Day 314 - Fall perspective

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."
~ Albert Camus ~

Day 279 - Evening light

Couldn't resist yet another shot of the bench and flowers in the evening glow of sunlight and shadow... it's just so peaceful.

Day 275 - Pots of pretty

When we finished decorating the front porch, we thought a little fall color on the patio would look nice.

After taking a picture of the dogwood branch yesterday, the bright yellow of this leaf lying in the grass caught my eye as I walked back to the house.

Day 268 - Mum's the word

A sure sign of fall hereabouts is the abundance of mums that start appearing in yards, garden shops, and stores when the weather cools. When we stopped at Safeway to pick up a few items, there were masses of these yellow pretties on display .

Day 233 - Burgundy beauty

Close-up of the gorgeous Sumatra lilies I got for my birthday from Susan, Lawrence, and little Winston. The color is simply stunning and the flowers are huge.

To avoid a repeat of last year's smashed vase of flowers, we've got them far from the clutches of beastie-boy Buster and they'll be behind closed doors in Lew's office for the night.

Day 222 - Bodacious bloom

After a visit to a girlfriend (and her hibiscus) in Florida several years ago, I wanted some hibiscus in my yard too. Originally, we bought six plants but two died and the remainder struggled for a few seasons before they decided that our yard wasn't such a bad place to live in.

We still battle some kind of munching critter, but for the most part they've developed into pretty plants and produce humongous blooms. Seriously, these things are at least saucer-sized, with or without munchers!

Day 176 - Wet pink

Had to contort myself a little to get this shot, but I really liked the results.

One of these days maybe I'll get a "big girl" camera with a super duper macro lens. In the meantime, my little point and shoot doesn't do such a bad job with the water drops on our front yard pink impatiens.

Day 171 - Hot Orange

This bright, vivid orange lily in our front yard almost looks too hot to touch, doesn't it?

Day 161 - Nestled all snug in their bed...

Some of this season's New Guinea impatiens are planted, mulched, watered and all ready to display their talents in the back yard.

And, while trying to get today's shot, I inadvertently caught this reflection of Lew for this week's theme - father to his and step-father to mine.

Day 159 - Future blossom

Hoping to mimic the showy performance of the verbena basket on the deck, we made sure the new ones had plenty of ready-to-pop buds.

Day 158 - Shades of Gold

In our travels yesterday, we stopped at WalMart to see if they had discounted any of their seasonal flowers. WooHoo! - we hit the jackpot - they had small hanging baskets of impatiens, verbena (we got one for the front,) and these little pretties (3 for the deck) for $4.00 apiece! Normally they'd sell for $10-12.00. Don't know what they are (I should!) but I was enthralled with the different shades of yellows and coppery pinks as the flower matures. Anyone know what it is??

I loves me a bargain... even if I don't know what I'm buying! LOL

Lew's Pics shows them hanging on the deck.

Day 149 - Planting time

One of the perennials we planted in the side bed last year has failed to make an appearance as it should have. So, needing a bit of fill-in, Lew planted this pretty little scabiosa pin cushion plant today (shearing through the automatic watering system hose in the process... ooops! - luckily, we're not using that zone right now.)

Day 146 - Pretty 'n' pink

We're running a little late with our planting this year, but we finally made a start with the purchase of two flats of New Guinea impatiens today. Getting them into the ground should keep us busy for a bit.

Day 88 - Spring things

As noted on Lew's Pics, Baker Park is in full spring greening mode and there was much to enjoy and photograph. From the willows and covered bridge to...

...the always hungry, people-friendly ducks who populate the lake. These two meandered across the street (protected by their personal crossing signs) begging for food before we even got out of the car!

The early flowering shrubs, trees, and flowers are showing their beauty, so in spite of overcast skies and a bit of wind, it was a lovely visit to the park.

Day #302 - That Darn Cat!!

*sigh* Anyone want a cat... free? Remember that beautiful vase we had and the beautiful flowers that Beth sent?? The operative word here is h-a-d. This is what it looks like now.

Our rotten cat, who has now risen to the top of my sh*t list, waited until I forgot and left the room before he jumped up on the mantel and knocked it off, shattering it, breaking flowers, and scarring the hearthstone. Miserable animal!

The remaining flowers are in Lew's office for now - with the door closed.

Day #300 - Fickle flowers...

So, I poked my head out the patio door this afternoon, and surprise, surprise! Peeking out from under the leaves that are falling were these pretty little purple sedum flowers. The surprise was that (1) they're flowering ... again and this late... and (2) the flowers are purple. They were bright yellow the first time! What an unexpected treat!

Day #298 - Bouquet de fleurs...

Wow, what a beautiful bunch of flowers Lew's daughter, Beth, sent to congratulate him on his retirement. The fall colors are just gorgeous. Buster thinks so too; he's had the audacity to jump up on the mantel... twice!!... for a closer look-see. Baaaad kitty!

Day #290 - Seasonal colors...

In spite of the goofy summer weather we're still having, I've been putting out more seasonal decorations. This little pretty lives on the kitchen table during the fall months.

Day #286 - Sunny flowers...

Lookit what we found! While we were out and about today, on a road we don't travel that often, we came across an entire field of sunflowers! It was just a huuuuge mass of happy yellow faces - really an awesome sight. Several others had stopped to take pictures too, and one lady I talked to, who has lived nearby for six years and traveled that road regularly, had never seen them before.

Maybe whoever planted them is going into the sunflower seed business - they'll sure have one heck of a harvest!

Day #204 - *Sniffle*

This poor wilted New Guinea impatiens pretty much croaked while we were gone - guess it wasn't happy without its daily shower. Ah well, at least the others survived.