Sunday, July 27, 2014

Fresh Cuts.........

 

......It has been a long time since I have done a "fresh cuts" post.  So, that is what you get today, short and sweet.........

 
 
 
 
You remember the sign on the side of the basket.......
 
 

 
And, here is the star for this one - Louis Philippe roses in the old hob nail vase.
 

 
 

 
When the roses started dropping  petals it got moved to this spot in the living room.
 
 
 

 
I enjoy this stage just as much as the first one. Seems like the little bird does too.
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I hope you are having a happy, pleasant Sunday!

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Wordless Wednesday - Birds.........

This is almost wordless and is featuring some birds I have seen lately with just a few pictures thrown in that are a bit older. My apology to facebook friends who might have already seen one or two. Birds are very difficult for me to capture close up and clear so, these are not award winning pictures. I was just thrilled to finally get some new humming bird shots........














My only recent shot of a male ruby-throated hummer.






Wood Pecker



Hawk








Swallowtail  Kite





Titmouse taking a dust bath.







Male Cardinal








I'm having a great summer with the birds! "Life's tiniest surprises often send the greatest ripples of happiness."

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Sea Shell, Sea Shell.........

............"Sea Shell, Sea Shell, sing of the things you know so well".....

This is the season when many people flock to the beaches and if you think beach, shells often follow. Young and old alike seem to enjoy looking for shells. I live less than an hour drive from nice beaches but seldom go there. It is just not something that draws me. I have spent some time with friends at the beach and thoroughly enjoyed that, however.

Over the years I have hung on to a few shells and have added on to that collection this summer - mostly because of redoing my dry-creek bed which now includes shells. So, in this post I will be showing my shells and how I use them.



A month or so ago after finishing up the dry-creek bed, I decided to do a shell arrangement in my trifle bowl.  Heaven knows it has not had any trifle in it for many a year! I wanted to keep it simple and once finished I liked it here next to the sofa.



That didn't last long until I moved it here on the back porch and added the left over sea glass from the creek project. It was o.k. but seemed like it needed something more.




This big square platter was just the thing. If you look close you will see it has coral and shell designs on it. 






I want to draw your attention to the big round shell which is not a seashell but an apple snail shell. Have you heard of those? They are plentiful around the lakes in Florida - huge snails! With all the rain we are getting and some over nights with standing water, I hope those whopper snails don't show up here thinking I now have a backyard lake! 



With July being the red/white and blue month I thought it would be nice to add a little of those colors here.



Plates, napkins and dessert dishes that I already had.  Unfortunately, those extra three people that I never invited didn't show up! But, I have enjoyed seeing the partly set table here on the porch.



Next in the shell theme is the little collection of tiny shells that I have had in my bathroom for a long time.



This little shell-gatherer is on an upside down rectangular basket - a great way to make a shelf for something you want a bit higher. Also, in this case the whole thing can be moved to clean around and under it.






This figurine sits in the Oriental Jasmine near the "mouth" of the creek bed.



For those that missed the post I did on this. 



From the bottom looking back the other way.



A close-up where you can see some shells. I have added a few more since this picture was made. I am happy that it has not been hard to keep neat, so far. I know that will change when the leaves start falling.

So, now you have seen my collection. And, I will admit shells mean a little more to me now than before this project.
We can delight in the rhythm of the waves that smooths out the sand and deposits shells for the finding. Definitely a wonder from God's great world of nature to be appreciated.
~~~~~
THANK YOU for stopping by. I hope your summer continues to be very enjoyable, with or without shells.



Monday, July 14, 2014

Through the window.....


I have spent a lot of time in the last two weeks sitting at my dining room window and the amount of pictures I took is probably ridiculous. That is what I am sharing today, just a few of those pictures. There may be a #2 to come even though this post is heavy with pictures (forgive me) I have many more...........




Pointing toward this is where I had the best luck getting my zoom lens to focus.






The reason I started sitting here with the camera in the first place was because I had noticed humming birds coming to this Wendy's Wish Salvia. One at a time came while I had the camera ready but, they flit from blossom to blossom so fast that I couldn't get a good shot.



I saw several other forms of wildlife too and I just kept snapping.



When I would get bored I would focus in on something and take a picture, many, many, pictures!










Aster






I would head back to the salvia to get focused in case the humming bird showed.




Bored again.



Then a moth happened along.




This guy entertained me every day and I got so many different poses of him I could do a whole post just with him.



Got pretty acquainted with this guy. They tend to hang around in the same area most of the time.



He came and went many times.



`


This is the best I could get of what took me to the window. 





One day I happened to notice this almost perfect heart shaped by the tall tree canopies. It is still in shape and I took several pictures because it looks slightly different according to what the sky looks like at any given time.
I have enjoyed this time spent looking out of this one window and have had my admiration for God's nature taken to an even higher level. He offers us so much on a daily basis if we just have our eyes open to it.
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Linked to:

http://creativecountrymom.blogspot.com/2014/07/home-sweet-garden-715.html