Birds and Blooms...

 

While out watering the Garden Gone Wild, I couldn't help thinking how lovely the garden has become even after all the neglect it has had this year.  Last year's Burpeeana Giants reseeded themselves there, and I must say are just as pretty as last year's crop that was cared for in the best ways possible.  These zinnias are my forever favorites which I call the shaggy ones.  Burpee says they are "an impressive mix of  huge 6" flowers with quilled and ruffled petals in all the best colors."   

The hummingbirds are currently drinking around one and a half gallons of sweet nectar each day.  I have eleven feeders hanging which seems like the perfect number.  I am sure these little hummers have a few battles over drinking rights, but for the most part they feed peacefully together. They are the best ever in that way, which makes them quite enjoyable.  

The big news of the week, however, is that I saw a Painted Bunting!   When taking a little drive around the farm, my daughter and I just happened to be at the right place and at the right time to get a good look at it..  It was my first sighting here on the place.  Wow!  What a beauty!  Wikipedia says the Painted Bunting is the most beautiful bird in North America.   We didn't get an actual photo, so I borrowed one from the internet.  But, believe me, ours was just as pretty as this one.  I hope he and the wife are raising a large family here so we will have pretty little Painted Buntings all over the place.  

And, over on my other blog, Linnie Butts and Company are meeting up with the older dolls in our first "Blast From the Past."  If you would like to take a look just click on the old sewing machine picture at the top of this page. 

                           

The Longest Day...

Happy Summer Solstice!  It always seems to me that this special day should be a national holiday.  We officially ring in the start of astronomical summer later tonight with today marking the longest day of the year.  According to my calendar notes, the sun rose this morning at 5:58 a.m. and will set at 8:32 p.m.  Starting tomorrow, daylight will be on a slow decline, continuing until the winter solstice in December.  

 Sometimes we need all the daylight we can get...

And, sometimes, that's still not enough...

Happy Summer, dear friends.  I hope it's a good one for you all.  Stay cool!

Shades of Purple...

All because of a foggy camera lens on an ever-so-muggy day, it seemed I had missed out on some fabulous garden pictures. But did I?  Determined to see if I might be able to pull a bit of color from the photos in question, I took them to my photo editor to play around with.  And, I love the results.  I don't think even Van Gogh could be happier.  How about that purple!  I do think the pictures look like they were painted in watercolors, which I might be inspired to try to duplicate when my hand is more able.   

 

Our back yard surely is filling up. Each year, it seems, we add something new.  This year, it was a new clothes line which I am so thankful for.  The old one was only a temporary one and sagged pitifully so that the sheets sometimes brushed the ground.  

I like that the garden shanty is now brown.  I can't believe that I climbed ever so precariously up into the high places to paint it,  and, that during that time, I never made a misstep.  But this year I stubbed my toe  when simply walking across the shop floor and ended up in a hard cast for over six long weeks.    

A work in progress, this area in the backyard garden has pretty much been on its own for those six-weeks.  I am so anxious to get back to work here. Some of the plants I had meant to move may have to wait until fall or next spring. I can't believe I even considered, at one time, just mowing this garden down. 

Linnie is back again over at the other blog, which can be reached by clicking on the picture at the top of this page.  She is happy to have a dress of her own and would love to show it off.  

Now, I need to clean up the sewing room and get ready for my appointment  first thing Monday morning.  Good bye, old cast, and good riddance!  YAY!

June is bustin' out all over....

 

June is bustin' out all over...

~Oscar Hammerstein III

Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars, not if you care for such things.

~J.R.R. Tolkien

And, it's a fact, June is bustin' out all over here on our hill.  Just ask this big fat bumble bee.  

And, if I were to start believing in elves, June would be the month to begin, don't you think?    I am just about to start reading J.R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.  That should get my mind right ~ just perfect for singing with elves in June under the stars.

I feel like I was pretty much robbed of the merry month of May, but, if the good Lord is willing, I'll not be denied the wonderful month of June...even if the Doc should say as he did last visit, "Nay, nay...too soon."  Dan says he has a pair of side cutters that will take care of that old cast.  :~)  

I am feeling quite excited and confident that this coming week will see the end of it.  My hand /arm wants out of there...maybe like a butterfly wants out of its old chrysalis to be free...........  Oh to be free!

There are some things that have helped keep me going ~ things like my mom's Good Luck jar which is always beside me here at my desk.  I have always been pretty good at finding four-leaf clovers, so one day I went out to look and came back with five.  It seemed to be a good omen that all was going to be fine.

Mom's Good Luck Jar...

One of my blogging friends has sent lots of pretty cards and letters.  You just should see the hand-written and hand-stamped cards and letters.  The envelopes themselves are works of art!  

And then, another friend sent this lucky feather.  It really is....  from a very special and lucky goose.  It is a real prize and fits right into my collection of important stuff.  It keeps me happy!  

My beautiful purple cast along with a stack of very important slow mail.  Pen pals are the best!

Sam's Feather.

And lastly, thanks to the Doc for giving me a purple cast.  I don't think I could have endured all these days with an ugly one.  Now, if I can only find a pretty purple dress in which to celebrate!

And, a special thanks to all of you who have stopped by here on the hill.  I hope your brand new month is off to a great start.  Take care, and as I will always say, "Watch your step.  You never know what might trip you up."  

Happy Trails, Dear Friends!

Mary