Around the Garden

This is such an exciting time of the year because so much is happening in our garden every day! And the weather is still cool enough, which means I spend a good bit of time outside looking at everything. Later in the summer I basically hide in the air conditioning...

Last year, we planted a quince tree. It was just a stick, really, that then grew branches and leaves. This year, we had a few flowers and it looks like we are getting two quinces to grow, which is probably enough for the tree as it grows and gets established.

The oleander is blooming already and will hopefully continue to do so throughout the summer.

It's such a beautiful splash of color!

A few days ago, our jasmine started blooming and because it's cool enough to have the windows open, we can even smell its wonderful fragrance inside the house.  

While our "normal" hydrangeas aren't blooming yet, one of our oak leaf hydrangeas is sporting gorgeous flowers. The other two are in a different part of our yard and were really affected by the hurricane winds last fall. While they are growing and leafing out, they don't have flowers this year. We are happy they survived the storm!

Every year, Daniel plants a good number of annuals in pots which we have around our back porch and patios. One of my favorites this year is this impatiens with the filled flowers. They look like little roses.

Ahhhhh, the figs are growing! Our tree is loaded and I need to start collecting recipes! I'm sure we'll be making lots of jam and chutney again.

Mama raccoon has been fun to watch. Most of the time, we just see her ears.

But sometimes she will look out and stretch. Can't wait for the babies to get bigger and start peeking out of their nest.

The other day, I looked up to see what the raccoon was doing and saw a green heron sitting nearby. We hear them all the time, but they are usually well camouflaged in the leafy branches.

Tomorrow we are expecting storms but the weekend promises to be gorgeous again. Maybe I'll take some more photos then...

Happy Thursday, everyone!!

❧ Silke

Backyard Trees & Thoughts

I had mentioned our backyard trees to my friend Victoria (of The Dreaming Palette) yesterday and she said I should take pictures sometime. So, that's what I did this morning. 

In our rather small backyard we have nine large trees. It was hard taking photos because I can't get enough distance to capture all of them. 

I love how this one tree was incorporated into the back porch! 

Probably because of the trees (two large pines and seven oak trees), we have amazing wildlife in our small backyard. 

All those birds I have shown you in earlier posts, plus toads, frogs, snakes, lizards, salamanders, squirrels, opossums, and raccoons.  And probably some mice we don't usually see... Also, because the trees are very tall, there is a whole community of birds in the tree tops that we never see in our yard. We often hear green herons somewhere in the trees, but very rarely can spot them. The same with the pileated woodpeckers.

I love sitting outside and looking up into the trees, contemplating "stuff"! In fact, it's one of my very favorite things to do! 

And this morning I was contemplating something that's been on my mind lately that I've been wondering about. It's our notion that we have to do everything by ourselves in life and how hard it is to accept anything from others. 

I know quite a few people (I'm not talking about any of you here, but I am including myself as this has been true for me at times) who would do anything for others, but have a hard time if anything done for them that isn't "paid for." Do you know what I mean? We've become so insular and I think many people have so much stress in their lives because they cannot allow others to help in any way.

And then I wonder if you can really truly know the gift of giving to someone (a true gift - no strings attached) if you cannot allow a gift to be given to you? I think giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin and you cannot know the one without knowing the other.

I have come to no conclusions, but I have this feeling that learning to receive is just as important as learning how to give. And for all of our talk of community, that seems to only go so far. Is it fear? Is is pride (shame)? Is it feeling like a failure? Probably all of those. And that makes me a little sad.

How much do we miss out on because we cannot accept a gift? Maybe it's that we believe we aren't worthy. Or that what we have to offer in return isn't as valuable as what we receive. I'm not sure.

I should say, too, that I've experienced all of this with every range of emotion, which is why this occupies my thoughts...

I know I'm not being super clear here, but do you have any thoughts about this?

Cherry Blossoms

We took so many photos on our road trip, that I didn't quite know where to start showing you. So, I thought I'd begin with what was most stunning to me. The cherry blossoms!

I had heard about them, even seen pictures and have to admit, I didn't really see what the big deal was. However, seeing that many cherry trees in bloom at once, framing some of Washington's most beautiful scenery ~~ it was breathtaking! (Click here to read more about the history of Washington's cherry trees.)

Neither Daniel nor I had ever seen this before. Daniel's sister, Sue (whom we met up with in Washington), saw them many years ago and remembered them to be more pink. This time around, they were mostly white with just a tinge of pink.

This year was the 100th anniversary of the Cherry Blossom Festival and the path around the tidal basin was packed! Although not as much as I had thought since the cherries are blooming quite a bit earlier due to the warm spring we've had on the East Coast.

Of course, we did see and do much more and I have more to share with you. And not just in Washington. But all in due time...

Today, we have some good friends coming in from Ohio. They are on their way to Florida and are stopping for one evening here to see Savannah.

We are supposed to have storms and rain all afternoon, but I hope it'll let up enough for them to see our beautiful little town.

Tomorrow, I'll share some photos with you that will feed your imagination and creativity...

Wishing you a Happy Saturday!!

Seeing Red...

This is my favorite time of year when the air is crisp and the leaves are changing color before starting to fall and announce that winter is coming. 

Here in southeast Georgia, autumn colors are not quite as obvious as in other parts of the county because we have many trees that are evergreens.

But right now, you can see the reds of fall everywhere...

...and I can't snap enough photos!

Even the ornamental pear in our yard has a few leaves turning reddish - when there are more, I'll have to take a picture for you.

And this photo I just snuck in because I love it!

In the next three weeks, my blogging and my visits to your blogs will be sporadic at best. Like most of you, we just get super busy this time of year and I want to make sure that blogging doesn't become another "should" on my long list of things that need to be done.

So, when I find time, I'll do some posts and try to visit you all because - especially during this upcoming holiday season - I find your blogs immensely inspiring! Thank you!!!

Monday Morning...

Somehow I have gotten out of the habit of carrying our camera with me and constantly snapping pictures of interesting tidbits for my blog. But last weekend, I did get a photo of this decaying mushroom in the midst of the never-ending mess the squirrels are making right now. I know it's kind of gross, but I loved all the textures together.

The same goes for this dead leaf - it looked to me like a piece of textured fabric. Isn't it cool? Well, sort of?

These I spied while I was watching Daniel wrestle with a dead branch on one of our trees. After much sawing, 

finally, the branch fell and our tree looked much better. 

In other news, I blocked two of my new scarves and will be able to take pictures tomorrow after things dry out a bit. We are having an unsettled and stormy day today (it's rumbling outside as I type this), which means I'll probably be off the computer most of the day.

But if and when I can, I'll be visiting your blogs! Hope you are doing well and are enjoying a good start into this week!!

Backyard Interlude & More

I have another tag ready to show you, but today, a brief intermission from our little forest garden out back.
A couple of days ago, it rained and rained all afternoon and stopped just in time for me to get a few pictures in the evening light.
I love how things look after a good soaking - the wood is so dark, the greens lush and the colors have a special vibrancy.
The oak leaf hydrangea freshly washed,
and then again yesterday in the shunshine.
Everything seemed happy, especially all of our different kinds of ferns.



Just look at this window box Daniel planted last weekend. It's already filled out. That's what warmth and humidity will do - I wilt, but the plants love it!

And since we are on the subject of nature, I wanted to show you a few pictures our good friend, Raina, sent us of some of some of the 400 flowering cherry trees in Amsterdam donated to the city in 2000 by the Japan Women's Club.

Raina and I met some 21 years ago when we sat next to each other in a statistics class in San Jose, California. She, Daniel and I have been fast friends ever since.

Thank you for this treat, Raina!!

Last, but definitely not least, head on over to the very talented and generous Theresa of Faerie Moon Creations, who has graciously featured a fellow artisan and myself. While you are there, be certain to check out Theresa's Etsy store - she and her husband design the jewelry they sell. You'll find that it's both whimsical and romantic, like this pretty necklace:

Tomorrow, I'll show you my latest art tag. And maybe another little painting that was giving me such trouble yesterday that I gessoed over it and will start from scratch. We'll see how it goes...

But for now, I wish you a most excellent Thursday!