Fancy this?

I got the harebrained idea a little while ago that I wanted to dress up the area around the entrance to my yard. The problem was that the ground there is very hard from years of the clay road washing into that area. Also, my current water hose does not reach that far, so any plants that I planted would have to be somewhat drought tolerant.

Also, I have very little money to dedicate to such a project.

So. . .here's what I came up with:

I divided some of my African Iris that were in another flower bed.

Then I picked up two large bulbines from Wal-Mart.

I might add that it was EXTREMELY difficult to plant the iris. The ground was so hard that when I finally got done digging the holes, my shoulder (injured back in August) was KILLING ME. Therein, I let the flowerbed simmer for a few days while I iced both my shoulder and back.

Now my dilemma was what to use as a border around the bed. I wanted it to look kinda funky, because my yard is full of quirky art and cool plants. I looked on Google for unique flower bed border ideas, and this was one of the images that came up:

Those are mostly wine bottles, and I knew I'd never be able to drink anywhere near enough wine to save bottles for a full border of them. Well, maybe, but it'd take years and years.

So I mulled over it for a while.

I was lying in bed early one morning trying to convince myself to get up and take a shower, when it hit me. 
What if I didn't use all bottles?
What if I used some stone and some glassware?

I had some patio stones already in my yard, left there by a previous tenant. They were large enough that I would only need a few bottles to use as spacers. But I didn't want to use just any old bottle, beer or wine.
I wanted to use blue bottles. Which meant. . . .

Just so you know, I did not have Bud Light Platinum bottles just sitting around my house. Had to go buy some. Even then, it still didn't end up being enough, so I had to go buy more. But, two runs to Walgreens was enough.

I dug a trench around the plantings (the digging was done after about three days of rain. . .softer clay by then) and plunked in the stones so that half was left above ground. In between each I placed a blue bottle (sticky labels removed) neck-end down into the dirt. This left the thicker body part sticking up out of the ground, and VOILA. . .

I'm still working on ideas for more yard dressing. I might even paint some patterns on those stones.
But, it's a start that I'm excited about.

Now if only the cold weather would go away so I could really get some dirt-digging on!

Palm Sunday moments

Today is Palm Sunday.
I share a few pics, just so you can get the general feel of my day.

Palm Sunday altar that I set up

Children processed with palms

Two worship services, filled with palm fronds, special music, and an infant baptism. It was a long morning.
Then, Danny and I  rescued a dog running around in the parking lot at Fowler Groves, went to Jersey Mike's for lunch, and experienced a sandwich made "Mike's Way". If you haven't tried Jersey Mike's yet, you should.

Upon returning home, I grabbed Toby to take him for a walk up the hill.

Horse and cow, braving the stormy weather.

This horse and cow are all alone in their pasture. Toby has desperately wanted me to let him meet the horse, but it wasn't all he thought it was going to be.

As you can tell, a storm was moving in. Not long after this, West Orange County was put under a "Tornado Warning". Toby and I were in my car on our way to Twistee Treat, so I made the quick decision to go park under an overpass. We watched as the rain poured down, the wind pushed the car backwards, and we avoided any hailstones.

So, today was fun.
Can't wait for the rest of Holy Week.

St. Patty's Day

So first off, we spent the day before St. Patty's Day driving down to cousin Peggy's on the west coast (South of Sarasota).  It's become a tradition to get together and have corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. 

Jamie got voted to drive. I did catch a pic of mom sleeping in the back seat, lol.

She'll hate me for putting this up.

Donia (Peggy's daughter) and Peggy

Aunt Joyce, Bumpa, and Dad (who's behind Bumpa)

 The pics above are of the family gathered on the side porch. 

Mom can't get inside the trailer, 

but the weather was nice and very enjoyable. 

In other news, the amaryllis opened up, finally.

Oh, and I'm going up to visit Russ and Lana in July. I'm flying up on the 4th, hanging out with them for a few days and then joining up with the TNT youth group. They're going to be on a mission trip to Staten Island, NY.

So, I'll end with some Leya pics. The first is of her on the playground near Russ and Lana's place in Secaucus, NJ. She loves the slide!

 

She also loves to play with her mommy's phone! Leya self-portrait! 

Rainy Day Blogging

It was raining a little bit ago.
Soaking, light rain that made all of my thirsty plants shake off their dusty leaves and sigh in contentment.

Mom gave me this Amaryllis a few years ago. If you have never experienced the opening of one of these flowers, then you're truly missing out. I put hardly any effort into this plant. It gets watered just as much as anything else in my yard (which is very rarely by me. . .plants in my yard have to be able to mainly live just on rainwater). 
As you can see in this pic, the flower is coming close to opening up fully. I've shown pics of that before on my blog. It's always breathtaking. Simply beautiful. The kind of beauty that makes me stop and stare at it.

It'll probably open up fully while I'm at work. Oh well.

Other tidbits. 

Got a new bromeliad. My mother called it a housewarming present. Her logic was directed at the rental property that I just purchased. No matter, this pretty little plant will be gracing my front flower bed.  I love the gradient quality of the yellow center, green leaves, and blue pot.

 
Of even greater note, I bought myself a Lazy Boy recliner. For $150. It's brand new. With the tags.
Be jealous. . . :)

Went to another birding festival this past weekend.
Didn't see a whole lot of birds.
This osprey with his fresh fish dinner was a little ways off the trail that mom and I took.

The trail is relatively new, and wraps around the shore of Lake Apopka (which I learned on Saturday is Florida's 3rd largest lake. . .I had always been under the impression it was ranked 4th. . .hmm).

Noteables by Nancy and Jamie 
These are things that mom and I notice which most ignore.

Green Anole (in brown coloring) sunning atop a strange cocoon
of leaves. Mom spotted this one. Not sure what the cocoon was spun by. 

Branch that has partially broken off the tree on the left hand side of the pic. It is somehow supported by the Sable Palm in the middle. The tree at the far right of the picture has grown around the branch. The crazy thing is, the branch is still alive.

 The north shore of Lake Apopka used to be a prime spot for growing vegetables on what are called Muck Farms. The state purchased these farms a while back and reflooded them, with the idea being to restore the lake to its once pristine condition. I tell you all of this because the above pic is of volunteer mustard greens growing on the side of the trail.

If it hasn't been evident yet, I love nature. I love knowing about and experiencing nature. I love sharing that knowledge. I want to help others love nature just as much as I do.

 I'll end with this pic up the hill from my house.

February is surprising me

Fun times. Sick times. Surprises and Bliss.

Toby and I. Enjoying the weather.
Walking.
Whistling.
Loving the fact that we live so far out that we can be as ridiculous as possible and nobody ever sees us.

Few more enjoyable bits.

The swamp maples are putting on their spring show. Waxy, shiny, beautiful little fairy wings.

Chewy is getting the pots ready for spring planting. At least that's what we assume. He keeps moving the planters around the yard at night. It's different every morning.

My friend Elisha and her family came down to visit from Cohoes, NY this last week. I'd never met her son Joseph (Jojo), who is only a few months older than my niece Leya.

These pics are of Jojo and Toby enjoying each others company. Meaning, Toby doesn't quite know how to play with an infant. He kept snapping at him playfully and then rushing Jojo like herding dogs go after sheep and cattle. Jojo thought the whole thing was hilarious. So these pics are blurred like crazy, but it was lots of fun to watch.

The weather for the first part of February has been perfect. When I say perfect, I mean PERFECT. . .I do not know how else to describe it. Mom and I took a moment yesterday to grab an ice cream cone at the downtown shop, Scoops, and then enjoyed the swings by the fountain.
We had a rummage sale meeting at 1:00p, and neither of us wanted to leave the wonder of that moment.

Oh well.
Heaven can wait.

I end with a little trailer park humor.
This sign showed up on the end of a unit next door to a trailer that my parents own.
Mom and I assume that these people like the fleas.

The Creeping Crud

We will start today with a little poetry. . .

Invitation by Shel Silverstein

If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer. . .
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!

I'm sick again. Have been for a week now. Was sick back in December. The creeping crud has returned. Stronger than before.

But, in spite of all that, I've had some really good days recently. I got approved for a loan, I got my taxes filed, and I have been helping mom get the rental business in a more organized state. No matter how sick I've been feeling, I'm appreciating the sense of accomplishment.

Not only that, but God has really been working on opening my eyes to the wonders all around me. Literally. It seems like they're getting thrown in front of me.

Beautiful Sunsets while collecting rent in the trailer parks. . .

 

 Gorgeous little snakes that slither down my front door to fall at my feet when I open it.  This baby black racer is non-poisonous, and a good little guy to have around for pest control.

 These last couple don't have pictures to accompany them, unfortunately. Mom and I were driving the other day into town and witnessed a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers chasing each other around a telephone pole.

The other little bit of wonder is that I have a pair of bluebirds nesting in one of my fence bluebird houses! I'm so excited!

I allowed myself a bit of a splurge on Wednesday. Bought myself a windchime to hang over my bromeliad bed. It's so delicate and mystical sounding. Brings a smile to face every time I hear it chime.

Other little tid bits that cheer me up in the midst of my sick. Toby went with me on Tuesday to take Steve to have an epidural shot. This required that the pup and I sat in the car for a couple of hours (they have a waiting room, but it's really not comfortable).

It wasn't hot, just bright. Toby wasn't really thrilled with the whole thing, just happy that he got to go with me. If you notice, I don't look too thrilled either. This is because I began to get chills while we waited, along with more of the hacking cough. Yech.

Chewie caught me unawares the other day. Just happened to catch this shot with my phone. He does this all the time so that his mom, Carrie, doesn't get all the dog food.

 The two of them are named after Star Wars. Chewie is obviously from Chewbacca the Wookie. Carrie is named for Carrie Fisher who played Princess Leia.

Speaking of Star Wars, I have to share the little gift that Richard left on my desk. They're pop up cards. I'll be sending them on to others who'll appreciate them just as much!

Check out these skies!. . . Ugh. . .Just absolutely breathtaking. . .

 To end, here's another poem from a book that I bought for my mom. It holds special memories for the two of us. She used to read them to me and Russ when we were little.

Excerpt from "Honey I Love" by Eloise Greenfield
My mama's on the sofa sewing buttons on my coat
I go and sit beside her, I'm through playing with my boat
I hold her arm and kiss it 'cause it feels so soft and warm
Honey, let me tell you that I LOVE my mama's arm
I love to kiss my mama's arm

January's over?!

Doesn't seem like it should be February already. I have to confess, my Christmas tree is still standing in the corner of my living room. It looks a little forlorn now. Why is it so difficult for me to take it down? This is precisely the reason why I didn't put one up for years. Oh well.

Well January here has been satisfyingly typical. Up down up down up down goes the thermometer. It's very obviously driving my sinuses CRAZY.
But, that doesn't mean it hasn't been absolutely GORGEOUS most days. I took this pic while walking Toby up the hill.

The flowers are all starting to burst forth with glorious color. They make me feel all warm and sunshiney. They make me want to start digging in the earth, to start planting new things. Crazy enough, they make me want to start cleaning house. However, I am sane enough to realize that the former statement is only a symptom of Spring Fever, and therefore must be ignored! :)

I did take the time recently to at least freshen up the paint on my totem pole fence post. So that's one thing off of my refresh and renew list! CHECK!

Mom and Dad have been enjoying the pleasant evenings by sitting out on the front porch, or out in the backyard while grilling miscellaneous meats on the charcoal grill. Last week in particular afforded several evenings of splendid weather and spectacular sunsets.

Other than that, not a lot going on. Well, aside from the fact that I'm purchasing my first rental property. Which therein means I'm taking on my first ever HUGE amount of debt. Yup, time to start wearing my big girl pants.

To end, here's some Frog and Feather shots. Hope you have a wonderful first week of February!! :)

Frog flying up the hill on Avalon Road. What a beautiful day!

Toby sends you nose kisses!!