Do not take anything for granted — not one smile or one person or one rainbow or one breath, or one night in your cozy bed. 

Terri Guillemets, "Ill & well," 2009

 

Days Of Late Summer

 I rush in the early mornings to get as much outside work done before the intense heat of the day begins.  It is beginning to be that I only have a short amount of time to accomplish much of anything as I quickly surrender to the sun and to the heat as I make a quick departure for the coolness of inside.  Because of my lack of tolerance , the weeds are starting to overwhelm me and the garden spaces .  It is an ongoing battle for me with weeds and grasshoppers.  One grasshopper can chomp through a stem and devour a stalk of leaves and flower petals with great speed. 

Yet, through all of the high heat, strong hot winds, strangling weeds, and munching pests, 

many of the flowers stand lovely and strong.

For the time that I am outside, I find much joy walking and looking over the beauty of the gardens and what Mother Nature brings my way.

One morning, during one of my battles , I was whacking away and was startled by movement with what I thought was a snake.  Instead , I was amazed to see this 5 line skink catching and gobbling down grasshoppers that were trying to escape my whacking and were hopping right into it's happy grasp. 

 I have often seen skinks here on the grounds, they are usually small and shimmering gray.  This one must have a great hiding place and has been enjoying the bounty of insects. It was incredibly large.

The moonflower this year have done so well and have made a lovely hedge along the front yard. 

These late summer days are perfect for porch sitting. It is so quiet out this way and all one can hear while sitting out, is the call of the mourning dove and a distant howl of of coyote.  It's a great way to spend time and to gather one's thoughts.

After outside and inside chores are finished, I once again turn my attention to my needle. I finished the crochet flower I posted in my last post and these past days I cross stitched a rose design onto a shirt.  

More about this shirt and the rose design on my embroidery blog

Yesteryear Embroideries

Thank you all for your prayers for our state of Texas and the horrific flooding that took place. Although our area was not impacted, we all are saddened by what has happened. 

So tell me, are  you enjoying these late summer days sitting out on  your porch or tending to your gardens?  Are you taking the last trip of summer or are you getting ready for another school year? 

I always love hearing from your corner of the world. 

Here's wishing  you pleasant days as this summer comes to an end.

 

PLEASE KEEP TEXAS IN PRAYER

 

Hello Summer!

 This year has gone by so quickly..........here it is already summer! I hope this finds that you are enjoying fun summer days and that, hopefully, the severe storms have not placed damage upon you.  Here, in our part of Texas, the weather has been hot, dry, and the damage from surrounding storms have not reached us, for which we are beyond thankful.  At this time of year , I busy myself outside, battling the weeds, the ever hungry grasshoppers and rabbits. 

This munching youngster was not worried about me as it lingered outside the fence of my flower/pumpkin garden area.  I was surprised at how close I was able to get to it before it would slightly hop away. I think I have the fence secured now, as I have not seen a rabbit inside of the garden for quite awhile.

It is also the time of year that I busy myself with organizing the pantry and kitchen cabinets and defrosting the small upright deep freezer.  This deep freezer.....what a friend to my kitchen!  This is the first major thing my husband and I purchased when we were newly weds...........42 years ago.  I am still in awe that it has lasted us this long.  We bought it at the Montgomery Ward store....does anyone remember Montgomery Ward? In our 42 years of marriage, we have gone through so many appliances.  Stoves, washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, televisions, computers, but we have only had this one deep freezer.   I always unplug it during lightning storms and I defrost it twice a year.  Tell me, do you have an old appliance that has lasted along your path of life?  

In the flower/pumpkin garden I have mentioned, I have new flowers that I have never grown before.  They sprouted up from wildflower seed packets that my children have gifted me. 

I thought this yellow orange beauty was an English daisy, but have discovered it is a Calendula. A very lovely thick growing flower and as you see, I have it surrounded in chicken wire and dusted with seven dust for protection from pests.

This is Bachelor Button, Coneflower

and this is Sweet Alyssum, White Knight.

There is a large section of cosmos.....there are some remaining zinnia that have not yet bloomed. 

I am thrilled that I have finally gotten Bluebonnet to grow and bloom.

and then..........there are the pumpkin vines.  I am delighted that I have a few small pumpkins now growing. 

In early spring I bought a Mandevilla plant on clearance.  At the time it was only about 4 inches high. 

Now it is full of scarlet blossoms. 

So tell me..........what is growing and bringing you joy in your garden or backyard?

I would love to hear! 

In the late afternoon I retreat to my sewing corner and spend some time with my needle. 

With so many pretty blossoms growing on the grounds, I am inspired to make some from fabric. 

I found so many wonderful YouTube videos on making fabric flowers from scrap material.

And I just got a book in with lovely crochet flower patterns .  I am currently working on what the book refers to as a daisy, but I think it looks more like a zinnia.....do you think so?

Are you busy gardening, working on a project, or maybe traveling?

I wish you pleasant of summer ahead! 

 

I'm back in the saddle.........garden again

 My goodness!  The days, weeks, and months are just flying by so quickly! 

We have had some very good rainy days.......some storms coming a bit strong and scary, but leaving us with only large puddles of welcoming rain and no damage.

And I am delighted to show  you one of the few pumpkin plants I have growing in the garden.  It has been a few years since I have planted pumpkins.  I gave it up a few years ago due to frustration over varmints eating everything I planted.  This year, I decided to use the old chicken yard because it already has a good fence.  It keeps deer out, but I am struggling with rabbits and ground squirrels....they can find the smallest place to get through the fence and the ground squirrels just dig a tunnel.........but I am not giving up.  Maybe I might have a least one pumpkin to show to you in the fall!

I have a large section of cosmos, I did have a large section of zinnia, but sadly, the rabbits have eaten a great bit of them.

I will replant. 

I finished a crocheted doily I have been working on since April.

I actually finished it on what would be my grandmother's birthday.

She passed away many years ago when I was 16.  How I wish she were still around .....there is so much I would like to tell her and I really need some advice from her from time to time.

I hope this finds you with pleasant weather and pretty things growing in your gardens.

Far up in the deep blue sky,

Great white clouds are floating by;

All the world is dressed in green'

Many happy birds are seen,

Roses bright and sunshine clear

Show that lovely June is here 

F.G.Sanders

 

Just let them

 

 

 

Our Yellow Headed Visitors

When we first moved to our country home, I saw one of these beautiful

fellows sitting on a fence in our backyard.  I thought that perhaps someone's pet bird had escaped and flew out this way.  That afternoon, there was a large group of these birds enjoying the water from a mud puddle. After research, I learned that they are the Yellow-headed blackbirds.  That was 23 years ago and they still arrive here each year in early spring.  Their vibrant color and loud chatter bring such joy! They will only be here for about 3 weeks and then they fly away.  Are you having wild visitors at this time of year in your backyard?

Wildflowers across the grounds are starting to bloom as is the devil's claw cactus in my collection.

I tilled the ground and have planted a variety of flower seed.........I hope to show you a large colorful garden of blossoms by this summer. What are you having to bloom in your backyard?

 I had a dear friend, who had an antique store out at her country house.  She would not allow grass to grow on her yard, instead, it was filled with beautiful blossoming flowers of every kind.  She had a really good green thumb and it seemed everything she planted, flourished.  She grew lovely California poppies.....some in red, some in orange. What is your favorite flower to grow?

I have planted poppy seeds year after year, but not one has sprouted for me.  So the only way at this time to enjoy poppies, is to let my needle bring them to life.

The late afternoon sun made the sky have a lovely rose color the other day

and a golden glow shown through the windows, giving a wonderful light to the rooms of the house. I love the time of day when the sun has an effect like this. What is  your favorite time of day......and why?

"Thirty days hath September,"

      Every person can remember;

      But to know when Easter comes

      Puzzles even scholars some.

When March the twenty-first is past

      Just watch the silvery moon,

      And when you see it full and round,

      Know Easter'll be here soon.

After the moon has reached its full,

      Then Easter will be here,

      On the very Sunday after,

      In each and every year.

And if it hap on Sunday

      The moon should reach its height,

      The Sunday following this event

      Will be the Easter bright.

Boston Transcript, 1895

Wishing you a very blessed and happy Easter holiday!

 

 

My Mother's Wild Rosebush

Hello to spring......although she blew in with 65 mph winds and thick blinding dirt.

Although we are used to this in Texas especially at the start of March........we do not enjoy it. The most scary and surprising of it all was the high strong winds.  We are in desperate need of rain, the fields are so dry and this is what causes such thick dirt to fly.

 I am working on a embroidered piece of what is known

as "slow stitching"  see Yesteryear Embroideries

and wanted to start with a rose motif because it brings the memory of  my mother and the wild red rosebush that she grew. 

The roses looked exactly like this and they had the most heavy beautiful fragrance. 

I know I have a photo of my mother and her rosebush but could not find it in time for this post.

My parents owned a little place on the annex of a local lake and we spent many a weekend there. After us children graduated and left home, my parents made this space their full time residence. 

When my parents first acquired this space, there were many abandoned , collapsing old houses across the road and down the road.  The first year they were there, my mother noticed a vibrant red rose bush, across the road, growing in front of a tumbled and collapsed old house. It was amazing that it was still growing and blooming after years of being by itself.  I went across with my mother and watched her dig the hard earth with a shovel , unearthing the rosebush.  She proudly carried it back to her space and planted it on the side of her house. At that time, the rosebush was about 3 ft tall and not very big around. My mother nurtured and tended to this rosebush and year after year, it grew taller and wider.  It grew almost like a large round thicket......tall and round.....at least over 6 ft high and about 4 ft. around..........full of red blooms with buzzing bees.

That was close to over 50 years ago......and the rosebush is still alive and living.   

 Other family now own the estate , after my mother's passing , and they now tend to the rosebush. 

I think the rosebush has managed to survive all of these years because of good care ( I think my mom and it had a very strong friendship).......... and good earth where it had been able to grow runners and keep going.  

It is amazing to me how some things can just stand the test of time .........something so frail in the Texas heat as this rosebush.  I am always reminded of my mother when I see images of wild red roses. 

Now tell me.......what reminds you of your mother.......or parents?  I would love to hear. 

 

Along comes March

 

February brought a mixture of extreme cold days and then sunny pleasant days. Now March is here and the trees at this time are still bare and in their winter sleep.  This is a good time for me to walk the woods and to really see nature's gifts that I would, in the summer season ,not be able to see.

I gather empty wasps nests from the bare trees. In summer they are full of buzzing wasps and not easy to see with all of the leaves surrounding them. 

I find the wasp amazing creatures.  They can build their homes with such precision.  

Each nest , to me, looks like a piece of art.

I keep a few nests stored in brown paper bags to decorate in wreaths or sprays

 

 With just a few, I decorated with beads and silk flowers.

Also making a small bead wasp to be on the nest.  These make unique and whimsical wall hangings. 

I could not resist the pretty pansies at the local nursery.

I really love the color orange.

Usually I choose the pansies in the colors of blue and pink. What is your favorite color??

This year I decided on the orange and yellow.  They look so cheery and full of warmth.

So tell me........what is sprouting up in your back yard?

I would love to hear.