It's the hot days of summer.........when one longs for the comfort of a shaded front porch

a wonderful place to gather with family, creating memories for years to come.......

 a place where friends  gather to share dreams and hopes.......

 a place for solitude and peace........to ponder one's thoughts..........

or a cozy place just for two to enjoy the closing of a day.

I have posted and shown you my front porch...........

a place for friends and family to gather on a hot day......

a place to sit and watch a gentle rain........

or the falling of snow.

and  my patio...............very hot in the day time.......

but a hot spot at night time for friends and family to gather around the fire. 

This is on another side of the house..........yes..........I need to paint ..........soon!!

This is a deck/balcony that was placed here by previous owners. They had it screened so that their cats could sit out in the day and remain safe from the predators. 

In the years that they lived here.........and the years we have been here, it has never been painted. 

This is the" before" photo above.

I have been wanting to fix it up for a cozy spot ........

for two........or one..........

to enjoy the early morning sunrise............

or the shaded east side afternoons.

So with paint and paint brush...........

I have made it look like this!  I added a rug and a table........

and a few plants..........

and a couple of rockers that my husband purchased a while back.

and now it is the perfect spot for the ending of the day.

Don't you think so?

Of course a porch always needs a vintage container with flowers.......

but this is the best part............ the view.  

This is where we can watch the wildlife move about on the grounds and in the trees.

It is serene.

The best way to say goodnight to another day.

How about you?
Tell me about your favorite spot..........or porch!

I have already introduced you to the coyote

who came up a few months ago for a "fresh" chicken dinner...........

and left disappointed without one........

this time.........

Now I introduce the Road Runner who has come for a drink in the middle of a hot afternoon.

(you can click onto the photo for a better view)

These large birds are very common here...........and they can fly.........

but they run better.

I am always amazed at how big their eyes are.

Do you have Road Runners in your area?

How about coyotes??
I would love to hear!

I hear the squeaking and screeching sounds of the baby woodpeckers

coming from this hole in the mesquite tree........

they know I am close as I take a photo........

I hear their mother...........fussing at me ..........watching me from the tree top

 just above her little one's hiding place.

I understand and know her worry..........

much more than she could know..........

for my heart is as heavy as the clouds that are gathering today............

you see, my youngest son........who is in the navy , 

just let me know that in a few days he and his fellow sailors .......

will set sail

on a journey ..........to deep waters

unknown.

To him, it's an adventure of a lifetime...........

so with every morning that awakens me...........

I try to focus and to keep my mind from worry....

by tending to the garden.........there are a lot of peas to shell............

and weeding the  pumpkin patch

 which is  crawling all over the grounds............

full of blooms..........

and new pumpkins................

the zinnias are in full bloom and they sway their heavy heads in the wind as to say

"cheer up!"

and before I know it.........they day has passed.........

and the sun sets..................

and I try to rest my worry............

I have been busy making cement garden decor

and I especially enjoy making water containers.

Some with shapes......

some with decorative rocks........

some with a little charm.

With the Texas wind and heat.......every thing bakes and is in constant need of water, 

and I love to see bodies of water, such as ponds or bird baths in gardens. In the photo above, "my patio garden" has natural elements

 like pine needles, pine cones,

 and rocks from a distant river bed

I grow succulents of different kinds in buckets and other whimsical containers, 

and native pincushion cacti ,

and I use my homemade cement containers to hold rocks and frog figurines. I love water on rocks because it gives the rocks a whole fresh and pretty look. 

I use the large water containers for birds, bees, and lizards to get a drink in the hot day. I toss in few shells that my small children( at that time)  gathered on Galveston Island on our family trips so many years ago, and added a small turtle figurine.  

To my delight this tiny little toad.....about the size of a nickel, found it's way into the water and perched on top of the turtle waiting apparently for a fly to swim by. 

If you click onto the photo, you can see the unique and beautiful design on this tiny toads back.

How about you?

Do you like ponds or bird baths...........

maybe a fountain as well?

I would love to hear!

Leave those orchids ALONE!!..........but feed the Zinnias breakfast!

I'm not kidding! My husband brought orchids home

to me for this past Valentines Day.......I love them.......however, they always seem to die within a month..........

until I learned that Orchids want to be left alone. They don't like constant attention........something I am always doing with my flowers. So I just sat these orchids in a lightly  lit area in our living room ( the photo is with them on the dusty porch)   where I could admire them "from a distance:".............and look!.............

not only are they still living, they have bloomed!  

If you want to raise orchids, don't water them until they feel dry........and don't let them sit in water.  Keep them in indirect light and where it is not too hot and not too cold...........but most important.........

don't baby them.

As for my Zinnia gardens this year..........I have been storing up all of the egg shells from cooking and all of the tea and coffee grounds from the kitchen. I sprinkle these along in the gardens about every two weeks

and now my gardens are in full bloom

and very healthy.

Even the Snap Dragons that had started to die, have now sprung back to life with a little sprinkle of coffee grounds and egg shells.  

As for the prairie.....it is full of wildflowers..............which don't get fed, but have been helped out with the abundance of rain that we have unusually gotten this year. 

They grow in big patches along the grounds and I could stay and walk in them all day!

Even the wild daisies which are usually in small clumps, have grown tall and wide.

We also have an abundance of rabbits this year. They are content to lie in the tall grass in the late afternoon.

How about you?  

Do you have a finicky flower?...........what is it?

Do you feed your plants now and then?

I would love to hear!