Old Porcelain Art

Useful in a good many ways,

an old porcelain yellow lid

is today in my cottage kitchen.....

displayed as a piece of 

"old porcelain art."

Have a sweet ole' day!  Dee Dee

Burlap

Who would have ever thought

that "burlap" would be used

so many different ways in our

modern decor.

The magazines offer so many 

wonderful ideas in using this

primitive fabric. 

 Potato sacks, they were

once called....

The very poor made clothes

from the fabric during the

"great depression."

When gifted with this 

pillow two Christmases ago....

I found it somewhat nostalgic

yet interesting the French writing.....

It fits in quite nicely with

my winter whites and

champagne living room colors.

Have a beautiful day, everyone.  Dee Dee

Winter Knockout Roses

January ends with sweet

Knockout Roses spreading

 perfume in the air, 

while making lasting impressions. 

I suppose I'm partial to these

 no fuss or bother Roses, 

lovin' they bloom all 

year long here in Florida.

Twice a year I cut them back, 

restoring new life.

Celebrating again the beauty of nature.

Have a blessed week, everyone!  Dee Dee

click on images to enlarge

On My Desk To Read

Setting aside 230 million acres of wild America

for posterity, including the Grand Canyon,

Devil's Tower, and the Petrified Forest....

Building the Panama Canal, perhaps the most

controversial act of Roosevelt's presidency.

A curiosity to me, unlike most books I read.

Social history at its best, "Founding Mothers"

unveils the drive, determination, creative insight

and passion of the other patriots, the women 

who raised our nation. Cokie Roberts proves

beyond a doubt that like every generation of 

American women that has followed, the founding

mothers used the unique gifts of their gender.....

courage, pluck, sadness, joy, energy, grace, 

sensitivity, and humor.....to do what women do

best, put one foot in front of the other in 

remarkable circumstances and carry on.

As a reader of non fiction history, with great

emphasis on the "Founding Fathers"... this

is truly "right up my alley." 

Have a blessed Lord's day, everyone!  Dee Dee

Phillipe Park

The weather's been perfect, so

we've been visiting several parks

in our area. Mid week, and again

we had much of the park to ourselves.

A fallen palm tree had been

growing this way for a number of

years.  We could see evidence that people

 had walked on the tree and found several

initial carvings.  No worse for

this kind of treatment, the palm 

tree seemed pretty resilient.

I was more interested in the bird sounds and

the trees were filled with a variety of our

"fine feathered friends."  I'm thinking many

make the park their winter home.

I saw lots of Robins and was fortunate

to capture a couple with my camera lens.                                    

This too is a Robin.....I took the

photo moments before he flew. What

a sweet little thing and I'm lovin'

the photo.

Why do birds sing?

Birds do not sing because they are happy. 

The two main reasons are to attract a mate 

and to defend a territory.  Birds recognize

the song of their own species: females are

attracted to a male with a powerful and 

complex song, and other males are driven

away from his territory.

I'm so glad you stopped by.....

Have a sweet ole' day!  Dee Dee

click on images to enlarge

Lazy Daze Of Winter

Clear skies, salty winter breezes

and all is well with my soul.

Most of the activity was happening

way up ahead, and so we 

walked the long pier.

The pier is lighted at night for 

walkers and fishermen..... 

We stood watching as these two

young men stood waiting and 

watching for schooling fish. 

The water here is clear and today

at low tide. They cast their net and

we watched as they pulled it onto

the pier.

"One Mullet" he said, and tossed the

fish into the cooler. Again they watched

and waited for more schooling fish.

We walked on down the pier. 

All was quiet at the Marina.....in

Safety Harbor. The weekend would

find a flurry of activity. But not today,

mid week.

These are the lazy days of winter here

on Florida's Gulf Coast.  The beaches

are swarming with "Snow Birds" visitors

from other states and many other countries.

The shops are bursting at the seams and

the mall's are packed.  Good for our

small businesses that rely on these folks

to spend their money while enjoying themselves.

We've always found it a curiosity the names

for boats.  We laughed at the one named "Puff."

"Up a lazy river......blue skies up above,

everyone's in love, up a lazy river, how

happy we'll be, up a lazy river with me!"

Have a sweet ole' day!  Dee Dee

click on images to enlarge

Beautiful Safety Harbor Florida

Famous for it's  "Resort and Health Spa"

Safety Harbor is a wonderful little

coastal town....a "jewel" in every respect.

It's charm brings me to the area often, 

with my camera in hand.  Today, was just such a day,

and I've taken some real nice photos.  

Winter months are the best of all times,

 here on Florida's Gulf coast.

If ever there's a bird around, I'll

be drawn to it's beauty.  Nesting in

the grasses, was a beautiful Pigeon

with the light shining on it's feathers

at all the right places. 

Many of the trees in the area are very old

and as you can see.....very large. They

provide much needed shade for

Florida's hot summers.

Normally a house plant, the

vine grows to enormous size. 

"Crown of Thorns" a lovely plant with

thorns on the stems..."beware."

I loved the old stone bench......and

the shape of the tree. If only the 

tree could talk we might hear some

sweet stories of yesteryear.

Another beautiful Pigeon just as curious about me

as I was about it. I just stood and admired the

colors he was blessed to wear each day.

And finally, I found a lovely place to sit and read, or

just sit and ponder one's surroundings.

I'm glad you stopped by today and

hope you come along with me tomorrow

as I show you a few more images of one

of Florida's prettiest resort towns.

Sweet blessings......Dee Dee

click on photos to enlarge

Pink Camellias

The skies have been mostly cloudy

lately.  On this day,  the

morning light was perfect for taking

a few photos of our new Camellias.

Our tree trimmer came this

week, trimmed the fruit tree,

the tall palm trees,

and took down two of our tall

White Bird of Paradise plants.  They

were over twenty feet tall and 

a worry during hurricane season. 

Fortunately, we still have plenty of these

 "White Bird" plants,

a major part of our lush tropical garden.

Thus far, we've had a warm winter....

with no damage to flowering plants.

I'm thinking of family, friends and

bloggy friends living in colder climate.  

I hope this post with sunshine and

flowers has brightened 

your day just a little.

Winter blessings.....Dee Dee

I Wonder......

Affectionately called by my family

a "Dr Suess Tree"

I've often wondered if Dr. Suess

got his tree drawing ideas 

from Florida's  "Pony Tail Palm."

Is it just me? What do you think?

Have a sweet ole' day, everyone!  Dee Dee

Tea Olive

With little effort at all, 

I can recall 

the fragrance of the 

"Tea Olive"  that

floated through the air,

over much of our

southern home town.

  

Having now added this lovely plant

to our cottage garden......

I shall be daily and continually transported 

back to those sweet memories 

of the south,

with the sweet and agreeable

smell of "Tea Olive."

Have a beautiful and blessed week......Dee Dee

Sunset Over the Gulf Of Mexico

Provided by the "Master"

On thoughts as the day closes.

Was today well spent?

For soon the sun reposes.....

The glow of day is fading

And soon will be past.

Have we made a memory

That will keep and last?

~S. L. Howard

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

My Red Camellias

 Our red Camellia bush was planted in

our garden, over ten years ago......

yet,  it stands

no taller than five feet. I've 

contributed this to the sandy

Florida soil and perhaps

hot climate and salty

Gulf breezes.  I am, however

thankful for the beautiful

Camellia bush, that year after

year provides beautiful blooms

for our enjoyment.

The buds begin making their

appearance in November and

by this time of year the buds

are quite large ........ 

as seen here.

These are the various stages of the

blooming process.

The bloom, in itself, is quite lovely.

And then....."perfection."

Flowers refresh and restore the spirit,

while creating something quite magical in a garden.

I'm glad you stopped by, and please

have a sweet ole' weekend......Dee Dee

click on images to enlarge

Wildflowers

Scarce in the winter months, I found 

very few wildflowers at the park.

I did find a few thriving, growing and 

blooming along side the lake's shore.

They were pretty as could be, and

showing off to "beat the band."

Partial to white flowers,

 I was completely impressed with 

this tiny bloom.

Clearly rooted in the water, it was growing beneath

a small tree draped in sphagnum moss.

I love having the time for discovery.........and

wonder at how much we miss in nature

by not looking close enough.

         Daisy: What kind of garden do you come from?

Alice: Oh, I don't come from any garden.

  Daisy: Do you suppose she's a wildflower?

~Alice In Wonderland

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

Be sure to click on photos to enlarge....

A Celebration of Nature

Today we walked in 

Chestnut Park, a lovely place, bordered by 

beautiful Lake Tarpon. 

Mid week, and 

all was mostly quiet there, but

for the few folks we encountered.  

  A grandmother sat

on a park bench reading from her

Kindle as her granddaughter played

in the sand. 

 A young couple, 

interested only in one another,

walked ahead of us, dropping

 chewing gum wrappings

on the pathway. 

An older

couple walking slowly, 

passed us by .....

we all

simultaneously

 nodded with a common greeting of

"Hello."

  A young man was fly fishing

from a pier, as his companion 

 transfixed on her phone

application.

I looked for wild flowers and wildlife

and found a few of each.......

Yellow flowers growing midst

the willows were plentiful and so lovely.......

A tiny honey bee was busy gathering sweet

"yellow flower" nectar.

Beware the alligators.....the sign warned.

The Mister's keen eye spotted this fine specimen.

The Blue Heron......unaware of my presence,

stood for a long while,

in the shallow lake water, surrounded by willows. 

I was elated with the opportunity to take so many photos.

Today was a true celebration of nature.

I'm glad you stopped by.....Dee Dee

click on images to enlarge