Letters On Friday

Dear Rain....I may regret this come July and August, but enough already.  It rained again last night, so no watering of newly planted flowers, bushes or tree.  I do so love the look of green grass which without the rain begins to turn brown, so I guess I should re-word and say, keep raining, only maybe not quite so frequently (ie: everyday).

Dear Anderson's Bookshop, thank you for continuing to prosper as an independent bookstore in my town eventho there is a 2 story Barnes & Noble just 2 blocks away.  You bring us readers fun events like you did on Wednesday evening.  Random House Rep Night is an evening with 3 reps from Random House who review the latest releases both in hard-cover and paper-back, children, fiction & non-fiction books.  If you are a book lover like myself this is like manna from heaven.  Not only that, I was one of the lucky one's that won a new book. PARIS by Edward Rutherford...a hefty book, perfect for summer reading.

Dear Birds, you definitely bring me pleasure with your tweets, & chirps & sing song voices.

Dear Lane, thank you for the Amazon Gift Card....I used it to buy 2 brand spankin' new bird feeders,  advertised as squirrel proof.  We will see, sometimes those squirrels are smarter than the manufacturers.  They sure ate right out of the last "squirrel proof" bird feeder with absolutely no problem.

Dear Lilacs, thank you for your brief appearance.  I enjoyed your aroma while it lasted.

Dear May, so long....see you next year!!

And I would love for you to visit my collaborative blog, Focusing On Life, where I am musing on "Staying Young".

Linking to Nancy's Five On Friday and Mona's Floral Love. Floral Love

"Happiness is something that comes into our lives through doors we don't even remember leaving open."  ~  Rose Lane

Until next time....

This Doesn't Surprise Me

This doesn't surprise me.....

With the amount of rain that we have received along with predictions for more, it doesn't surprise me that we have mushrooms growing in parts of the yard.

Nor does this surprise me....

Baby robins in the nest.  It is that time of the year.  Mom has been away from the nest all day, one of her babies fell out of the nest a little premature and she has been following that little explorer as he hops here & yon.  Too young to fly yet.  I am not sure what happens now.

Nor does this surprise me....

Healthy looking plants potted up for summertime enjoyment....

And I am certainly not surprised by this....

Dirty feet after spending a day planting and mowing....(note to self, need a pedicure desperately)

Nor does this surprise me...

Thunder and lightening in those dark clouds heading our way.

And now, it's raining again, which doesn't surprise me either.  At least I got the yard mowed and most of the flowers planted before the drops descended.  No worries that the new plants will need water, Mother Nature provided it (again!).

Linking to Kim's Little Things Thursdays and Maria's Orange You Glad It's Friday.

"We were not sent into this world to do anything into which we cannot put our heart."  ~  John Ruskin

Until next time.....

She Is Staying for An Extended Period of Time

I woke this morning to Toby's bark....glanced at the clock, 6:45 AM, leaped (well sorta leaped) out of bed to look out the window and sure enough, the truck with my new tree was parked across the street with the workers already digging in my designated spot.  With full intention of purchasing a Serviceberry to replace the Crab Apple that I had removed, I went to my local garden center a couple of weeks ago, wandered around and came upon a rather interesting tree, the American Hornbeam.  Never heard of it, right?  Apparently it is a native to our soil and weather, grows well but not huge....20-30 ft tall, beautiful fall color reds/oranges and well-liked by our local arborists.  So after talking with the landscape designer who works at the nursery, I decided to invest in an American Hornbeam.   I have welcomed her (giggle) to the yard, and told her to make herself comfortable, because she is staying for an extended period of time.  I am not sure if I am going to name her....the last tree we named immediately died, and I sure don't wish to repeat that same fate.  

After the tree settled in, I walked around to the side of the house where the lilac bushes are planted, I should have known they were in bloom because of the aroma.  Oh heaven, I wish I could bottle that smell, but instead clipped a few branches and brought them inside to enjoy while they last.  They come and go so quickly.  

And then I spotted the clematis in full bloom, climbing up the back fence.  I planted this about 3 or 4 years ago.  It took awhile to finally take hold, (the bunnies kept eating them until I put chicken wire around them) but this year they are putting on quite a show.

It rained (again) last night, or should I say poured, so again the ground is too wet to plant.  But tomorrow, I'm planting, wet or not.  I am ready to be done with those planting chores and enjoy the fruits of my labor by enjoying the scenery from the back porch or the new front yard patio.  I am planning a "welcome to summer" party on June 26th so by then everything should have taken hold.  Setting a date to entertain always gets me motivated to do all those little chores I put off for "later".

Do you do that....put off those "extra chores" until company is coming?  I think I would be much more organized if I had company come at least once a month.  Well, let's see, I have Welcome to Summer party in June, Bunco here in July and my sisters-in-law visiting, and some of my special "sisters" from my collaborative blog "Focusing On Life" traveling here in August.  And hopefully son & daughter-in-law will come soon for a visit.  That pretty much covers it for the summer, organized I must be.

"In my garden, after a rainfall, you can faintly, yes, hear the breaking of new blooms."  ~ Mary Chase

Until next time.....

Wonder

" The problem is that as long as success is defined by just money and power, we are never going to be able to enjoy that other aspect of the third metric:  wonder." ~  Arianna Huffington

This was part of the speech that Arianna Huffington from the Huffington Post said in her commencement speech at Smith College.  And that is what I try to bring to my life daily, all the little wonders of this world that are far more important than money or power.  How can we not see the wonder in all the beautiful spring flowers that with all the rain we have had recently are in abundance....

The purples....

the reds.....

the pinks.....

Raindrops on roses....

And baby Cardinal eggs...7 of them!!!

Yes, thank you Arianna Huffington for reminding us that wonder is so much more than power or money.

"To those who believe, no explanation is necessary; for those who do not believe, no explanation is possible."  ~  The Song of Bernadette

Keep wondering!!!   Linking to Nancy's Tuesday Muse

Until next time...

The Emblem

Happy Memorial Day everyone....let's pause and remember those that have fought and died for this flag and for those that continue.  Blessings to all.

And on another note, I am sure many of you have heard and probably received information concerning Kim Klassen's husband who has very recently been diagnosed with Leukemia.  Kim gives and shares so much with the blogging and photography community, that I want to encourage all of us to send her our love and certainly our prayers for a full recovery for her husband.  It will be a long road, but apparently the Doctors are saying he will make a full recovery.

One of my favorite quotes.....
"When you come to the edge of all the light you know, and must take a step into the darkness of the unknown, believe that one of two things will happen.  Either there will be something solid for you to stand on or you will be taught how to fly. "  ~  Patrick Overton

Until next time....

Evidence

And His beauty is so obvious in the spring.  Hope you are enjoying the evidence.  

"Earth's crammed with Heaven."  ~  Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Until next time....

Letters on Friday....OK, Saturday

Dear Yard & Garden, I was so hoping to have finished you this week and begin to enjoy sitting and sipping on the back porch, but the weather seemed to have other plans.  It has rained enough to make planting right near impossible, muddy, muddy. But the rain has certainly been good to the spring flowering bushes....my bridal's wreath is in full bloom.  And speaking of mud, oh how it loves Toby, yurk!!

Dear Weather, ok, it's time to make up your mind....air conditioning on Monday, heat on Thursday.

Dear Barnes & Noble, thank you for being so hospitable to us girls...Bible Study is over for the summer so it's back to B&N on Wednesday mornings for pure yumness for both eating, drinking and verbalizing our thoughts on really important matters like Kelly Pickler winning the overdone with glitz Miraball Trophy on Dancing With The Stars.  We all agreed she was the absolute best dancer.  The next topic was what to see at our regularly scheduled movie date this month.  Still hemming on that one.

Dear First Rose of the Season, I love you.

Dear Daisy....I love you, I love you not.  Ofcourse I love you, and it's "he loves me, he loves me not" you ninny!

Thoughts and prayers continue for those in Oklahoma devastated by the tornado this past week.  Their lives must be filled with chaos and heartbreak.  I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to have your home and everything you hold dear destroyed so suddenly.

Linking to Madge's Weekly Top Shot.

Until next time.....

A Morning Fed X Delivery

Gosh, I have been so busy focusing on trying to get the yard, garden, & back porch opened and ready for summer that I feel like I have neglected my blog as well as my blogger friends.  I am sorry about that, especially the latter... I appreciate you stopping by and commenting and I feel pretty bad when I don't reciprocate.  So apologies...!!

If you recall, I did blog about the canvas deal that was a one-day deal last Saturday.  I took advantage of the offer and all my art arrived via Fed X first thing this AM, wow, 5 days start to finish.  I have wanted to print some of my photographs on canvas for a while now, and everytime a deal comes up I hesitate because with the gazillion or so photos I have, I can never make up my mind what I want, and then the deals gone.  That is so lame.

This time I just thought, ok, let's do this...if I am not happy with the results, it was not a huge amount of money....60% off and surely I can find a spot for them.  OK...so this is where I have placed these lovely pieces...at least I think they are for now.

And if you want to take advantage of another deal, here is one that popped up today at Photo Dough. Now that I have taken the plunge, I may jump in again.  How about you....have you had your prints placed on canvas?  Do you like the results...have you a particular company that you would recommend?

Linking to Kim's Little Things Thursdays.

"What is it going to be - reasons or results?"  ~  Art Turock

Until next time.....

To Have My Senses Put In Order

"I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order."  ~  John Burroughs

It's hard to beat nature for soothing the soul.  If you are feeling a little extra stressed or overwhelmed by the events of life....I encourage you to take some time and breathe in God's gift to us.

This sweet one that I photographed on Sunday certainly knows how to appreciate the beauty of nature.

As I sit here writing this post, I can hear the birds chirping out my door, it sounds as tho they are calling me to join them, because I certainly cannot enjoy this spring beauty indoors.

"To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life."  ~John Burroughs

Linking to Nancy's Tuesday Muse.

Until next time....

Scavenger Hunt Sunday The May 19, 2013 Edition

Oops again, have missed a couple of weeks.  Either I wasn't motivated, or no time...probably a little of each.  Last weekend was very busy and I am surprised I managed to get it together this week, altho some of mine are a bit of a stretch.  I should entitle this Green Scavenger Hunt Sunday because every image I have is predominately green.  This week's challenges are:

• Three
• Hand(s)
• Fence
• Cuddly
• Sign

First up...this ivy that grows all up the side of my house has three lobes on its leaves.

It is going to take many hands to get rid of all the dandelions in my yard this year....PS, this is kind of a stretch.

The flowers from the Bridal Wreath bush are hanging on the fence.

Mr. Rabbit is all cuddly in his bed of ground cover....(but it looks like one is growing up his nose, snort)

When the red markings on the rose leaves begin to show it is a sure sign that roses will follow soon.

Linking to Ashley's Scavenger Hunt Sunday ,Madge's Weekly Top Shot.and Jill's Weekend Garden Party  See I told you everything was green, all taken in my backyard where it is really green.

Until next time.....