Donna's Got Her Groove Back

I didn't get my groove back, just felt like saying that. Hate that I missed Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day on the 15th, but plan to check out what you all posted. Good stuff, I bet. I'll be around to visit, so look for me.

We have two large containers with these purple fan flowers (Scaevola Aemula) that are doing really well. Also have them in white in a hanging basket, not this large though. Deadheading not necessary, drought tolerant, heat tolerant and blooms all summer in sun or partial shade. They are annuals here in Zone 4 and I plan to buy some every year for the rest of my life. That's how much I like them.

Phillip and I never did get around to planting pumpkins back in the spring. A grandma can only do so much, you know. So, last week I bought this pathetic little pumpkin plant (Connecticut Field) for $1.19. Plunked it down in this plastic pot and it's started to show some life along with a nice big flower. Think we'll ever get a pumpkin from it? No, I don't think so either.

Coneflower

Big Sky Sundown

Planted in 2008

Some Of The Flowers

Look Like This

Some Of The Flowers

Look Like This

What Do You Think Is Wrong

Please Tell Me, If You Know

The Annabelle Hydrangeas are in bloom and looking lovely in an old-fashioned way, which I happen to like a lot. They do a little flopping, but that appeals to me and so I do nothing to keep them upright. We are lucky enough to have five of these bushes in our yard.

There is something else that will be taking up some of my time and her name is Alley (like in Alley Cat). This is her first day here with us and she's being a little sweetie pie.....so far. Warning, you may be subjected to pictures of her in the future. Just for the record, Phillip named her.

Going South

I'll be away from the computer for a few days. Try not to miss me too much, she said in jest. Our yard is in full bloom and looking lovely and it pains me to be away for even a day.

I see loveliness, everywhere I look. Well, there's a little ugliness here and there, but I'm not going to show you that today.

We won't see our little sweetheart for a couple of weeks because when we return, he'll be gone with his family on an RV trip out west. Here is in the very early morning, sitting on the sidewalk wearing my "big white fluffy" robe and watching a chipmunk in the Havahart live animal trap.

I Knew What She Was Thinking

She was thinking that if she sat still, she'd blend into the mulch and I'd walk on by, but she was wrong. I shot her with my camera. I know this rabbit is a she because yesterday there were several baby bunnies running around playing and this brown-eyed mother was nearby.
Then there was this cute chipmunk and there's no denying they're cute even when they're being destructive. Eventually it made its way into the Havahart Live Animal Trap and I drove it four miles to Quarry Park where it was released. It's the same spot I've been releasing chipmunks for the last ten years. I really should put a little orange paint on the tips of their tails to see if they're making their way back here.

The prickly pear cactus is blooming and looking pretty. This photo was taken in the sun and so it's full of shadows and doesn't do the plant justice. It was given to me three years ago by my mother's friend who had it growing in her garden and it always seems to have flowers on my parents' anniversary, so now I refer to it as the Anniversary Cactus.

The astilbe are still going strong and looking better than ever. The birth bath jumped into the picture to get a little attention because the birds have for the most part ignored it all summer.

The first time I published this post it had some problems, so I tried again. I still see one goofy sentence when I look at the preview. You probably think that all of my sentences are goofy. Not that important. Will publish the post the way it is.

It's All About The Blooms

Hens and Chicks

Always Amaze Me

With Such Pretty Flowers

Almost Twenty Years Ago

This Sedum Passed From

My Garden To My Mother's

Where It Still Blooms

Nice Of The Cardinal

To Pose For The Photo

Wildflower Seeds

Tossed In A Field

Full of Weeds

And Dry, Cracked Clay

And Still....

A Colorful Bloom Appeared

Fluffy Pink Astilbe

Not Its Official Name

In Full Bloom

Along The Sidewalk

My Friend, Candace

Has A Rose Garden

She Can't Recall

This Lovely Rose's Name

A Heart Within A Heart Within A Heart

While Phillip was playing in Duck Creek with his friends trying to catch minnows and crayfish, I walked around with my camera and found this leaf plastered to a rock with water running over it. The rock, the leaf and the hole in the leaf all look like hearts to me.

Drove by this house and looking at it made me wonder how the people living there can stand having ivy grow over the windows. Gives me the creeps. I like it growing every place but over the windows. Guess the ivy got out of control and took over before the owners could figure out what to do.

Came home one evening about 8:30 and everything outside had such a pretty, rosy glow about it. The rosy glow doesn't show up in the photo but it's still a nice view from our front door. Less than four months ago this was still all under snow.

Speaking of snow, every winter I have Phillip pack some snow into a plastic bag and then we keep it in the freezer until July. Some years we do icicles. Here he is in January collecting some snow that he chopped from a snowbank.

And here he is a few days ago with the dirty chunk of snow that's been taking up space in our freezer for five months.

Hey, a kid's gotta do what a kid's gotta do to have fun.

Happy Birthday, America

Because of the sacrifices of so many men and women over the years, America is still the land of the free and home of the brave. The older I get the more my love and appreciation for this country deepens.

My dad, on the left, while serving in Europe during World War II.

My husband, also a veteran, putting up the American flag on the Fourth of July.

It's my wish on this Independence Day, that every child be as happy as this one was when the photo was taken. I hope they grow up knowing what it means to be patriotic. I hope someone explains to them that the reason they're enjoying the family barbecue and fireworks is due in large part to the people who served this country in the past and to those who continue to do so today. I hope they understand that they are blessed to live in the the United States of America.

On a less serious note, it's become a tradition for me to make Melting Moments every Fourth of July.

Backyard fireworks at our son and dil's house. The best kind because you always get a front row seat. The color photos in this post were taken last year. We're still making our memories for July 4, 2009.

Garden Bloggers' Muse Day - July 1

"Live in each season as it passes:

breath the air,

drink the drink,

taste the fruit."

-Henry David Thoreau

From: Huckleberries (Notes On Fruits)

Posthumous Publication

This field of spiderwort grows in a neighborhood not far from my house and screams summer to me every time I see it.

Carolyn at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago is so kind to host Garden Bloggers' Muse Day on the first day of every month. Post your poem, quote, riddle, photo, story or whatever you wish to share. Then go to Carolyn's blog and leave a comment saying that you've joined in the fun. You'll be surprised who comes to visit your blog. Thank you Carolyn.