Saturday, October 15, 2016

Thank you all

Good morning Friends ~ Words can’t express the thankfulness I have for all of your prayers, encouraging words, your friendship. I am blessed.

It has been a tad cooler, with less humidity, which makes it nicer and easier to work outside. Plus, my feet don’t hurt like they did. I have more energy, and it is a joy being outside working. I’ve been outside every morning from 2-3 hours, stopping when my body says ‘Ok, that’s enough’. I take water outside with me, and I wear a little fanny pack that holds my cell phone. This was a suggestion made by my relatives, in case something should happen while I’m out working.

I got a lovely pkg in the mail earlier this week, but I can’t share it until we have the ‘reveal’ for the 9th teacup/mug exchange. It was my first time participating and it was a real treat, buying for one lady, and receiving from another lady. I forgot to take a photo of what I sent but hopefully the lady I sent to will post about it on her blog.  My pkg received was wonderful and a bright spot after the scary adventure of dealing with getting ready for hurricane Matthew.

As to Matthew, we were not told to evacuate down here. Up along the coasts of northern FL, GA, SC and NC were. The flooding has been the worst for them, even now a week after the storm. My husband and I have lived here since we were just kids, and the storms we had that we ‘really’ had to deal with were Frances & Jeanne, 2004, then Wilma in 2005. All three scary, but Wilma was the worst and we had the eye go right over us. That is truly amazing. Sunny, blue sky, no wind, and then bam, here comes the back side of the storm which was worse than the front side. Hurricane season is 6 months long. The most active time Sept-Oct.

It has been rather peaceful and I’ve had some rain here in my gardens.  I am really enjoying working outside again.

You can’t really see much here, but the top half of a dead pine fell into these overhanging limbs from the neighbors.

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The night blooming cactus had grown up this tree,  and combine it’s heaviness with the wind, it snapped off the tree.

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This was taken after I cut away some of the limbs. I didn’t want to cut away the wrong limbs and then get frapped in the face as they came out from under the dead tree. I’m having a tree trimmer I used before to come out and take care of some things that need to be taken down. DH used to do all of this, and I would help cut it all up smaller to be picked up by the ‘brush’ people. The tree trimmer will be back from vacation around the 25th. He did tell me I could make payments instead of having to pay the full amount right up front.

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I worked clearing the path in the little St Francis garden one morning. This was done with hand clippers and pulling with my hands, otherwise known as ‘weeding’. I still need to fix my weed-whacker so that I can trim the edge on the left hand side.

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This was taken on the 8th. I had mowed and laundry was drying on the lines. All was peaceful.

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Here is ‘shovel bird’ resting on his perch, with the back jungle behind him. We bought this in GA on our way home from NC in 2006. This was at a roadside home/stand. Lots of metal works of art some really huge.

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I was out early one morning and saw how the stained glass light shade looked through the heart cutout of hurricane shutter.

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There were some flower buds on the night blooming cactus that came down with the dead pine tree section, so I put this section where I would hopefully remember to take some pics. I missed one, and I totally missed them full open.

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These shots I remembered to take the next morning, all of the same flower. The first two were with the flash on.

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This is without the flash.

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The next blooms are of bromeliads.

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Next are the sweet blooms of Duranta erecta or Golden Dewdrop. The flowers smell like licorice to me.

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Now for some roses. The first is “Barnhouse” bought from Rose Petals Nursery. A real delight and a sweet light scent.

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This is an unkn. Rather wind beaten.

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This is ‘Cemetery Rose’ from Connie at Harwood Roses, in a trade. Thank you Connie. This is one very sweet little rose, scentwise and in the delicacy of the blooms.

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I forgot to turn the flash off on the picture below. Nice picture of the bee though.

This rose is ‘Prosperity’. You can see the rose cutter bees have been taking samples out of the leaves. Maybe this is one of those types of bees, I don’t know.

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Without the flash.

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Here’s a dragonfly. I love these flying critters. Have a lot of them, different kinds too. They are great for eating up mosquitoes.

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Ok, I think that’s it for now. I have enjoyed reading blog posts about cooling temps and seeing homes decorated for fall and all of the gorgeous colors of the trees. WOW.

Have a wonderful weekend, count your blessings and be kind and encouraging.

Love & hugs ~ FlowerLady

22 comments:

Terra said...

I am glad you came through safe and sound. I love your shovel bird and the night blooming cactus, and your Saint Francis. I have Mary in our garden.

Nancy J said...

So glad all is well with you and your place. Massive damage that I find it so hard to comprehend. The dragonfly, what a wonderful photo. Hugs from NZ.

Ruth Hiebert said...

I am happy for you,that it is a little cooler.I don't know what I would do in the heat you have.I love the flowers,each one is so pretty.Have a wonderful day.

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

I remember checking on your blog after the hurricane / I am so thankful that all was ok fo you though it is just horrific what's been going on in NC :(

I always enjoy seeing your blooms there are many that are unfamiliar to me where I am in Pennsylvania :)

Susan said...

Hi Lorraine, that's a great way to keep your phone on you when you're outside. It is so nice to be able to go outside and work in the garden again. I love the pic of your clothes on the line and your gypsy caravan. It is so cute. Your DH did such a nice job on it. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and hopefully we are done with the Hurricanes this year.

Karen said...

Always so good to visit with you, Rainey. I'm also thankful you were spared catastrophic damage and my heart goes out to those who are still enduring the aftereffects of the hurricane. I love your stained glass through the heart, so beautiful. I'll be thinking of you today (and every day) while I clear out the garden this fall. :-)

NanaDiana said...

I am glad you escaped relatively unscathed. I loved seeing hte pictures around your spot. I don't think I knew you had a gypsy caravan! I love it. I need to check to see if you have ever done a post about it. Happy, blessed Sunday to you-xo Diana

Kit said...

Glad to hear you are doing good! And that your little cottage did not have any damage.
Take care and enjoy your cooler temps. :) Kit

SimplySingleSenior said...

I empathize about doing yard work alone. I live on my own and have to either do it myself or hire it out. I am very limited on what I can do myself other than mowing, weeding, mulching, etc. When the 'big" things need to be done - like cutting branches away, cleaning gutters, replacing deck boards, etc., I must find someone to help. It is important to have a good handyman - the one I work with does a LOT of work for women who live on their own and he stays very busy. He is very reasonable also and will allow me to make payments. Glad you found a tree person to allow you to do that.

Joy Junktion said...

It's great to read that you are feeling better and enjoying getting outside again! I'm glad that Matthew wasn't too terribly destructive around your home, sad for so many though!! Your flowers and insect life are so pretty. You got great photos of the dragon fly! Many blessings, Cindy xo

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

I was thinking of you while the news was showing pics of the storm. Glad it didn't hit your area hard enough to evacuate you. A visit here is like a visit to our Atrium at the Zoo. Your flowers are amazing. Thanks for the close up of the night blooming cactus.
xx, Carol

gld said...

Happy to hear you made it safely through the storm and so glad that you are feeling more like working outside, I know how that feels!

Beautiful pictures, especially the dragonfly.

Katie Mansfield said...

Lovely shots. I'm so glad that all is okay. We had one sitting over us for three days a few years ago and the flooding was unbelievable. You garden is just lovely, Lorraine.

Thistle Cove Farm said...

Work, thankfully, is never ending; busy hands and all that. So glad you weathered the storm successfully; we had 2 days of much needed rain, high winds and no trouble. It's early morning here, not yet 6:30, and I'm visiting...instead of getting to work -grin-.
Take care, Rainey; God keep you safe.

Cheryl said...

Rejoicing with you that you weathered the storm and that God continues to meet your needs!!

Debbie - Mountain Mama said...

Having a garden is both a lot of work and a lot of joy! Glad to hear your feet are feeling better, what a terrible feeling that is. I had it for years, and honestly it healed up when I lost weight - less stress on the feet, obviously!

Judy at GoldCountryCottage said...

Hi Lorraine. I'm so glad you missed the brunt of the storm. We have been watching on TV. We have earthquakes to deal with, but I wouldn't want to deal with hurricanes or tornados either. Your flowers are beautiful and we have had a lot of different colored dragonflies during the summer. They are all so intriguing and beautiful..Have a good week..Judy

Celestina Marie said...

Hi Lorraine, I'm so glad you did well during the storm. I stopped to pray for you that night many times. Your flowers are beautiful and looks like they did well. Blessings to you for a great week. xo

Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie said...

It's so nice to hear that you are outside and enjoying your beautiful gardens again! So sad about the tree and night-blooming cactus, but it is good that the tree cutter will let you make payments. All of your photos are lovely - I especially loved the heart cut-out with the stained glass....Enjoy these cooler days. Sending hugs xo Karen

Leslie Kimel said...

I really like your dragonfly pictures--they are so pretty! I so admire people who can photograph wildlife in the garden--that is so hard to do! You have so many gorgeous roses. Mine struggled over the summer, so I have made a resolution to pay more attention to them and baby them going forward.

Buttons Thoughts said...

Oh I am so happy you are OK. Your flowers are beautiful and so different than ones we find here. The dragonfly is my favourite thing in the world. So beautiful and you captured it well. Hug B

Anne Payne said...

Wow, Rainey! I LOVE your home!!! It looks soooo lush and inviting. What a joy to have a special place to enjoy gardening. That dragonfly is one of the best photos I've seen. He's a looker ;)