flowers — Page 139

Lazy and Last Minute

August 25, 2018 at 9:35 am by Claudia

The definition of lazy: shooting photos for today’s post from my chair on the porch this morning.

I didn’t even stand up.

From the adirondack chair on the right. Don was in the one on the left.

This vine appears every year and is a pain in the tush. Usually, I yank it. But this twining around the railing is sort of pretty. So it has a temporary reprieve.

It reminds me of a morning glory. But it isn’t.

I mowed a heck of a lot of lawn yesterday because the weather was so beautiful and there was no humidity. The lawn needed it and I was feeling feisty, so I tackled the back forty and the entire front lawn. It looks awfully pretty this morning.

I’ll say it again for those who think Don should be helping me (he offers to help every time): I like mowing. I’m good at it. Don is okay at it. I’m more precise.

I actually get excited when it’s time to mow. Go figure.

Today? Deductions. I had every intention of starting in on all of that tedious stuff the other day but I didn’t. I have always functioned at my best when I’m facing a deadline. I’m the person who waits until the last minute and then gets it all done, who wrote every paper in high school and college the night before. I accepted this about myself years ago. Though my thoughts are always planning ahead, my actions sometimes lag behind.

But I’m facing a deadline now, so today I will plant myself in the office and start adding and subtracting and multiplying.

This one I did stand up for, but that’s because I took it a few days ago.

Happy Saturday.

Dinner With Friends

August 23, 2018 at 9:42 am by Claudia

Things I’ve seen in the past few days when I didn’t have a camera handy:

A monarch butterfly flitting from one zinnia to another, all the way down the row of flowers. Then he turned around and did it all again. I saw this two days in a row.

Hummingbirds in the flowers in the secret garden, on the geraniums in the barrels, and out among the wild flowers on the edge of the property. I also saw one pop up right in front of us on the porch.

A squirrel sitting on the bench on the Funky Patio. He jumped up from the bench to the rim of the birdbath and took a drink.

It’s never boring around here.

Some photos from yesterday:

We had dinner with one of my former students (who is only 13 years younger than me) last night. Don knows him, too, as they acted together in plays at the Old Globe. He’s one of the funniest people I know, so dinner was full of laughter. We had such a great time. Then we went back to Rick and Doug’s for dessert – pie! – and the talk turned to politics. A lively discussion ensued. We are all of the same mind about the dumpster fire that is this administration.

Doug and me.

James and me. James is looking a little skeptical about whatever Rick is saying.

James and Rick.

Don was taking the pictures on my iPhone.

We had such a great time!

Today? I’m off to get my car inspected.

Happy Thursday.

Flowers, Birds & Perspective

August 21, 2018 at 9:42 am by Claudia

A surprise this morning:

And there are two more buds ready to open. These roses bloom early in the spring and then, when you think they’re done for the season, more leaves emerge. Then flowers. Such a nice later-in-the-summer surprise.

Yesterday morning, we were sitting on the porch having coffee and I heard this amazing bird call. I looked across the road. Since I had brought my big girl camera with me, I quickly got up and took several pictures. He was way up in a tree and the gray skies made a dark background, but here he is:

A pileated woodpecker. I’ve seen them around here before. They are large birds. And noisy! See the two little birds to his left?

Now, a cropped, zoomed-in version:

And one more:

Pretty good for a dark and gloomy morning!

Edited to add: No, the leaves haven’t all dropped off the tree. It’s a dead tree.

Let’s see…I mowed a bit yesterday morning. Not too much, just the corral and the grass surrounding it. Ran errands. Cleaned. Read.

It’s been cooler; still humid, but much more bearable when it isn’t in the nineties. It’s cool this morning and gray and darkish again. We were just out on the porch and I remarked to Don that if we didn’t know what time it was, we would think it was early evening! I’m starting to feel the beginnings of the seasonal change. I cling on to summer as long as I can because I know that after fall comes winter. But this has been such a tough summer weather-wise, that a part of me will welcome the cooler temperatures.

My second Snow White egg cup arrived in the mail yesterday from Australia. She’s safely ensconced in the cubby cabinet. I’ll take a picture of both of them later today.

From my chair on the front porch, one perspective:

And another perspective:

I love playing with the focal point of a photo and depth of field. And I really love my new camera.

Thanks, by the way, for all your great supportive comments about the cubby cabinet. It was a chunk of money that I hadn’t expected to be spending, but, in the end, it was very clear to me that I had to get it. I will never see something like it again. It’s truly one-of-a-kind. I haven’t regretted the choice to buy it for one second. I pass it several times a day and I smile each and every time I see it. You guys are the best!

Happy Tuesday.

Lazy and Last Minute

Dinner With Friends

Flowers, Birds & Perspective

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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