Studies In Light

 "When you have come to the edge of all light you know,

 and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown,

 faith is knowing that one of two things will happen

 There will either be something to stand on,


or you will be taught how to fly." author unknown

 My days are full again.  Full of him...

 and the musical sounds of these,

 The precious ability to see and to read,

 to sip good coffee and sit in a comfortable place, recording blessings to give thanks for...

 watching the clouds blow by

 gazing at the amazing colors of this place

 playing with shapes and angles

 attempting to catch the brilliant green of this place

 enjoying shadows, the colors of faded wood, and a little friend who is singing her happy spring songs...

 Here finally is the color...

 Reds, green, blue and sun bursting through...

 to celebrate life

 and the hilarious one

 who thinks that  the man rototilled all this just for him to run amuck

 it's so beautiful,  this place where God is teaching me to fly.

Around My Place

Sometimes it seems like nothing at all is going on around here. 

I wonder what to share that won't be a boring re-run.

  This ah hum fella at the door had his first birthday on the 7th. He's a pretty good sized one year old.

 I BAKED BREAD!!

 Plans for the garden, check out the prices. When's the last time you sawa pack of seeds for 20 cents?
I've been reading about companion planting to ward off bugs. I asked the Hunny if I could intersperse some different plants in his rows or between them to ward off unwanted insects  It's a lot of work for a bug fest.

 My neighbor rooted me some "shrimp" plant clippings.

 What are these guys doing?

 I love this one. The colors here are so pretty together.

 The first iris.

 My favorite way to travel. That weed looks like a spider on my toe--NOT.

 Zennias in the drive way cracks.

 CILANTRO.

 It's weeded and planted with seeds. All these Johnny Jump Ups had volunteered up under the other plants. I transplanted them to the border.

 Getting happy.

Looks like I have been busier than I thought. When the weather is nice here and not too humid or hot, it's time to be OUTSIDE and let the blog lay fallow. My arm is getting more mobility inch by inch and I am excited about that.

What have you been doing? Is the weather getting warm for you yet? We are going to be planting soon!
My Hunny-Farmer rototilled his last time today.  Time for granny to get her garden groove on.

My Favorite Kind of Day.

Stop for a minute and breathe deep. Would you like a glass of tea?

This is the time of year when the weather is perfect. Not too many bugs yet and the roses are in their glory. The fragrance with a profusion like this just fills your senses. Even if your nose was stuffed up you could enjoy this. I start inhaling a couple feet away!

 My Zennias are returning. They always drift to the edges the rains probably wash away tons of seeds.
I usually let some of the heads just stay and dry out on the plants so that the soil is full of seeds all the time. I dry the seed heads too. Zennias have become my all time favorite annual flower. They are gorgeous in bouquets and they are butterfly magnets. Hummingbirds love them and so do the bees. They don't really require any care and they are easy to grow. Heads up all all beginner gardner friends out there; here is one for you to try. There is nothing like success to keep you outside digging in the dirt.

 As soon as this is finished being weeded I can transplant the zennias to the back. They are quite tall flowers so I prefer them to be farther back in this bed. We found a nice big cilantro bush out here today. That was a good surprise.  We need to hurry because when the weather is like this everything grows quickly. I hope Hunny gets the garden planted this week. He is having to do everything. In spite of that, he's talking about making another big bed where our Bradford pear was cut down and a large area of fence is re opened. He's thinking fruit trees, maybe some blueberry bushes and a good place for vines to run.
I think he is crazy with spring fever.

 The mums and the clematis are prolific. Would you believe that these mums just spread? I had 2 or 3 plants from ladies luncheons at church and they just got really happy. They are another easy plant, at least in zone 7 they are. it is important to know what grows where you live. I planted a lovely California garden here when we moved in.  Most of the plants for the Pacific North West need less heat. It lasted a few years and then died out. Not everything died...

 I know you have seen it before but isn't it glorious? Just one Joesph's Coat rose bush having it's hallelujah hey day. Sing pretty babies sing!! Climbers manage alright in the heat but most rose bushes get a lot of fungus and blight. A lot of southerners like the Knock Out roses. I'm happy with what is here. I don't need anymore.

  Besides all this yard work the Hunny is working on our trim. You'd think he would be too tired to get spring fever and think up more projects. I'm impressed, it's amazing how insanity runs in the family.

 He is hollering for me to "Quit that!" He doesn't even read my blog but he worries about what I post about him. Hum-- little does he know. If he ever reads it there might not be any living with the man. He'll get "the big head."

 I finally talked him into weaving these rose branches into the lattice. It's a Zepherine Drouhin and there are no thorns, it's very soft and pliable. If I could have won that argument ten years ago it would already be across the whole front of the house. He worries about the house. I just want the roses. I love the cottage look. It's out of style but it has always been my style. Once I began to have a style. There was a time where I didn't know how to plant anything, hence no style.  I just started planting anything anywhere. Susie had a hand in helping me learn. She began pointing out flowers and vines and telling me their names, she was quite a gardener at one time. She tells me now my first garden plot was a joke and it was. I thought it was beautiful. I know what she means. I see beginner garden patches and wonder why they plant the way they do. It doesn't matter! Just do it! Somebody may still be wondering about me too!

 Remember a few weeks ago this bare patch of earth? It's come back to life. All you folks that received  irises from me should get blooms this year. I'd like to know what colors you get. I told the Hunny that if I can get them into segregated plots and know what color they are I could sell the tubers. When I told him how much one tuber sells for, he had only one thing to say, "Your kidding me." I don't think he'll till them up anymore. He weeded them very nicely. I feel so loved.

Isn't it funny how different we all are? Some women need dinners out or gifts of jewelry, or new shoes or whatever it is, to feel loved. My man can weed for me and I'm over the moon.

 The side shade garden is amazing. It's only in the spring but it's worth the wait. All perennials and they just come back each year. That is one hosta and it is a happy camper. I bought 2 or 3 Ajuga plants about 8 years ago and now have small fields can you say small fields? of them. They only bloom once but they are great ground covers. Not too many weeds get through. They happily travel on runners, so make sure you have room for them to roam or run.

 ah* sigh* breathe deep *and inhale the perfume.  If someone ever figures out how to let us share aromas on the internet they will become the next Bill Gates. Can you imagine? The way people cook? The aromatherapy that could happen, and all you'd have to do is goggle it. I'm a genius!! A poor genius!

 The inside of the porch. This sweetheart of a climber ZD can take some shade. No thorns like I said and soft canes, they don't come with more appeal than that.

 The New Dawn on the trellis is getting ready to have her explosions.

Just one more glance. I'm practicing taking pictures. I never edit anything. Whatever my little snap shot can get is what we all get. If it happens to be pretty it's pure luck, and good subject matter.

Thank you everyone for all the kind comments and prayers. I had a very tough week. The therapy pool didn't even help me. From my reading about RSD most authorities say that pain pills are to be avoided; but for me a couple of days in bed and taking pain pills seems to calm things down. Whatever works I'm enjoying the weather. It's beautiful. I wonder if that cold snap and having a 40 degree weather change threw me a curve ball,

anyway it seems to be better for now. blah blah blah

Trudy my sweet Bluebird lost her Mama on the 29th. She did really great through the whole process. I'm sure your prayers for her and her family will be appreciated. Go by and say hello if you go to her blog.

I took Jamba the poo-pony to PetSmart and had his ears plucked. ($16 for ear cleaning and nail grinding!)  The groomer said he had hair growing from his brains. HILARIOUS. I knew they were bad. He is shaking his head. I'm sure they feel irritated. I put some good stuff in there to soothe him. Roman is going to be ONE year old on the 7th! We looked at the dogs in the play area at the store and there was a beautiful black and while Newfy and her puppy. They were the ONLY dogs in that group bigger than Roman. It was the first time in my life that a boxer, a husky, and an old golden retriever looked like medium size dogs maybe they WERE medium size dogs. The Newfoundland was about 4 inches taller that Roman and of course bigger all over but they could have romped around. Roman could be that dogs buddy, I wouldn't worry about him.

Welcome to the new folks who stopped by. It's been so long since I had new folks, I justa bout don't know how to act! I'll be stopping by your blogs to get acquainted. I can't read and write in the same day. You'd think a person with so much time on their hands could get everything done, not.
Please don't think me rude not to hurry over, and come back again!

I did make bread this week. Yum smacking lips. I'm going to try and practice my preaching and eat healthy. No sugar,  freaking out and wringing hands  I'm hoping that diet can help. I believe it will if I'll just do it!


Whoops! I almost forgot! 
For the first time in our marriage I pulled an April Fools Joke on my Hunny! I asked him to come outside with me and see the roses in the side yard. After we had admired it I said to him, "Did you hear about the lunar eclipse?" He said no. I said well let's look for it, where is the moon? Now I do know that sometimes you can see the moon during the day, but not yesterday and not in an eclipse. So I had him craning his neck looking at the sky in just about every location of our property. And when I had reeled him in long enough I said it, "April Fools." He just couldn't believe it. He said, " good one wife." We both laughed. The really great part is that I can't even TELL a joke right so it was pretty good.