Not Only Was It A Beautiful Day......

.....it was  a perfect time for a drive out

to Honeymoon Island.

The Oleander on the causeway,

was in full bloom.

The wind blowing,

had me wondering if any of

the photos would be in focus.

The flowers were beautiful,

but the bird life got my full

attention....

This fine fellow ..... the

largest brown speckled

Sea Gull on the causeway today,

 was king of his own castle,

or so it appeared.

My favorite photo of the day,

Egret

 struggling to swallow

the fish,

 before the hungry

Sea Gull

claimed the "sea" food for

it's own.

"By the sea, by the sea,

by the beautiful sea,

you and me, you and me

oh how happy we'll be......"

Have a wonderful day!  Dee Dee

click on photos to enlarge

Managing Life In Unexpected Places

From my cottage garden.......

pretty Hibiscus

all colorful and quite lovely

  and

one tiny wild flower,

worthy of  mention.

On my walk around

 the garden

there are often surprises.

I sometimes  see tiny

wild flowers

managing life in

unexpected places. 

The camera

with it's macro setting

 gives the illusion

 of a much larger

bloom.

In the upper right corner

 of this collage

is a tiny

and delicate

reddish colored

wild flower, 

that had it's

beginnings, 

 and did bloom in

white rock gravel. 

 It's life,

 short-lived,

was noticed

and enjoyed by me.

May your footsteps set you upon

a lifetime journey of love.  May you

wake each day with His blessings

and sleep each night in His keeping.

And may you always walk in His tender care.

Have a wonderful Lord's day......Dee Dee

click on collage to enlarge

A Morning Garden Yields Sweet Surprises

From my

 cottage window,

I could see ......

a  morning

shaft of sunshine

winding through

the branches

of the old

grapefruit tree.....

 barely

finding  the

new born

yellow

petals

of  a

 tiny

 Zinnia.

Just living is not enough....

one must have sunshine, freedom

and a little flower.

~Hans Christian Anderson

Make the day special.......Dee Dee

Pink Geraniums

I brought these beautiful

pink Geraniums from the

porch and into the garden

for a bit of morning sunshine.....

You've probably noticed I am

partial to pink....

Lovin'

.......turquoise and pink combination

I plan to pay close attention to

these pretty things.....hoping

they last all summer,

then bringing them inside for

the winter months.

"Our lives would be diminished

without a garden in which to work.

~Mary Lu Sinclair

And gardening is work.....a

labor of love, I believe.

Are you having a good week?

I hope so.

I'm feeling so thankful for His beautiful

creation today.....  Dee Dee

click on photos to enlarge

The Camera Loved The Roses

I opened the curtains

in this 

cottage room

and watched as the 

 bright morning

 sunlight

landed in

interesting places......

........on the

sweet

Roses

that made me

feel

  like I was having

desert

after

our

 breakfast of

hot coffee and

cinnamon- raisin toast.

In this room

of relaxation, 

hangs

 a vibrant orange

"Life Is Beautiful"

painting.....

perhaps embarrassingly

a bit

 "over the top"

So be it....the

words are true.....

Look closely and

you just might

hear the sounds

of contentment.

And....you might hear

the click of my camera,

that's lovin' the Roses.

Have a blessed day.......Dee Dee

click on photos to enlarge

My Zinnias Are Thriving

I'm so pleased with my potted Zinnias.

I water and fuss over them every day

and they are responding  to all the special

attention.......

I can't seem to take enough photos of

these beauties.

Wanted to show them off to

everyone, so  I've prepared a very

nice collage.....

Look at the blessings you've received today,

all the things God has done and is doing in

your life, and appreciate them.......

Have a wonderful day, everyone!  Dee Dee

click on photos to enlarge

Morning After The Rain

Early morning mist in the garden.......

Equestrian post horse-head stood

firm on the bistro table through all

the wind and rain.

We remember it was

 last summer

since hearing

thunder and seeing

 lightening.

It seemed new and

somewhat

nostalgic to us.

The downpour of rain

 had began

late evening.

The garden lights on,

 we

watched the raindrops

splash

in the pool.

The Mister noted

the  fragrance of

wet earth.

The morning's calm

in the garden

left the storm's

evidence 

in 

"newness of life."

Have a beautiful day......Dee Dee

Flowers Blooming

I'm finding these beautiful Hibiscus

flowers blooming all over our little

coastal town.  I've been wondering

and have quite possibly concluded

that  we "human beings"

 have a lot in common with nature.

Perhaps we're  connected  by

God's own design.

I don't know about you, but spring

brings newness of life for me too.

Have you noticed that

nature's been  tidying up the

outdoors......

Note: new green carpet on the 

ground and the trees  and shrubs adorned with

beautiful flowers. 

Pretty Desert Rose blooming and

I am so impressed!

Along with a bit of spring cleaning,

I have fresh ideas and  an irresistible

urge to brighten up my life and

all the rooms in the cottage.

Fabric store....here I come!

Stay tuned for a

"Whitewashed Cottage" spring renewal.

Sweet blessings for all.....Dee Dee

God Bless You

"The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine

upon you, and be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance

upon you, and give you peace."

~Numbers 6:24-26

......Dee Dee

Yogurt And Roses

Whew!  What a busy day this has been,

and I'm finally glad to sit down and just

relax a little.  "It's all natural and taste

delicious....Chobani Greek Yogurt.

Only natural ingredients Mom" she said.

The kids are looking out for us and

in this case her suggestion is to my liking.

Okay.....so I do this little

 "quirky" thing

when I eat yogurt.  I sort through the

silverware, finding a small slender

stainless steel spoon. 

 It's very old, and one of a kind,

having a delicate rose pattern. 

Well worn, it is still lovely

to me and I like that it provides a small

bite size.

So, this evening, I've settled down with

a book...."Daily Encouragement For Women"

"Whispers of Blessing"

....finding  refreshment for the soul

written on the pages.

I'm also enjoying refreshment

for my digestive system,

 with each tiny  "rose patterned" spoon full

of Chobani yogurt.

Kind of quirky, right?

Especially enjoying the moment!  Dee Dee

Curio

"Curio"

An object or article valued

because it is strange or rare.

I suppose each generation has

it's own traditions.  My generation

can identify plenty, and many of them are

evidenced throughout my home.

The lighted curio cabinet in my

living room, for example, is one

piece of furniture that definitely

sets my decor apart from this

younger generation. Considered

by some as old fashioned and

out-of-style, there it stands,

 holding my "pretties" and

antique collectibles.

In recent times, I've wondered

at these traditions, asking myself if

the curio collection

is important to me now. I even went

so far as to suggest we do away

with the whole "lot."

I held the plate in my hand,

examining the detailed tiny

pink and delicate flowers,

 and the beautiful gilded trim.  

I  found, I  still had the same

feelings of fondness for this

floral beauty.

.   I had dickered with the dealer,

and he'd  eventually given  me a real good

deal on the plate, saying it was worth

much more than I was willing to pay for it.

  It is still lovely to hold in my hands and,

it is equally pleasing to my eyes.

I'm thinking the "curio cabinet" and

it's inhabitants will continue to occupy

 here at the cottage.

After much soul searching, I've concluded

I'm by all means, still a generational

traditionalist.

Have a sweet ole' day.....Dee Dee

click on photos to enlarge

Rose Garden Tea

She is my dear friend, and

before the month ends, Priscilla

will be married. Widowed

for a long while, she wonders

almost in disbelief at meeting

and falling in love again.

A small church wedding with

close friends and family,

she's asked me to take a few

photos of the ceremony.

Her gift to me, for doing so.....

beautiful floral tea cups.

She knows me well, that I

enjoy a nice cup of tea and

that Roses grow in abundance

in my garden.

What greater thing is there for two

 human souls than to

feel that they are joined together

to strengthen each other

in all labour, to minister

to each other in all sorrow, to

share with each other in all gladness,

 to be one with each

other in the silent unspoken

 memories? ~George Eliot

Sweet  blessings  today......Dee Dee

click on photos to enlarge

Pelican

Now that I'm on the subject of birds,

I thought this fine looking Pelican

worthy of a repeat on my blog.

Last summer, while

 standing on the Safety Harbor

Pier gazing at the Manatee noses,

this beautiful creature made a splash

landing in the water. The waters were calm,

that day, almost glass like.   Later while

looking through my photos I was

surprised and  pleased with the

clarity of this photo.

Are you having a good week? 

I hope so.....Dee Dee

Birdies

Lots of bird activity in our garden.

Twice today, I went out with my

 camera to take photos of our

little feathered friends.  A

Mockingbird was in the birdbath,

oblivious to the rest of the world.

After several attempts to take a

clear photo of the bird, I gave up.......

and decided to draw and paint my

very own "birdies."

You can see, I've quite the

imagination.

"Pink Birdie" is

obviously more feminine and

"Blue Birdie" has more of a masculine

physique.

Hmmm......I'm seeing the beginnings of a

children's story here.

Have a fun day, everyone!  Dee Dee

Glistening Dew Drops

I awoke to a radiant sunrise

against a sky of blue,

I saw the glistening dew drops

and my thoughts were filled with you....

In those quiet and peaceful moments

of Your bright and glorious day,

I thought of You again, my Lord......

~S Powell

I love when I'm in the garden early

enough to see the dew. 

In this case, on the Periwinkle flowers.

 It means I've

been given a glimpse of something

quite extraordinary and spectacular in nature.......

A sweet thought for the day....

Half the joy of life is little things.

Keep your eyes open that  nothing worthwhile

will escape you today........Dee Dee

Fuchsia Lantanas

We spent the  morning re-doing one

of the pots in the garden. 

Never could I have imagined I would

find something as lovely as these fuchsia

colored Lantanas.

They are small now, but in time they

will spread and  hopefully cascade  down

the sides of the pot.

Dear family and friends.....

May you wake each day with His Blessings

and sleep each night in His keeping.  And

may you always walk in His tender care.

Have a blessed Lord's day........Dee Dee

Click on photos to enlarge....they look amazing !

A Closer Look At The Nandina Blooms

We had a nice spring rain a few

days ago.  Afterwards I took my

camera into the garden.

The Nandina shrubs  are blooming so

beautifully, and with the macro

setting I took a real close look. 

Pretty how the rain drops lined up

on the leaves....

Have a beautiful day, everyone.  Dee Dee

Sugar and Spice

OLIVIA

I have unlimited resources when it

comes to subjects.  I love drawing

and painting  children and all that

is their world. 

With an abundance of grandchildren,

their little faces often appear in my paintings.

"Sugar and spice and everything nice,

that's what little girls are made of."

Have a most perfect and happy day!  Dee Dee

Ugh! Critter Invasion

I know, I know.....

I sure do a lot of posting on our

garden Hibiscus.

Early this morning,

I could see from the porch

this beautiful flower.

Upon closer examination,

my face went from happy

to sad

Oh my.....all over the leaves I

could see tiny white insects.

Seemingly overnight, the plant

had been invaded. 

Not to worry.......I always keep on hand,

 insecticide for just such occasions.

Very quickly, I was on a mission

 to save the life of my

beloved Hibiscus plants....others

had signs of bug life as well.

Tropical gardening is not always

an easy task.  I have to stay alert,

not only for the plants watering needs,

 I have to be on a constant  lookout for unwanted,

leaf munching, hungry critters.

Sigh......life does have it's ups and downs

now, doesn't it?

Blessings for all.......Dee Dee

A Quick Vist and Photos

We stopped by to deliver some

books and my camera had come

along for the ride. I couldn't

resist.......as you can see.

 Her small Florida home has

lots of curb appeal

with sweet

Petunias in the window boxes.

 Like her mother,

our daughter enjoys

 flowers and gardening.

It's quiet there in these photos, but most

hours of the day, the yard is alive with

 sounds of happy children playing.

The swing,

 well enjoyed by each family member,

is tied to a branch

way up high in an old

and very large Chinaberry tree.

In the foreground is a rare

and also very old

"Ponytail" palm....native to Mexico.

Our visit was short.....

homeschooled children were  in the

school room. They did stop long

enough to offer sweet and cherished hugs.

  We dropped off the

books, and went on our way. I'm

glad you stopped by with us.....

Have an especially nice day everyone.......Dee Dee

Our Feathered Visitors

It's early morning in the garden

and Blue Jays are noisy enough

to draw attention to themselves.....

I zoomed in quickly and snapped

off  photos in rapid  succession.

Our feathered visitors  perched in the fruit tree

stayed  for just a few short minutes.

In this photo, I love how

the sunlight filtered  through the branches,

 and onto the bird.

 The Jay has

soft white and blue colors.

I love the large golden grapefruit

offering more  color interest .

A closer look, almost hidden

amongst the leaves are new

small green fruits.

These days, my photos are only the

beginning of what I hope to accomplish

in photography. Each day, I experiment

with Photoshop, finding I have at my

fingertips some pretty amazing tools.

Have a blessed day......Dee Dee

click on photos to enlarge

A Violet From Priscilla

My friend Priscilla

knowing I've been a bit

"under-the-weather"

stopped by to bring me

a "cheering up" gift.

As you can see, it is a delicate

and oh so pretty  African Violet.

Nothing quite so beautiful gets

by the lens of my camera......

Wanting the best in lighting,

I brought the Violet out into

the garden and placed it

on the bistro table.

The photos, although  quite lovely

to begin with.....

were tweeked  a bit with Photoshop.

I'm lovin' the macro setting.....

Have a blessed week everyone......Dee Dee

 click on photos to enlarge