Lavender

Afternoon heat and wilting, drying flowers--
Perfect for this recipe?

Withering

We spent the afternoon doing yard work-- clearing away the dried lantana and crepe myrtles reaching too close to the house and phone lines. When it was time for a daylight savings time dinner, I noticed that my daffodil was withering away. I surrounded it with the camellias in full bloom and magnificent color.

I dreamed the other night about the Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow collection and what I might make from some of it. I've been looking at it's colors and designs online every day for a week.

Inside

This is the same daffodil that was seen earlier in the week opening and opened. Tuesday and Wednesday's rain knocked it down, so I cut it and brought it inside. As this week off from work and normal routines begins, I feel open and hopeful for the unscheduled days ahead of me.

Chyrsanthemum

November's Flower

The jack-o-lanterns are on the compost pile. The chocolate from last night is a constant temptation. November is finally here.

Happy All Saints' Day!

Sunflowers

These little flowers are offering the only bit of sun around here.
For days and days, the rain and humidity in between the rain has been constant.

With a day off from work and more rain, I'm snuggling in with a cup of green tea and some knitting.

Petunias II

I have always loved to have petunias in my yard. I remember sitting on the front steps on the house while the Great Aunts, Mom, and Grandma sat and shelled peas, shucked corn, or snapped beans fresh from the garden. Sometimes I would join in, but I was more concerned with playing with the wild cats on the farm. At the time I hated the smell of petunias, but she always had them planted at the bottom of the steps. I was so little, but I love those memories with Mom's family. Life was so simple then.

Petunias

always remind me of a great aunt
at a small, country farmhouse in Arkansas
where gardening, canning, and raising chickens
were a way of life and survival

pentunia milliflora

African Daisy

Daisy
Sunny, happy,
Smiling, laughing, pleasing
A brightness in day
Osteospermum

Milkweed and Maple : 3

The milkweed pod is gone because my son tore it apart to see the seeds, but he replaced it with a cherry tomato picked from the garden that is the backdrop to the vase.

P.S. Wishing you much success tomorrow as you launch your new career as a music teacher!

Milkweed and Maple : 2

This is the same arrangement from yesterday except that I added a milkweed seed pod, and the leaves and flowers are wilting just a little. I was watering the garden and saw that the pod had opened up. The little feathery seeds are beautiful-- both floating on the wind or lined up and packed in their pod.

Milkweed and Maple

Milkweed (Asclepias Curassavica) and
Japanese Maple (Acer Palmatum)
from my back and front yard