Saturday, June 18, 2016

Nature Notes -- birds 'n' blooms...



This bright fellow is the Evening Grosbeak

God sends love notes to me by way of nature -- 
a beautiful bird, 
a feather,
a swallowtail butterfly,
 a flower I didn't know was planted amongst the others,
unexpected morning rain,
afternoon shade from our trees.

 Moonshine yarrow

 Japanese Iris

 This purple-blue stem is Smooth Blue Beardtongue or Penstemon 
which I haven't seen in my flower beds in a long time.
A happy surprise! 


Clematis on left and Sweet William on the right.  
 

My geranium pots.  They just seem right on the front porch.                 


Mostly poppies and larkspur here and a pink shrub rose in back.

Homegrown lettuce and spinach is doing very well in the garden.
We are loving the fresh salad greens every day.
 
I picked up this fizzy mineral water yesterday -- San Pellegrino.
I thought since it was on sale, I'd get a couple bottles.
Little did I know, it's a good-for-you drink!
Click here for the reasons why.
When it says "mineral water" it means there are lots of good minerals in there along with some carbonation that makes it fizzy.  
I added some lemon slices to my water.
So delicious!

One more nature note -- Monday, June 20, is Summer Solstice and the Full Moon.

CarpenterSon was born on June 20th, the first day of summer.  He'll be 28.
Back then it was very hot and dry and the country was on fire.
The night he was born, Uncle Ned's forested ranch was ablaze. 
It was a year of watching the skies for lightning and fire fighting.
.........................................

The earth, gentle and indulgent,
ever subservient to the wants of man,
spreads his walks with flowers,
and his table with plenty.
~Pliny the Elder

10 comments:

  1. Happy Father's Day to your Tom and all the rest! Lovely birds and blooms today, Jody!

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  2. I hope you have a lovely day. Isn't it interesting how we remember what was going on the day our children were born. Happy birthday to your son. I love all of your pretty flowers. I think it looks like summer.

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  3. A few years ago we had a nice flock of Evening grosbeaks grace our feeder and apple tree. They haven't been back since. They were fun to watch and photograph. Happy birthday to your summer solstice boy! Lots of pretty things blooming for you to enjoy. Your lettuce looks yummy! Have a nice fathers day to all those in your family!

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  4. I love looking at "your" birds and all the gorgeous flowers. I wonder if I could grow a Japanese Iris....

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  5. My brother's birthday is June 20th. Our moon last night was full and lovely. I just came in from sitting in the big afternoon shade of our pecan trees -- so lovely and relaxing, except the two dogs kept tussling with each other under my chair. Your porch looks perfect! It feels like you went straight from cold and winter to July 4th, all of a sudden! Gorgeous flowers. I love the serendipity of a surprise bulb in a bed. At this farm, I really didn't know what all would come up this spring. Your flowers are pretty!

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  6. Your yard and porch are a beautiful oasis of color!

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  7. Such beautiful flowers and birds! I love Pellegrino water (I get it sometimes as a treat). So nice to learn that it's good for me!

    xofrances

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  8. Your flowers are fabulous! I especially like the clematis. I tried planting larkspur but it didn't take. Hope that fire isn't close to you.

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  9. This post was a feast for my eyes :-)

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  10. Ah, such beautiful flowers this year Ms. Gumbo! We were so excited when our new little bundle was born on the 21st -- it was the L&D nurse's birthday and she said it's a wonderful birthday. She said it's the first day of summer except for leap years. So, we can both celebrate summer solstice birthdays! ;-D Happy Summer!

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