Sliver

Cherry Blossoms - They're Not Just for DC

Yes, it's more cherry blossom indulgence.  And I have more...

Blooming Anyway

My neighbor planted these trees on the line between us in our front yards.  If good fences make good neighbors, then I'd say this is a pretty nice fence.  She is afraid they are diseased and will need to come down.  But not today.

The dogwood just on my neighbor's side of my backyard fence is 1/3 dead, and still, it produces cascades of blossoms like this.  

I kind of like this message from the trees:  Bloom Anyway.

Sweet Shrub

The Cherry Trees are Shedding

Red Tailed Hawk

We have a family of red tailed hawks in our neighborhood.  

Sunday, I happened to notice Dad Hawk in one of the trees shading my backyard.  

Can you spot him?

The best I can do is say look on the broken off limb just to the left of center of the picture...

Once he scoped the yard out, he dropped down to the ground and hung out. I was mystified.    Then after about 5 minutes of that, he hopped up - literally - on the fence and stared at me for a few minutes.

Then he was gone.

Backyard

Promise

When I got home tonight I let the dogs and got my camera because I needed some artsy/creative to offset the last few days.

Look.  I found the first leaf of Fall.  It's a promise that my favorite season is coming.  There will be a break from this heat and humidity.

I, for one, can't wait.

Iridescence

I was looking at the light this evening when I noticed something iridescent between me and the sun. It was a spider's web cast in a dead limb that had tangled in the mulberry tree.  The sun was sinking pretty quickly - you can see that since the iridescence is at 3 and 9 if the web were a clock.  In the next one it's at 7 and 2 and the colors have changed.

Bug Day Afternoon

This first one is my favorite because it's dramatic and those wings are so wonderful.

I do not understand how something so small can be so loud!

Ferns

The heat and humidity are back after a surprisingly cool weekend.  In fact, it was a shame to be inside the weather was so nice.  Anyway, ferns make me think of cool forests, where the light is dappled and every foot step is dampened by a carpet of pinestraw or leaves.

Mid Summer Hydrangea

Yucca!

A few weeks back I shared that I was excited about 2 of the 3 main yucca plants in my back yard blooming.  The 3 plants have produced offshoot plants that I can relocate.  When I got back from Inspired!  this is what I found.

They're beautiful!

Mystery Flower

Pretty, aren't they?  I think the look like snowflakes.

I nursed these through the Atlanta ice storm, and the thunderstorms with their hail.  And here they are!  Blooming!

Any ideas?

Well, do you recognize these?

Well?

They're a bit off the beaten track.

Answers in the comments!

A Play in 3 Acts

Act the First

Act the Second

Act the Third

5 Years

Around 5 years ago, these plants were moved from the wilderness at the back of my yard to my patio area.

There they've sat without much noticeable change.

Until now.

At 6 am this morning, in the near darkness, while policing the dog's yard visit, I noticed this.

A bloom!  Here's a closeup.

And the other plant has a bloom on the way, too! See?

I'm very excited.  I've been kind of wondering if they need to be moved somewhere else.  But not this year anyway.

Sombreuil

This is my heirloom rose.  That I totally neglect.  But at least once a year it gives me a dazzling display.

And it's happening right now.  I selected it sight unseen from a catalog, but when they said it had a wonderful fragrance, I was sold.  White flowers are usually my favorite fragrance in cologne, so I thought, why not?

Along with the divine fragrance and the lovely flowers, there are thorns.  Not your average hybrid-tea rose thorns, but some mack-daddy thorns.  Prehistoric, even.

I'm sure that's an analogy for something.

But I'm not sure what.

I'm going to get a band aid.

Back Yard Pastoral

White Flowers

Every spring, my neighbor's dogwood and my azaleas combine for a dazzling show.  This is only a portion of the azaleas.  The are almost a solid wall across the upper yard.

I am fond of my azaleas because they are all white except for the strip of pink there in the middle.

Facts:

There was a couple that owned the house for 40 or 50 years - he worked at Lockheed (poster of planes made into his work bench in the basement), she was blind (audio record for the blind in the trash at the back of the yard) and had a german shepherd seeing eye dog (my neighbor Patti). 

Fancy:

The gentleman planted the azaleas in the back yard and described them to his wife each year when they bloomed.  And he told her about the rogue pink in the middle of all that white, his error, and they laughed together about it each year.

I am doing some work in my lower back yard, and that means these azaleas will have to be cut back significantly.  But Tim the gardener says I will be surprised in how they come back.  I've made him swear, promise and declare they will come back, because I've grown very fond of them both because of how they look each year when they explode and because of the couple I imagine enjoying them all those years ago.

Cherry Float

Last night we had a heck of a storm.  Power flickered (but didn't go out, thank goodness), the wind was like a freight train ~ 40 mph or more and the big yellow dog became a lap dog, quietly unnerved by the storm. I wondered how many of these blooms would be left the next day.  Although my yard is covered in pink petals, many of the blooms remain on the tree to be enjoyed a bit longer.