Good morning!

My dad used to tell us,

"When your feet hit the floor in the mornings,

you have a choice about what kind of mood you can be in....

good or bad.

I want to feel good, so I choose good over bad

every day."

You may as well put a smile on your face,

and savor each day,

enjoying every moment.

I was out early this morning,

listening to the birdsong.

Sounds like they got up in a good mood! :)

Mornings here are still quite warm, but to my surprise, this morning we actually got some rain.  It will sure help my garden, no matter how little, it's better than nothing.



My two little 'air' plants I placed on an old log

are doing good.  I did lose one, as I had three to begin with.

I also have a baby staghorn fern, but it's kind of wimpy.

Hopefully it will take hold too and I will get a photo of it one day.

I guess my garden isn't doing too bad for the dog days of summer,

and in the middle of a drought.

We sit out in the evenings on our yard swing,

listening to the cicadas sing their song.

Paying attention to each moment is part of my day.

I guess it's really past the 'dog days of summer'

as the dictionary says that dog days are....

the sultry part of the summer, supposed to occur during the period that Sirius, the Dog Star, rises at the same time as the sun: now often reckoned from July 3 to August 11.

But it still feels like it around here.

Fall is just around the corner,

and I don't know about you,

but I'm ready for it.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Middle May Musings....

I can hardly believe it's the middle of May already.

Mother's Day was wonderful  here,

hope it was for you too.

We are finally getting a bit of rain,

and my Sage on the side of the house shows it.

The saying goes....

when the sage blooms like this,

you will receive rain within three days.

This time it was true.

 I planted a passion vine on our new fence.

It's already blooming.

This is one of the blooms,

and it has about 5 more buds right now.

But there is some kind of caterpillar on the vine.

Anyone know what this is?

My poor hibiscus only blooms one bloom at a time.

It was trampled on and eaten on before we got the fence up,

so I guess it's good that it's even alive.

______________

As far as what I'm reading now....

well... I was reading

Living on the Spine,

but it gets pretty graphic (sexually) several times in the book,

so I've put it down for now.

I'm not a prude or anything,

but I was expecting something else from that book.

I thought it was about her adventures of living in the wild.

I guess I better read the reviews better next time.  LOL

It's not a bad book, just different.

Some of her words about the birds and the mountains are like poetry,

so I do enjoy that part about it.

Oh well....

Now I'm reading

Still Here

by Ram Dass.

He wrote it after he had a stroke,

so it is pretty interesting so far.

_________________

I'm getting ready for an online class,

given by Jennifer Rizzo.

The class is how to make your own

Santos Cage Dolls.

Starts May 27th, if you are interested.

Should be lots of fun.

And it's only nineteen dollars.

__________

Hope you are enjoying your May days!

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Garden Stroll

 My pink hibiscus is blooming...

This is the same plant that was trampled on

and eaten almost to the ground,

by javelinas, neighbors sheep, and more....

all before we built our fence.

I transplanted this lone surviving hibiscus to a pot,

and to my pleasant surprise,

it's blooming.

How about that!!!!

This pretty orange flower is

Mexican Flame Vine.

A friend of mine told me,

"Since we live close to Mexico,

any plant that has the word Mexican in it

will grow well here."

The pot that is laying over,

in front of my

Mexican Feather Grass,

is spilling out with

a pretty pink flowered little plant

 we call Ice Plant.

What's blooming in your garden today?

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

This and That... for my 700th Post....

Wow, I can hardly believe I have posted

 700 times.

I began this blog as part of an

online art project I was involved in,

and it just went from there.

I have shared many parts of my life...

like I've said in the past....

enchantments, fragments, oddments

and things that make me smile.

I have received some great feedback,

encouragement, support and more.

Thanks to everyone!

I have really enjoyed getting to know you ALL.

---Yvonne

................

This and That...

Saturday, a group of British birders

stopped in front of my house.

They got out of the van,

all armed with binoculars.

  They were looking at birds in the trees.

My husband and I were outside,

so we struck up a conversation with them.

I invited them to my back patio

for shade, and to watch the birds.

They were so friendly and nice,

and so interested in the hummingbirds especially,

a bird they don't have in England they told me.

I told them about non drought years,

when I have dozens flying about,

but this year only a few have showed up.

I enjoyed the birders very much.

Now they are on their way south,

to visit the birding centers in the valley.

Birders are a special kind of people!

--------------------------------

Well, looks like something loves the drought.

The cactus!

It is now just coming into bloom.

Many, many unopened flowers right now,

but soon, they will be covered

with delicate flowers,

in yellows, and oranges.

This week I am traveling up to Cuero,

the Wildflower Capital of Texas,

so hopefully I will get lots of great photos to share.

I hope you find a way to....

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Old book page wall art

I've seen old book page wreaths in stores,

and I love them.

I already had an old book

and was using the pages

 to create mixed media art.

I used the rest of it to make this

flower/wreath below.

I just used what I had...

a piece of foamcore board,

an old book, and

a pinecone for the center.

I just tore the pages from the book,

rolled them into cones,

and hot glued them onto different sized circles

that I drew on the foamcore.

I used at least a hundred cones for this one.

Then I hot glued the pinecone in the center.

Doesn't take long really,

once you get used to making the cones.

Also be sure you have a good hot glue gun.

Mine quit working in the middle of this project

and I had to manually push the glue through the gun.

This project can be done many different ways,

and I'm sure there are plenty of how-to's

to be found.

Try making one yourself,

and let me know how it turns out!

Savor the day!

Yvonne

I leave you with sunflowers...

I'm taking a blogging break for awhile.

Time for some R&R.

I will hopefully return

rested and refreshed

and full of ideas.

(red sunflowers from my backyard)

Growing these red and not yellow sunflowers
remind me that...

You don't always have to be like everyone else.

Being different is beautiful.

Until I return

I leave you with this quote

by Helen Keller....

"Keep your face to the sunshine,

and you can not see the shadows.

It's what sunflowers do."

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Around My Garden

Man is the only critter

who feels the need to label things

 as flowers or weeds.

~Author Unknown

You have seen my moon gate, my medicine wheel garden

with the Peace Pole, the oobos garden and more.

If not, then go to labels in my sidebar

to find those posts.

These you may not have seen.

So I hope you enjoy your visit.

St Francis behind my lantana in bloom.

New fence in back.

Container plants beside the potting shed.

I use lots of found items for containers.

We even use cut log pieces to outline beds

and sometimes I will throw one in the bed

to be a home for little critters.

We have turtles, frogs etc.

that love it.

Foxtail fern and artemesia are some of my favorite plants.

Bird feeder made from old dishes.

The green jays and cardinals love this one.

This is Pete. 

 He resides in the whimsical side of my garden. 

He sits on a fishing pier post in front of the old 'john' boat.

Yes, old boat...(see below)

now it's filled with Purple Heart.

Geodes, rocks and old bricks outline flower beds.

I use whatever I have on hand.

This is our wind direction hummingbird

Medicine wheel garden behind it,

with peace pole in center.

 See the old tree stump behind the hummingbird?

It is home to our little garden snake.

I see him now and then.

I know he is good for our garden.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Artist Retreat

Friday I attended an artist retreat

 at a friend's home on Lake Corpus Christi.

It was for the watercolor class I attend.

This was the third time Sheila has hosted this event.

It was beautiful weather,

and just an overall beautiful spring day.

I could feel good energy in this place.

We started with a continental breakfast, with mimosas,

then plein air painting, critiques and lunch.

I acutally did not take many photos of the group,

because many people get self conscious

when you are going around with a camera,

and I wanted everyone to relax.

Below is Dolores

with my 2 little studies

during the critique period.

If you ever have the chance.....

attend an art retreat of some kind.

It's a wonderful way to....

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Edible Flower recipe

 The spring weather draws me outside,

to dig in the dirt.

Last week I planted my vegetable garden,

some new plants in my flower beds,

and I'm ready for more.

My friend Karen has taken cuttings

and started some new plants for me.

WhooHoo!  I'm so excited!

Can't wait to add them to my garden.

Photos to come later.

In the meantime I wanted to share

some photos of spring flowers

followed by an edible flower recipe.

Wildflowers in Sarita, Texas.

The Texas thistle flower is pretty,

and butterflies love them.

Flowers are always pretty in mass.

Aren't these pretty?

Not sure what they are,

but it may the little wildflower called

Rosita.

One flower I love to grow is

 nasturtiums.

I'm putting it on my list of seeds to purchase.

Here is a recipe that I've made

 using the edible nasturtium flower.

I got it from

The Pleasure of Herbs

by Phyllis Shaudys

Nasturtium Salad

2 cucumbers

36 small nasturtium leaves

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

2 T. wine vinegar

6 T. salad oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 T. chopped fresh tarragon

6 nasturtium flowers with leaves

Peel and slice cucumbers thinly.

Wash nasturtiums leaves;

remove stems and drain. 

Mix well in blender the remaining ingredients,

 except for the flowers with leaves. 

 When ready to serve,

combine the cucumbers, small nasturtium leaves,

 and the dressing and toss gently. 

Garnich with nasturtium flowers with leaves. 

Serves 4

________________________

There are many ways to enjoy spring.

Go get your hands in the dirt and....

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Miracles of Nature

Here it is February,

and we have cold weather off and on,

but most of the time it's very pleasant.

 Our local orchid trees are in full bloom.

They are beautiful!

I wish I had one in my own yard.

Many blooms have already fallen off of many,

with cold snaps or the wind.

The ground is covered with a blanket of pink.

Close up of the large beautiful blooms.

Most of our trees in winter are bare mesquite trees.

You can see all the birds nests in the tree tops.

Many plants are putting out their seeds

 getting ready for Spring.

I think seed pods are beautiful!

Dandelions are popping up everywhere too.

Right now I will leave them alone,

as the butterflies love them

on warmer days.

"The miracles of nature do not seem miracles

because they are so common.

If no one had ever seen a flower,

even a dandelion would be

the most startling event in the world."

---unknown

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Understanding Beauty and Truth Tea

Japanese proverb---

If man has no tea in him,

he is incapable of

understanding truth

or beauty.

Happy Tea on Tuesday everyone!

My sister and I had lunch

at a wonderful Asian restaurant.

 I enjoyed a pot of

Jasmine tea,

while she had some green tea.

Both very good and healthy.

The food was delicious too!

 Green tea is the variety

which keeps the original colour of the tea leaves

without fermentation during processing.

So I drink a lot of green tea.

Jasmine tea is one of my favorites...

but then again I have so many favorites.  LOL

Scented tea, like the jasmine tea, is made

by mixing fragrant flowers

in the tea leaves

in the course of processing.

The flowers commonly used for this purpose

 are jasmine and magnolia.

There are many others I've used in my own tea mixes.

I would love to try magnolia one day,

but haven't found it here locally.

Hope you give new tea flavors a try

and...

...visit Kimmie and others for more tea posts.

http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Morning Dew Tea

Happy Tea on Tuesday!

While on our anniversary trip,

we stayed at El Rocio B&B

which means

The Morning Dew.

Lovely place down in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

Warm weather, and just a short drive south.

I enjoyed some green tea while there,

and took it on my morning walk,

along with a fresh picked orange.

We saw birds of many kinds,

and they love the citrus as much as we do.

Here is a kiskadee enjoying his breakfast,

and to the right

you can see a clay colored robin.

I also saw a chachalaca and paraque,

which are now added to my birding life list.

I walked a labyrinth on the property.

It is said that walking a labyrinth is a right brained task,

that involves intuition, creativity and imagery.

Our cottage, Casa Jardin,

had nice touches like this hand made quilt.

Loved this unique woodpecker door knocker.

Then we saw the little hobbit type meditation room.

Below shows a bit of the green, lush gardens outside our door.

Love the colors of the stucco walls too.

The rusted metal 'spirit lady'

that says

'Live in the Light'

was one of my favorite pieces

of garden art they had on the grounds.

Visit Kimmie for more tea posts.

You never know what you will find there.

Kimmie has lots of unique things in her Etsy shop too.

http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Lists, Petite Lefant, and flowers

 I have always been a person who makes lists....

lists for groceries,

lists of creative things to do,

lists for books I still want to read,

lists for DIY home projects,

lists of which flowers I want to have in my yard eventually, etc.
and the BIG one, the LIFE LIST.

My father was a list maker, so I guess that's where I get it from.

Below is one flower I would love to grow in my yard,

so it will go on my list.

I found a blog post that talks of a "life list"

and wanted to share.

She has some unexpected things on her list.

It's a bit different than a bucket list she says.

http://petitelefant.com/life-list/
Here is what she says about making a life list...
"Do you have a Life List?
I’m not kidding,
 this one took me five days to come up with.
I didn’t take it lightly,
 I really pondered things I want to get accomplished
in this life of mine.
There’s really something to writing something down,
committing it to memory
and promising yourself you’ll get it done.
 100 things really affords you
the indulgence of dreaming big."

So think about it! 

In the meantime I wanted to brighten up your winter day

with some of my flower photos.

Enjoy!

Hope your days are cheery.

Savor the day!

Yvonne