Visiting The Front Yard!

The flowers in the front yard are really going crazy right now! So, I took my camera out to capture some of the pretties!

First, meet "George" (yes, we named the tree George! LOL!) He is our Walmart special tree.

One day, while Mr. Mister and I were wandering around, aimlessly, in Walmart, (come on! admit it! you wander aimlessly in Walmart too!) we discovered that all of the trees were on clearance. We spotted this poor, pathetic, half dead tree, and decided to adopt him. We ended up paying around $5.00 dollars for him! You can't BEAT that! And he is doing GREAT! Well, except that he is looking like the Leaning Tower of Pisa right now, because we cannot seem to get a stake to hold him upright. They keep pulling up out of the ground or breaking, when all the dratted wind blows through.

The second picture is of the red bowling ball I made a couple of years ago. I LOVE how it shines in the sun. I need to make another one because the bowling ball has cracked and some of the pebbles/marbles have started to fall off. I am also planning to make a white one for the moon garden (which is still in it's beginning stages.)



The lilies are GORGEOUS right now, and really putting on a show!



The red lilies are everyone's favorite!





There is also salvia, miniature bleeding hearts, and gayfeather.


The columbine is almost done blooming, but it still brings a smile to my face.



Just LOOK at the Echinacea! (Purple Cone Flowers) Even the bees are giving them some LOVE!



There is nothing better than "Flower Power" and "Bee Love" LOL!

I hope that your garden is bringing you as much joy as mine is to me!

Nature!

I have always been mesmerized by nature. I am constantly saying things like: "LOOK! There is a cardinal in the tree. Do you see it? Can you hear it chirping?" "WOW! The sky is SO blue and filled with white puffy clouds today." "The trees are getting their leaves! I can't wait until everything is GREEN again!" "Can you SMELL the salt air from the ocean?"
I cannot imagine going through life, not paying attention to all of the beauty that surrounds us on a daily basis. It's not just the big, obvious things but the small things as well. Like all the flowers in my garden just starting to bloom! Yes, most flowers are beautiful when they are in FULL bloom. But what about when they are just starting to open their petals? Or when it's the first flower on the whole bush to burst forth with color? Take a look at the texture of the unopened blooms on the hostas. Little peaks of purple just starting to come through. And the fern leaf? I just LOVE it! The shape is PERFECT! So far, there is only one plant, with a ring of petals on it, in the echinacea patch.
How could I not enjoy taking pictures of all of these? Flowers ALWAYS smile for the camera!
What if flowers aren't your picture of choice? Then maybe it's the geese at the local park. I love the picture that is so close that it cuts off part of the beak as the goose is walking by me. And the little ripples in the water as the other goose starts making it's way into the water.
I think everyone should grab their cameras, go sit on a park bench, and just take some random shots. Pick a day! ANY day! Why wait for the "perfect moment" when everything is in full bloom to see the beauty that nature has to offer!

What Happens When.....

You purchase one of those yellow books for DUMMIES and it still looks like everything is written in Greek to you? Does that mean you are dumber than dumb or just really REALLY dumb? I guess I fall into one of those categories because that is what happened! I bought the "Wine For Dummies" today and half of it is still gibberish to me! Even the pronunciations of some of the wines are totally not what you would expect them to be. For example: Chianti is pronounced key AHN tee! Who would have thunk it? I think I are purdy dumb!

I am sure it would help the situation tremendously if I didn't always try to start reading a book (or magazine) from the back and move toward the beginning HUH? I was just going through and reading certain areas that I thought may look interesting. But what really caught my attention was the COMICS!! O MY now I know I can do this. It's a book with PICTURES!!

Today has been a lazy day. I was awake at 4:30 a.m. because "Brat Girl" was up and getting ready to go to work. She has gone from working nights on the weekends to working days. She says she feels like a "normal" person again. LOL

So I began my day thinking I might work on some scrapbooking projects since today was "National Scrapbooking Day". That lasted about 30 minutes when I went upstairs and saw the magnetic board that I am making as a baby gift laying there. I proceeded to move a few pieces of paper around on the board, cut out the baby's name, paint it green, put some glitter on top of the green, didn't like it, and promptly turned out the light and walked out of the room!

A little later, Mr. Mister and I did some work around the house and then we left to make a quick run to the Scrapbook Factory to buy a different color of glitter (well....OK....three different colors). After leaving there we headed over to Margarita's to enjoy a little bit of the Cinco de Mayo festivities. When we got there I heard someone saying "UMMMMM HELLO!!" and it was "L" from work! She was there with family and friends having a few margarita's and lots of fun. They sat us right next to their table so we all got to chat back and forth with each other. She is SO FULL OF ENERGY and such a HOOT. I tell her all the time she is a SPAZ!

I am HAPPY to say my bleeding hearts have come back in the flower beds. I was pretty bummed a few weeks ago when that cold snap sent all the plants into a tizzy. I thought for sure I wouldn't see those pretty little hearts back until next spring but NO NO. I have the pictures to prove it.

This is the before picture right after the cold had it's way with them! Pathetic and dying! Laying all over the ground! Isn't Mr. Blue Lizard a cutie?



And this is what they looked like today! Awwwwwwwwww!!! Aren't they beautiful? I just love those delicate little hearts!