CATCHING UP

 Life has been busy, more than busy, and I just have not had time to be on here. Sometimes "life' happens. And then Sandy happened, and even tho I did not have any more damage than one downed tree, still, as an old friend of mine used to say, my tempest fugited! Where has the time gone? 

Many of the leaves are down, camellias are in serious bloom, and the colors are fantastic. It seems the frost we had killed the daisies, but they were awesome for a while and covered with butterflies. I had so many more plants this year, I had to build an extention onto my little greenhouse! Enjoy the pics!

Who would believe I have had to turn the heat on in these little greenhouses already! Frost is predicted for the morning... yesterday, we were working out in the yard in T-shirts. Oh, well, It is that time of year.

If you are interested, the greenhouses are made out of plexiglass. The "roof" part is 1/4 inch plexi, the sides are just 1/8th inch. Most of the wood is scrap stuff left over from other projects. The plexiglas is held in place with corner braces so it can slide out if I need to get inside to do something. It all comes apart by removing 4 screws.

CLIMATE CHANGE? BUTTERFLIES

FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS, this camellia has bloomed on my birthday - not a day before. It was a brithday present, to celebrate my 50th birthday. This camellia is about 12 feet from my computer where I sit every morning (almost) of my life... it is one of the first things I look at each day. It sits right next to my driveway, so it is impossible to ignore it especially when it is in full bloom. Every year, the first bloom of the season has opened right on schedule. But this year, the seasons seemed to have gotten off to an early start. Everything started to bloom early as we experienced the warmest year in recorded history. So I guess I should not have been so shocked when I looked out the fogged up window (from the air conditioner) and saw red. Well, OK, maybe magenta is more accurate. 2 weeks early... there it is.

The temps are still quite summer-like. It was in the low 70s when I got up, will be in the 80s today. At least we are not hitting the upper 90s anymore, tho I hesitate to complain after so many people were in the hundreds last summer, day after day after day. The humidity is so high it is like breathing soup. Our 10 inches of rain from a week ago has long soaked in the ground, but it seems we get a little rain each day, then a burst of sunshine, just enough to make it like a sauna out there.

The dragonflies have almost all disappeared. The yard is now filled with butterflies flitting from place to place. I have several butterfly bushes, phlox, blue sage, and fall camellias all in bloom to keep them happy.

The roses are sending out a new round of blooms.

STOVE UP

I AM JUST A TAD STOVE UP, folks. What? You don’t know what that means? Well, it means (at least in my case) I didn’t know when to quit the other day, and kept working out in the yard long after the warning signals… shaky legs, achy back… but it was cool – at least by comparison to the previous days in the 90s, and there was so much to get done, and it felt real good getting things done. Sigh. But my 25 year old brain forgot about the 60something year old body that had not been taking the appropriate breaks, and, well… I made an unscheduled landing out in the back yard. I am wondering how many washings it will take to get the hackberry stains out of my jeans. I have a feeling they are permanent. Anyway, my legs gave out and down I went, and the old things would not let me get up again… Sooooo, there I sat for a while. After about a half an hour, I called a friend. He and his wife got my walker out of the van and pulled me to my feet. Sigh. And so I am pretty stiff and sore today, but I sure got a lot of work done while it was cool! It is 91 degrees as I write this. Sigh.

Anyway, before I took my unscheduled sit in the back yard, I did take a few pictures of what is happening in my little corner… besides squashing berries with my butt. The Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia Indica) is in full bloom. This is the first year for the true red one to bloom. Most of them are more of a magenta color, and I have one light lavender shade.

The redbud looks like it is dying… it has been so dry. The leaves are a bit withered and some are even changing color.

The Althea (Rose of Sharon) looks good, but even it shows signs of the drought.

Have you ever seen Russian (blue) Sage?

St Francis is nearly buried in Persian Shield and coleus.

A friend gave me a couple butterfly bushes… my old ones died. This one is white and seems to do its butterfly thing. It is always feeding one or two butterflies. Don’t you love that translucent look?

BEAUTY

TO ME, THERE ARE FEW things more beautiful than flowers and butterflies... so when they are together, well... I run for the camera. This little beauty kept me company for quite a while this morning while I was watering the garden. Just thought I would share...

TWO GIFTS ALMOST AT ONCE!

The sun came out today for a while. It has been a cool, wet week, over 6 1/2 inches of rain, temps in the low 70s. To be honest, I have not felt very well for a couple of weeks, so I have not been outside as much as I have wanted to be. But, on my way to take the trash out this morning, a Diana greeted me on the carport. Dianas often visit what appears to be bare ground or the concrete on the carport or patio. Sometimes they check out the old or left over cat food. I have seldom seen one on a flower. Someone told me they ingest some kind of minerals from the dirt. Maybe my carport floor is dirtier than I think! LOL!

Male Dianas are orange and black. I don't see as many of them as I do the females, or maybe it is because I think the females are prettier. Check them out at http://www.stateanimals.com/states/arkansas/diana_text.html.

After taking a couple pictures of the first Diana, I headed for the trash can and scared her away. She flew out to the camellia bush out front and was still there when I headed back to the door. Another one had taken her place. Wow! 2 in one day! Enjoy!

PS - I am still waiting permission to post pix others have taken. But remember, the rules are - YOU must have been the one to take the shot. I appreciate all the pictures I have gotten that are beautiful, but I dare only post ones taken by you! Thanks!

OH, and if you have a blog and want to post your shot on YOUR blog - no problem, just post your blog link in a comment on my blog and folks can hop right over there!

ANOTHER GIFT

FIRST, I want to thank those of you who have sent pics... when you give me permission, I will post them on here. But, please, be sure the picture was taken by you so I don't make the copyright people unhappy with me.

The butterflies have been very busy. And I have been busy, too, but every now and then I have a moment when I can grab the camera and sneak up on one of them. It really doesn't give me time to play with the settings, so sometimes the wings are a blurr as they are moving so fast. But they are real happy with my fall azaleas. And I am glad...

TODAY'S GIFT

I believe there are gifts out there just waiting for us to find them everyday. There are those who see only gloom and doom, and let's face it, there is a lot of that to go around. But I have always been one to seek the wildflower among the weeds (and do I ever have a weed collection!) or a spot of beauty somewhere in the midst of the "average." It is always there if you just look for it. Or maybe you have to change your thinking in order to see the beauty in some things. Obviously, I can thrill at the sight of a baby possum. Some people are so convinced they are ugly, nasty things, they can not allow themselves to see any cuteness in those little faces. It is true, there are a few things I do not think of as beautiful, but I am willing to be convinced.
A few moments ago, I was doing up the lunch dishes. I can't imagine having a sink without a window - so, I was looking and washing. Did I mention the fall azaleas have started to bloom? And this is what I saw. So I quickly dried my hands and grabbed a camera. The swallowtail was very camera shy, one shot was all I got, but it is enough. Why be greedy? And I just had to share it with you! My gift to you!
Wouldn't it be cool if everyone went out and took a picture, just one, of something beautiful today, and sent it on to their friends, and then their friends took a picture of something beautiful and sent it to their friends... well, you get the idea. We could flood the internet with pictures of the beauty all around us - our own personalized piece of beauty, not someone else's pictures, but something of our own... What an idea! I will be waiting to see what YOU have to offer!

THE SMELLS OF SPRING

SNIFF, SNIFF

Some of us LOVE the fragrances of late spring. Then there are those of us who spend this season with a kleenex in our hands. I am glad I do not fall into that category! As I go out the door, the heavy scent of so many blooming things just hits me. Not far from my back door I have a number of holly trees. Have you ever smelled a holly tree in bloom? Awesome. The woods are full of wild blackberries. And if you look up, you might notice the blooms on the honey locust trees. Sweet! I have discovered many people have never seen a fringe tree. Well, if you ever see one in bloom, go stick your nose in one... well, actually, it is so fragrant, you don't have to even get closer than 10 or 20 feet!

Even my irises are fragrant. OK, I planted the Iris while most of the rest of the things came up naturally here.

The rambling Rose grows wild around me and in the woods. I found another one yesterday while cutting along the bank on the John Deere. Reminds me of the way roses USED to smell! One thing you won't find in my yard is Wisteria. It overpowers me. Wisteria and Gardinias... they take my breath away, literally.

The honeysuckle is just starting to open. Soon the world will be bathed in the fragrance of their tiny sweet yellow and white blossoms. The poor butterflies won't know which way to turn! And just starting, the magnolia! Magnificent - or is it Magnifi-scent?

BUDDHA AND BUTTERFLIES

I managed to get out in the yard yesterday to sit a bit in the sun. I firmly believe the sun is healing - and I could use a bit of healing right about now... So I went out back and settled in the sun in one of the adirondacks, and I noticed a flurry of activity only a few feet away from me. The daisies next to the Buddha were alive with little butterflies. If my memory serves me, these are Painted Ladies on their way south for the winter. I counted 18 at one point. Well, actually I counted more than that, but I deducted for them moving about... About a week ago this bush was filled with dark butterflies, whether Black Swallowtails or Dianas, I am not sure and did not feel well enough to go and check, but we have them both in abundance.

It seemed lonely out in the yard without Punk... he got into a fight the other night and had to spend a couple of days at the vet's getting patched up. He will be home today.