More garden blooms and some short amateur videos

Good afternoon Friends ~ Hope you are all doing well, are safe, no matter where you are or what your weather is.

I just had some much needed rain earlier. I had seen that rain was coming so went out before it got here and raked up garden debris. It has been so nice these past few days that I’ve been out working in my gardens. Still much to do, but I’m making forward progress and and it feels good.

Yesterday and then again this morning I played around with my LG smartphone to try some videos. Some show the traffic noise from the 4 lane highway out front. The road out front used to be two lanes, a nice country type road, but this area has grown tremendously so roads have been widened and homeowner’s properties shortened, ours by a depth of 25’ across the front, which has most definitely brought traffic much closer. There are quiet times throughout the day as the traffic ebbs and flows depending on what time of day it is.  Links will be at the bottom of this post. Forgive my inadequacy at doing this. I want to be able to either put music to the videos, or just have them silent and voice overs. I need help.

Now here are some blooms from the past week.

Basket plant flowers. These are so sweetly scented. I will try to remember to get a photo where a lot of these are in blooms at the same time. Very easy to grow and spread like crazy.

Here is a swallowtail catterpillar I think, munching down on a Giant Milkweed plant, which is now stripped of all leaves.

A two-toned carpet rose.

Clock vine blooms.

Crepuscule rose, I think.

Pinky-peach salvia greggii. Easy to grow, self sows.

A wonderful ground cover that I can’t remember the name of at the moment. I want to get this growing all over the place.

Amaryllis, blooms about this same time every year.

Peachy-pink carpet roses.

Granada rose in the foreground, has a delicous scent. I plan to paint the aluminum metal work turquoise like the heart to the right hand side of this picture.

International Herald Tribune rose on the first then on the sixth.

Maman Cochet yesterday, I need to see how open she is now.

Orchids from my dear friends Nanci & John.

Spiderwort, a favorite of mine, spreads like crazy, some gardeners call this a weed.

An unkn. tiny orchid.

Vanda Miss Joachim orchid, grows like crazy, break off a piece with roots and put it wherever you want it.

Secret garden, this is what I look out into when I wash dishes.

That’s it for the photo section this time.

Here is a link to a lady gardener/vlogger in Ireland. I had visited her blog quite awhile back, but a friend just found her and sent me the link so I re-visited and she inspires me.

A Cottage In The Woods

Now for the links to my humble, amateur short videos. You can see more if you view full screen.

Front Gardens with traffic

Front Gardens with traffic 2

Mockingbird Singing

Secret Garden

7 March 2018

Ok, that’s it. Time for some lunch. Blogging takes time, from picture taking to editing photos, then writing up a blog, but it is something I truly enjoy.

Enjoy each day you are blessed with.

Spring is coming ~ FlowerLady

Flowers, goodies, needlework, T-storms

Good afternoon Friends ~ It is Sunday and hot and humid, it is 84 and feels like it is 94 with the humidity at 71%. We’ve had some nasty T-storms the past few days, strong winds, heavy rains and thunder and lightening. More rain is expected this afternoon and the next few days.  We’ve needed the rain, and I am thankful for it.

The gardens love the rain too, not just flowers but weeds too. I’ve got vines and weeds taking over the ‘back 40’, and other areas at the back of the property. UGH!  There’s nothing like ‘liquid sunshine’ for making things grow.

Here are  some of the blooms in the gardens right now.

This is my favorite hibiscus ~ ‘Hugs-n-Kisses’.

Night blooming jasmine.

‘Plumeria’ a bloom blown out of one of my three plumeria trees in the front garden.

Rubber vine

Spicy Jatropha

Vanda ‘Miss Joachim’

‘Cocktail’

‘Kathleen’

Remember me telling about receiving a monetary gift from a dear family member and she told me to spend it however I saw fit.  I told you I thought of a bread machine since my old one that served me well for 14 years pooped out recently. Well, I ordered the same make, and picked it up Friday morning before work. It’s a little bigger than the last one, but basically the same. I did peel off the label after I made a loaf of oatmeal bread yesterday morning before work.

This was a new recipe which had more oatmeal in it than what I usually use, and while the bread ‘fell’ a little it was still delicious! This  does happen occasionally, not the fault of the machine, it could be any number of reasons.  There is something really wonderful about homemade bread.  The aroma while it was baking was so ‘homey’ and comforting.

With the money left-over , I decided to get a new ironing board cover. This old one has served me many years, but it’s not really me.

I found out about these hand made quilted ironing board covers from a blogging friend. She bought one and posted about it here. I emailed her and asked her where she got her cover and she sent me the link to the lady who makes these and sells them in her Etsy shop. You can visit her here.

She mailed it right out and I think that was Thursday and I got it Sat. afternoon. She’s in Maine and I’m way down here in s.e. FL.

I love this and the quality is and the workmanship is GREAT!

Here’s the quilting pattern.  Definitely made for ‘FlowerLady’ who loves roses.

The bread machine and the ironing board cover will make me think of this dear person in my family when I use them. I want to say a public thank you to her right now, without telling who she is. She knows.

Now, here are some needlework projects. This one below is still a work in progress. Silk ribbon embroidery, and a crocheted/beaded trim. I love working with threads, hooks, needles, beads and ribbon.

Not sure what I’m going to do with this one yet.

Here is more silk ribbon embroidery ~ Started out with white ribbon for rose and leaves, three different sizes of silk ribbon, colored with alcohol ink markers. The little French knots are  a variegated purple embroidery floss.

The frame I picked up at a little flea market in the spring. It was perfect for this piece, made for a friend who had a birthday. Yellow roses are special to her. I also colored the roses on the frame with the alcohol ink markers.

Tomorrow is our widow’s group, ‘Friends Needing Friends’, meeting and luncheon, and I’ll be talking in front of the group. Yikes! First on how I came to start the blog (one year ago), for the group, and secondly I’ll be talking on the widow ‘Anna the Prophetess’, and how this widow in the Bible has inspired me in my widowhood journey.  If you think of it, say a little prayer for me. Writing a blog is a whole different thing than speaking in front of a group.

“The Lord is my strength”.

He is how I’m able to move forward and grow in His love, grace and mercy.

Thank you all again for being such a great bunch of friends. You’ve blessed, encouraged and inspired me in many ways.

Have a GREAT week whatever you do. 

Trust in the Lord. Call on Him and He will work all things out.

FlowerLady

It’s a new day

Good morning Folks ~ It’s Friday here where I am. I hope you all have a lovely cay and weekend.  It’s a new day, may I rejoice and be glad in it.

My prayer for the day:

***
Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning;
for in thee do I trust:
cause me to know the way wherein I should walk;
for I lift up my soul unto thee.
Psa 143:8

***

Here are some of God’s gifts that I am thankful for.

Alamo vine

Ground orchids

Hibiscus

Queen Crepe Myrtle

Royal poinciana in the background. 

This is my view out the ‘scullery’ window as I wash dishes.

More sunflowers

Unknown orchids.

Vanda orchid ‘Miss Joachuim’.

‘Prosperity’ roses

Unknown rose with a beautiful lavender color and a rich rose scent.

Another unknown rose.

Sunrise the other morning.

Sometimes God’s colors in the sky just make me gasp. 

This was one of those times.

I’ve been working on clearing out ‘storage’ in our bedroom.  Am making forward progress and that feels great. Yesterday I cooked a chicken, minus the breasts in the crockpot and the aroma filled the cottage and made me feel content and hungry.  I also baked a loaf of banana bread with coconut, sunflower seeds and craisins added to the mix.  The chicken breast will be made into a spicy Thai dish.

We had a little rain yesterday as a thunderstorm passed over, and I and the gardens are thankful for the rain.

This morning I was listening to some music on you-tube and found a piece I’ve never heard before, but it spoke directly to me at this time.

It is called ‘ The Hurt & The Healer’ by Mercy Me.

May we all grow in God’s grace and tender mercies.

FlowerLady