The morning begins

with a large, orange, ball lifting above a fog covered field

and a tiny.........but loud crow from a very small rooster..........Tex

joined by another tiny crow from ........Gus

 each ........making a morning wonderful with their ruckus 

meanwhile in the front yard tree........ the tap, tap, tap, of the small desert woodpecker can be heard

along with the chirps 

and morning songs of other wild birds who have come to eat.

 

This is the time of year that the Italian Jasmine has awoken

and is showing it's vibrant cheery flowers

The quiet country road leading to our home has the golden prairie grass swaying in the wind

it is golden and soft .........almost like angel hair......yet I can hear the rustle in it's blades

and much later...............

another large, pale yellow, ball rises

over the same field that was once covered in fog in the early morning..........

but announces the ending of the day.

And now...........

 quiet peacefulness falls upon the grounds.....

A little while back.......in July.........

I posted about this area where there is an archway.......

in a wonderful part of the grounds........

but very over grown

I spent a good part of last summer clearing the ground

and making decorative cement path stones

to create a floor for this space.  

Now the space if finished.......I also added a bench and a couple of chairs.........

great for a gathering to chat and to sip coffee. 

The floor is a mix match of cement path stones that I  decorated with rocks and pine cones gathered here on the grounds and a few decorative glass stones given to me by a friend. 

As fun as the path stones were to make.........they took a long time and a lot of work........and a lot of cement to make enough. 

I made several cement pumpkins......and used real pumpkin leaves from my patch as molds for the

large cement leaves in the photo above.

I also pressed real leaves into some of the cement stones.

I made a cement watering dish to encourage birds, lizards and any  wild creature to stop for  a drink

Since the  path stones are all different shapes.........there are gaps between them.......

which I filled with various rocks I picked up here and there on the grounds. 

It is a wonderful place with a wonderful view

and I often have company when I come to sit out in the early morning.....

where there is Sophie........there is usually always Homer. 

It is also a  wonderful place in the very late afternoon........

right before it gets dark and the moon is on the rise

Homer says it all in this photo doesn't he?  

How about you?  Do you have a special place in your garden......or porch.....

where  you like to spend the quiet of the day?

I would love to hear!

If you have been reading my blog for the past few years...........

you all pretty much know........Sophie by now.  She is my sweetest constant companion.  A little while back, Debra of Monnie Bean Folk Art blog asked me if she might copy this photo of Sophie so that she could later on paint it.  Which was fine with me.......

in the mail .........arrived this sweet little painting.........of Sophie! Didn't Debra catch her personality perfectly? Now this painting is hanging by the fireplace where we can always enjoy looking at it.

So first of all Debra, thank  you..........what a wonderful painting!

Next, I would like to tell you all .........Debra not only paints, she also makes sculptures, dolls, and wonderful folk art.  She tells me that with this painting of Sophie, she is launching a whole area to her painting..................painting portraits of people's pets!

You can visit Debra's blog at this link

Monnie Bean Folk Art

and you can view more of her work at her Etsy shop

at this link

Monnie Bean

Please stop by to tell her hello!

Winter Season Is Here!

Of winter’s lifeless world each tree

Now seems a perfect part;

Yet each one holds summer’s secret

Deep down within its heart.

Charles G. Stater

With this year quickly coming to an end

I find myself filled with  " hope" of what I can accomplish

in the new coming year. I always use the previous year as

a reference to what I did right..........or not so right.....

in just about every area of my life...........

especially when it comes to gardening and raising flowers.......or............

trying to tame a wild and ever growing area.

Some things I have learned to grow in the most uncommon places........

this large bed of zinnia flourished underneath and alongside

the crooked and bent mesquite trees that take over this land

Other areas I have cleared and enjoyed.......but am 

always struggling in just a few weeks to clear it all again........

it is very persistent in staying wild and un-manicured......

yet, I wear myself out trying to keep it the way I want

this area is a little into the mesquite woods........if it is clear where I can see where I am walking, 

I love to come out to this spot to just sit for a while

When we first moved out here so many years ago..........I was over joyed

with all of the acreage that I was going to cast flower seed on and let grow..........

I have learned that many things here.......although the ground is good for growing.......

fall victim to predators that dig up roots and eat the plants.......

and get destroyed by every kind of bug and flying insect there is........or get blown away by the wind

I have learned to make raised beds

blocked off from the wind.............and  I invest a small fortune for a lot of wire and fencing to 

keep these pests out. 

Some bulbs like daffodils, I can plant into the ground

and they come up each spring.......but other bulbs,

such as tulips, anemones, and freesias .........

I plant in raised beds or containers.

This fall I have planted over a 100 bulbs of the above mentioned

some in my flowerbed in front of my greenhouse

some in deep pots in an arrangement on the patio.

I am hoping that they all sprout and bloom at the same time......

but am pretty sure that they will sprout in their own separate time. 

My biggest project I am working for this coming spring........

is my new flower garden.  If you see the arrow in the photo........

that is where the antique archway was setting...........I placed it out there a couple of years ago.

But the lesson I learned.......I could not enjoy seeing it unless I was way out there.

Now I have dragged it up to a corner in the back yard (in the middle of the photo) where I can see it and walk through it

as I work in the country flower garden I am planning for it.

My Christmas present from my husband this year is a roll of antique fencing and the posts to place it 

around this new garden site.  I am still thinking on what kind of flowers to grow and where they will be placed.

 One more thing I am starting to work on.......are handmade items for my home.........

for every room.........but that is another story on my embroidery blog

if you would like to read it.......click onto this link

Yesteryear Embroideries

So tell me..........what have you learned in the years past???

What are your plans for the new year??

The weather .........these past few days......seems that it cant make up it's mind

it blew hard winds

making homes disappear in the dirt from the cotton fields. 

On the same night..........the wind, itself disappeared ........

leaving a cold and crisp night to enjoy the Christmas lights in a 

neighboring city.

The next day was calm, sunny, but chilly........

with birds sunning on the iron horse fence poles

slightly puffed in the slight breeze..........

and the few lingering butterflies finding a sunny spot to rest

even Sophie was panting from the heat after one of our walks

and she and Homer found a warm spot to take a nap........

this morning we awoke to the season's first light snow..........

leaving the woods quiet .....as the birds huddled in shelter from the brisk cold

Taboo could not resist the comforting warmth of the fire as it crackled 

and the glow of a candle made the coffee table a perfect place for rest.

So........tell me.........are you under a blanket of snow...........

or are you still enjoying sunny days?

I would love to hear!