Batten Down the Hatches!

I am writing this on Tuesday afternoon and we are spending the day getting ready for bad weather. Hopefully it will only be wind and rain.

Our skies are still bright and sunny but there are clouds moving in.

And I sure will miss going to the Farmer’s Mkt this week! It’s been so great to get lots of fresh fruits and veggies every week.

Last summer I made this cute outfit for Zeta and posed her with some gorgeous mums from the Farmer’s mkt.

So we’ll just share these photos this week and hope and pray for good weather.

I’m thinking about all of my blog buddies here in Florida too and hope we all escape the worst of it.

Take care and see you when the wind dies down! Keep us in your prayers, please!

Be sure to visit JoAnn today! She’s showing off her cute dolls HERE!

Happy Wednesday Wee Ones!

Don’t forget to

Take time to PLAY!

Butterfly Photography

I’ve never had much success taking butterfly photos.

 

I know I should learn to change my settings on my camera and that would help! lol

But it’s more fun to walk around Shalom Park, running from flower to flower like a crazy woman.

Every time I thought I was in the perfect spot, they would take off in another direction.

At least I got a little exercise on this ‘walk’! hahaha!

Are you tired yet? We could sit down on this nice bench.

WAIT…better watch where you sit!

Or better yet…let’s keep trying to take butterfly photos!

I’m joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J HERE

AND Mosaic Monday HERE !

Cattle Egrets

They are common here in Florida but that doesn’t mean we don’t get excited to see a flock of them.

When we were driving to the park, we pulled onto a side road to take some quick pics.

(and yes, there’s one in the middle of the road)

The photos need ‘captions’.

Maybe the 2 birds in the center left are saying, “Hey, I wonder if we can do that too?”

And this one, “WHOA!!! Put on the brakes!”

Another one coming in for a landing!

And why couldn’t the best photo of the day have a nice background of grass, instead of a garage door? We all wonder that at some time or another! haha

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

Walking the Fence Line at Shalom Park

I love to walk at Shalom Park and go pretty often.

And I always go all the way to the back of the property to ‘walk the fence line’.  It’s like getting off the beaten path for me.

No matter how many times I go, I see things I’ve never seen before.

Like a place to get water. I think this might be for ‘emergency water’ because what appeared to be a drip turned out to be a tiny spider. So if you ran the water, you would disturb his home! haha!

But I’m like most people..I carry a bottle of water with me everywhere I go.

Here’s to summer time ‘walking the fenceline’.

I'm joining Tex for Good Fences!

How many books can a book lover read if a book lover can read books…

Probably not as many as I checked out of the library this week! haha!

Or bought in the lobby book sales…

or have in my bookcases (or on my IPAD).

But it’s a great way to spend a hot summer afternoon. And hubby and I always read at night before we go to bed.

We like to sit in the lanai after dinner and read. It’s very peaceful and relaxing.

So now let’s talk about books. I love reading series and getting to know the characters. I try to read them in order when I can but most of the time, I end up skipping around.

Hubby and I are both reading the Andy Carpenter series by David Rosenfelt. They are considered Mystery Thrillers and have a great deal of humor in them too! Perfect!

I’m reading The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith. It’s one of the No. 1 Ladies Detective series. These are all WONDERFUL books and the HBO movies were fabulous too! I love the characters in these books. The main character is Precious Ramotswe…don’t you love that name?

At the same time I am reading Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King. This is the Mary Russell series and I LOVE these books! I think I skipped this book at some point so I am going back to read it.

Other books I have and would recommend are the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear and the books by Louise Penny. Sharyn McCrumb is another favorite author.

The other books I checked out are by authors I haven’t read…yet.

So that’s what I have in my book bag this week (or on my IPAD).

If you want to see other book posts, visit Linda HERE and Terra Garden HERE. Farm Girl Sam has a list of books to read HERE. If you have a book post up today, let me know and I’ll add a link to yours too!

What are you reading this week?

Mexican Petunia Mosaic Monday *UPDATED!

Try to say that 10 times in a row…real fast! lol

*I don’t think I was clear when I said the blooms fall off after only one day. I should have added that they bloom EVERY DAY! Every day we see at least a dozen new blooms. It’s fun to get up in the morning and be surprised with how many new blooms are on these 2 plants. Old blooms fall off…new blooms pop out…every day!

When we redid our landscaping in the Spring, I had my heart set on a big hanging basket of purple petunias. But they are not common here in Florida and the man at the nursery suggested Mexican Petunias.

So we bought two plants for two corners of our courtyard.

we have a little sprinkler to water them when it gets dry

We have enjoyed watching them grow AND seeing them bloom.

The blooms only last ONE DAY and then they fall off.

The most we’ve had so far are 18 blooms all at once.

These blooms dried onto the floor of the courtyard.

Something fun to enjoy every day. We’ve seen bumble bees working them over several times and even a hummingbird once. They attract butterflies too.

I’m joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J HERE

AND Mosaic Monday HERE !

A Fish Tale

I think this is going to be incredibly hard to TELL…without the use of my hands! And without animation! But let’s give it a try.

A Fish Tale

by Lavender Dreamer

I made a quick stop at Blue Run in Dunnellon the other day. And I walked down to the ramp where people take their canoes, kayaks and floats to get into the Rainbow River.

I walked to the end of the ramp and took this photo.

The water was very calm and the reflections were beautiful.

Lala lala! (that’s how I live my life…in lala land!)

Something came through the water towards me…in a bee line! Rippling the water BIG TIME!

Here’s where I get animated! Water RIPPLING! Something traveling FAST through the water…STRAIGHT towards me! And before I could even react…

PLOP!!!

A FISH landed at my feet.

 

I pointed the camera down and this is what I saw.

OKAY…my heart is still racing and the fish, which I think is a mullet…

Flips…

and Flops…

and manages to THROW itself back in the river!

True Story

The end.

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

if she’ll have me!

Let’s Walk at Shalom Park

It’s been too hot to hike this summer but I’ve walked several times a week.

Usually I just walk around the neighborhood in the evenings but it’s nice to drive over to Shalom Park sometimes too.

And no, we can’t stay in the shade and take photos the whole time we’re here.

And we probably shouldn’t jump in the pond either, although it looks inviting.

No we have to walk as fast as we can.

And stop every time we see a fence! haha

Try to keep up!

Walk…

take a fence pic!

BECAUSE…

We’re joining Tex for Good Fences!

I need a bumper sticker that says,

‘We Stop for Good Fences’

(what do you say, Tex?)