

They won’t be around much longer, you know.

And then, of course, I couldn’t help but play with my photos a little. 

Hope you’re making time to stop and enjoy!

Sunday Eve

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art...

It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.

C. S. Lewis

Sharing with Spiritual Sunday.

~sunset...skywatch friday~

I watched from my covered balcony as it sprinkled rain throughout the afternoon.

When I saw the vacationers start to slowly wander out, I knew the rain was over.

First we saw the rainbow.

Little did we know it was only a glimpse of the beauty to come.

photos taken at Sand Destin, Florida beach

“If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman,

I feel that I have worked with God.” ~G. K. Chesterton

Linking to Sky watch Friday and Sky Friday.

wish you were here!

and the “white stuff under my feet” WAS…

YOU GUESSED IT!

Well, some of you did.

I’ll have to say it was fun to read who guessed sand and who guessed snow. I can tell you right now. I’m not a snow person. If I can go where the sun is warm on my face and the sand tickles my toes that’s where I’m heading.

We drove south to Destin, Florida, a beautiful resort town established in 1984 and from the beginning grew faster than the sea oats below ever did.

No oil either! But as you can see from the tee shirt below, the Destin natives are not too happy with BP.

I’m told the oil never made it to Destin, unfortunately not the case for Gulf Shores, but many of the businesses in Destin suffered a slow summer anyway.

Cigar Man and I relaxed in the sun…

(loved these pink chairs and umbrellas)

Enjoyed delicious seafood…

(Cigar Man eats oysters on the half shell, NOT ME!)

and beautiful views!

Just wanted to let you know I’m back.

I have much more to show and tell about our road trip.

Catch you later.

ahhh…rain showers at last

All was silent as before -
All silent save the dripping rain.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

~

Rain showers my spirit
and waters my soul.
~Terri Guillemets

~sunday eve~

 

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness. 

~Lamentations 3:22-23 

moon plants (garden stars)

While watering what’s left of my flowers this morning (the heat has scorched so much of my garden), I was thrilled to see these white beauties peeking out.  They must have bloomed overnight since this is the first day of the summer, I’ve noticed their delicate graceful blossoms.  Aren’t they gorgeous!

 This is one of those old fashioned plants you don’t usually find at a nursery.  We got ours started from seed given to us by Cigar Man’s mother many years ago.  We have transplanted these seeds at several homes since we planted them the very first time.  So as we moved from house to house, we’ve left a little beauty along the way and still been able to take it with us too.  Like having your cake and eating it too!  

 Even the buds have a distinct beauty all their own.

Uniquely, they open at night and close in the daylight.  Thus, the name Moon plants.

Even as I was taking these photos, they delicately began to close. 

Each bud only lasts a night.  After closing, it will die and fall off the vine.

 They are so heavenly!

Named for blooming under the moon

and appearing as stars in an earthly garden.

Sharing with other beautiful gardens at Tootsie’s Fertilizer Friday

~mr. baby bird~

My usual walk was abruptly halted this morning. I hadn’t got any further than my front yard when I noticed two tiny baby birds lying face up, itsy bitsy claws pointing to the sky. That’s right - deceased, bless their tiny lil hearts. (I’ll spare you photos.) I sighed and walked another step when I saw their lil brother struggling beside the sidewalk in the grass.

OH NO, I thought!

What to do?

Do I leave him alone?

Do I rescue him?

Is his mommy near by?

Can he fly?

And then I did what any good blogger would do. I took pictures! J

To my surprise, as I was taking photos of this lil cutie, he wobbly staggers toward me!

HEY WAIT! I’m not your mother!

Go on back now! Really now!

I don’t know how to take care of baby birds!

But he just kept moving toward me!

Well, I couldn’t leave him there in the middle of the sidewalk, deserted, without his mommy.

So my mind starts racing. Okay, maybe he’s hungry or thirsty, so I sprinkle bird food down in front of him and some water. I know. You’re laughing aren’t you? Yea, I think mr. baby bird laughed at me too. He’s beginning to realize I have NO idea what I’m doing.

Next, I find a cardboard box and fill it with grass, leaves, and soft things that belong in a nest. I gently scoop him into the box. He does NOT like it. He sputters around, spreading his wings as if to say “Get me OUT of here!” I decide I’ve got to get some advice from an intelligent source, but the internet is all I have so I Google. I learn the best thing to do is put him back in the tree in a makeshift nest and hope that his mommy comes back to rescue him.

I find a plastic tray, punch holes in it and fill it with nesting materials.

And then gentle move Mr. Baby Bird once again from his box to his new home.

It’s hard to get a good shot of mr. baby bird with the leaves around and I don’t want to bother him any more than I have to just in case his mommy is near by waiting for me to get the heck out of here.

You can only see a little of his wing in this photo. I know it’s hard to tell, but he’s very comfortable here. He closes his little eyes and goes to sleep.

Ahh…I’m finally feeling pretty good about this situation.

Calming down after my valiant rescue of mr. baby bird, I start to look for a nest he and his brothers could have fallen from. Look closely and you can see it in the top center of this photo. But what’s interesting is the bird barely visible in the lower left of the photo. Do you see her?

Is this his mommy??

Has she been watching me through this whole ordeal?

or

Is this another brother or sister??

I guess we’ll never know.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a happy ending to my morning adventure.

Later, I go out to check on mr. baby bird. Sadly, he’s fallen out of his makeshift nest.

You know the rest of the story. L

I’m linking to Simple Pleasures at Dayle’s “A Collection of this and that”.

~beauty on a morning walk~

 

 

The weather lady said 80 degrees at 7am and rising quickly.  So I’m thinking better stop drinking this coffee, get out of this chair and out for my morning walk or it won’t get done.

Crepe Myrtles are in full bloom here in Tennessee.  I love what Popso said a post or two ago.  “Crepe Myrtles are a graceful “compensation package” for us having to endure our hot summers here in the south.”  So true! 

So I got to looking around at all the lovely crepes draping from yard to yard in an array of various colors.  Before you know it, I’m heading back home to get my camera.  Yep, done that before.

Here’s the beauty I enjoyed on my morning walk.

I think this color’s my favorite!