just checking in

Just adding a quick post to keep account active. Figuring out my new iMAC & keeping busy with "the girls" have put me more than a little behind.Lots to post and little time. I will add more to all my blogs soon.

Please stay tuned!

I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts

naaaahhh...not really. But I do have a new computer and......... I don't know how to use it. The good news...obviously.... a brand spanking new...drum roll please!!!...iMAC!!! (20"!!!screen) and its gorgeous...sleek and dare I say sexy. Old Faithful was a big, clunky, space stealing Dell and I loved her but ohhhh.... this new little beauty has seduced me. It's today's version of Adam & Eve. They couldn't resist biting that apple and this Apple has bitten me. The keyboard is sleek, slim and quiet...all things I'm not. But hey...opposites attract and I can't take my eyes off her. I always referred to Old Faithful as a "she" but now that this little lady is in front of me...I'm thinking it was more of a "he" named Bubba. But then again....although old and chunky, Old Faithful had qualities that I mostly associate with a woman. Smart and quick with a great memory, a gifted multi-tasker, ready to help in an instant....hey...wait a minute....old..chunky...smart....well no wonder we got along so well!! Yep...definitely a woman! But... back to the new gal...yes indeedy do..she's a looker. Actually she's not just a looker she's a lookey..she stares right at me through the embedded camera! (crap!...now I've got to get all slim and sexy..uhhh...yeah that'll happen) She will help me to be quiet though. No more click, click, click on the keyboard in the middle of the night. You know how in the still of the night a ticking clock sounds like Big Ben, well apparently that's how O.F.'s keyboard sounded to my husband. He'd toss, turn and sigh with every scroll...this from a man who sleeps soundly in a room full a noisy children... $%*% pain in the a......but not now...oh no...not now. This little love Apple can keep a secret...we're going to get along just fine. However as in all new relationships we need to get to know each other better. While there is great potential for a long lasting relationship, currently we don't quite speak the same language. I know what I want from her but seem to get a little tongue tied when asking. She knows all about my favorite places but is reluctant to take me to them. And I am having a really hard time getting her to open up and share with me...but that's o.k.... after all, we just met a few hours ago (love at first sight) and I can be very patient...I'm a woman.

I've finally captured a rainbow!

Taken just after a storm passed over.
I added the caption with some new Picasa tools.

Sunrise...Aug 25th

Anyone else disappointed with this year's garden?

I don't know if it was too hot to soon or what but for me this year's garden has been quite disappointing and yielded little. From my pictures you may think otherwise(selective editing) but considering how much I planted and how prolific past gardens have been this years veggie patch is quite pitiful. And it isn't just the vegetables many of my flowering plants look as if they were just planted (those that weren't voraciously consumed by rabbits). Even my "no-fail" favorites...impatiens, marigolds, geraniums & even the sunflowers.

Now perhaps your thinking "well she should have given them a little attention" but honestly I did. I watered diligently from the start ( maybe not deep enough?), I weeded daily, pinched blossoms and even fed with Miracle Grow! but everything seems stunted...well, not everything...the weed growth has been miraculous. I put out PREEN...more than once...I weeded, pleaded, weeded and was defeated. It's been a very frustrating season.

And those *#%@$# rabbits...this year they have showed no mercy! I swear they were eating my bean plants 5 minutes after they were planted! I came out one morning & the whole row of yard longs were gone without a trace but they left about an inch of the sunflowers just to torment me.
I dutifully planted marigolds around the tomatoes and looked out to see two rabbits, up on hind legs, munching away...I'm sure I saw them "hi-5" each other too. Well...they're in for a big surprise next year...I bought chicken wire...hah!!..when I finally get around to putting it up then they'll see who's in charge around here.

Storm Clouds

A view pics I took last night

A heartbreaking goodbye

With a profound sadness and a heavy, heavy heart, we had to say good bye to our beloved ol' beagle Snoop...Snoopy..a.k.a. noodle (I've no idea why...he was just..."my noodle") and sometimes I called him porkchop...Portly Porkchop.

He entered our lives when he was 5 years old and we enjoyed his company for the past 7 years. He was strong, healthy & quite content except for a bladder problem the past few months (which bothered me a lot more than it bothered him). He suffered what appeared to be a very sudden blood clot and was in some pain for a bit before rapidly loosing all feeling & mobility in his hind quarters. There was nothing more that could be done ( we tried against the odds with some injections). My husband & I sat with him, I held him in my lap & we fed him a bagful of k-bits. It was gut wrenching. I wish he had lost his senses but he knew us. We kissed him as he drifted off to sleep. We let him keep his dignity. He took a piece of our hearts.

......................Love'ya Noodle....................

Today's Harvest

Here is the beautiful bounty that I picked today (not the lemons/oranges)



..............................So vibrant!



The tomatoes to the left are actually a lovely shade of pink.
The center ones are Sungold



This is what's for dinner tonight!
(edited to add..it was tender & delicious!)

Thyme and 3 varieties of rosemary. Smells fabulous!

This may be it for the eggplants. I stayed out of the garden for two whole days and bugs devoured the plants. I'll dust them tomorrow but I'm afraid I may be to late to save them. Such pretty little veggies too.


Basil, pineapple basil, sage, thyme

Add a Little Whimsey to your Garden

I just had to share this fabulous Company!!

................Garden Fun.com.......................

They have an incredibly large collection of unique and whimsical garden art.
Their prices are quite reasonable and their site is an absolute delight to visit.

Below is a small sampling of the visual treats they have to offer.





I just have to get one of these for my tree!



These are called "splats"...mmmm...I wonder why?

I'm in the process of creating a children's garden for my grand-daughters and these would be perfect.



These garden stakes come in a set of six for $18.00


Isn't this just delightful. They also have a feeding peacock.



These are definitely going on my must have list. They're on sale for $19.99

15" long. A set of three different colors is $36.

A Loss to Our Little Community

It is with a truly great sadness that I write this post.

Our sweet cardinal couple has lost their little one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I went to take a few more pics of our latest arrival just as a storm was approaching. As the winds started to blow I noticed that the nest was not securely attached. It was build on two branches but one was barely attached & as I was looking it came loose and started to dangle..with the little one inside..and I knew she was going to fall.
I grabbed a basket from an adjoining room and called to my husband in a panic "Help me quick!!..the baby is going to fall." I had just told him I was going to take some pictures so he knew what baby I meant.

The nest was sideways as he stretched out the window and held both branches (I was going to slide the basket down the branches to catch the baby) & in the blink of an eye the baby was gone. I prayed that she land on the large hosta just below as I ran down the steps. Sadly she had not. "Please be o.k...please!" I whispered,and slid a hosta leaf under her. But she wasn't o.k. & neither was I.

I wept for that little life and the parents who were so devoted to caring for her. What would they think when they returned and she was missing. Little mama was always nearby, she sat on her eggs for hours on end in all kinds of weather, patiently waiting for her babe's arrival. And the proud papa was never far, diligently feeding his mate and guarding his young.

I put the baby in the basket and slid it onto the branches, broken-hearted that I hadn't done so sooner.I just couldn't leave the parents wondering. My husband, of course, thought this was crazy and perhaps you do too but I watched those cardinal's day-by-day and knew they would feel a loss. And they did.

They came back several times to that basket and sat by it's side. The father flew back and forth and squawked as if to say "what happened!?! we were only gone a minute" and mama just chirped this kind of clicking sound over and over. They were in mourning. I know. Because I watched them, I knew them and I cried.

I watch them still, this cardinal couple. He brings her food. And it led me to wonder.....about people....and the need we seem to have to blame someone or something for our losses.

Maybe birds are less complex...have tiny brains...but they live & love, they sing & play and they don't look to blame and seek retribution.

~~You can learn a lot from mother nature. I have.~~

.....Click to view a real love story......

Fold Away Wheelbarrow

Fold Away Wheelbarrow - MuseumTour Catalog - Educational Toys for children
.............................................and adults!

Fold Away Wheelbarrow

Item #: 50064

Price: $29.95

Now this is a great idea!....Definitely going on my wish list.

Unwanted Gift

Vinca has taken over the area I had hoped to plant herbs this year.
It is an unwanted gift from my neighbor. Ironically she has none growing on her side of the fence. While I'm hoping to transplant some by the driveway I just don't have the time or energy to dig it all out.
One more thing to add to my Fall to-do list....sigh

Perfect Ending

Hypnotic Hosta

Lavender Ladies

Ladies in Red

Buried Treasure

A friend's husband tug up this fabulous tree stump and now I want one to.
I did have to cut down my beloved willow and I just left the stump and put a table top on it and made stools for the kids but now I want to have it dug up and see what treasure I have buried.

...Here are my suggestions for what she can do with her trunk...

#1..Make it into a table for the yard. If you use a glass/plexi top flip the stump over if you have a solid old table top put the roots on the bottom. A natural pedestal table!

#2... leave as is and sprinkle bird seed on top or a tray for a bird bath

#3... flip it over and and make a bird food court. On the ends of the roots put asst. dishes for seed, suet blocks, bird houses, trays for water, pieces of fruit. Add a big tray in the center for seed, water or a mix of sand & gravel (birds love to roll around & clean their wings)
or... really cute would be a collection of cups & saucers and old dishes.
And of a course a tea pot!

.....instead of trays for food you could use 4x6 & 8x10 picture frames.

#4...flip it over and put asst. terra cotta pots (maybe painted) or colorful metal pails on the root ends and put annuals in them. And a bigger planter in the center.
Or small hanging pots... or hang cups glued to saucers.

#5...A natural chandelier!! flip it and hang glass votive cups from wire (beaded!) from the roots. Maybe you could set the stump on something to raise it up but even on the ground it would look great.
.......or put the cups/saucers and some old hanging crystals to catch the sunlight.

Go to the Dollar tree you can find lots of fun stuff to hang from it

...Now I want to go find a bunch of tree stumps...
...Where'd I leave that shovel?......................

As it started to Drizzle