Good Things Happened: Another good dog and friends

I love dogs like friend Carol's dog, Bailey.  He was chosen from a shelter years ago and has been just the best dog, she says.  He never commands attention, like his brethren at the park.  I like that.

This hosta gets a mention every year, just for being faithful. It hibernates in the winter and makes an appearance in early spring.  I had almost forgotten about it until I saw some little shoots coming up.  It has made this miraculous transformation in the last two weeks.  It will double in size from this - it's just getting started.

Neighbor Rhonda is laying in some bedding plants, which gave me a huge smile when I got home yesterday.  She didn't feel like it last year, so this is definitely a good thing.

Google presented me with this altered photo of the dogwood tree that presides over the trash compactor at the condos.  I had not planned to use it, but it's rather striking now.  :)

I know it's not pretty everywhere like it is in the south, but you'll get there, I promise.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

Good Things Happened: snow day, foot prints, and inside

Another weather event in Atlanta.  I posted an almost identical photo like this in mid-December.  It's what I do on the rare snow days:  stand at the front door, take a photo, and send it to everyone.  This one seems a bit more somber, but it was quiet and beautiful at 7am on Wednesday morning.

Neighbor Mike had to go to work in spite of treacherous road conditions - I loved the image of the foot prints down below.  We Southerners just don't travel well on snow and ice.  We try, but it often ends in mishaps.

My outdoor potted plants have been inside since last Friday evening.  It's been below freezing every day since then, but the geranium seems to love it and has graced me with a blossom.  A warm up is in sight.  The jungle can go outside on Sunday.  

I hope your weekend is full of warmth and light, my friends!

Just being, being treated and no worries

This garden belongs to a shop near my sister's home in northern Florida.  It was so lovely to just sit and wait and watch bees buzzing and listen to the people to my left laughing, as they worked a car wash for charity.

Neighbor Mike decided to hand out this "treat" of an alcoholic cherry cola to his middle aged neighbor ladies, as we all stood talking one afternoon.  The label made me smile, so I had a little photo shoot in my kitchen, as I do sometimes.  And then I tried it.  Ugh!  :)

There is a lot to worry about in the world right now - I try not to worry, but do sometimes.  And then I spotted this poem that made me smile.

Signs of fall, out front beauty, the first time and encore

The trees in the background at the condos attest to signs of fall, which was surely expected, but a delight nonetheless.  My car is always photo bombing my pictures.  :)  

The plants out front are gamely hanging in there.  The air has turned crisp in the early morning, here in the Atlanta area, but everyone here on the porch wants to keep blooming it seems.  I don't have the heart to get rid of them yet.  The dragon wing begonia, on the plant stand, had gotten very tall and leggy, so I cut it way back about a month and a half ago.  It came right back and started sprouting out blooms.  

This is a hosta that I bought from a plant sale about 10 years ago, I think.  It probably belongs in the ground, but I've kept it in a pot.  This year, I moved it from the back porch to the front, and it loves it there.  It grew very lush this year.  And surprise - it is blooming for the very first time!  In October, of all times.  The hostas, in the ground, at the mountain house are blooming in July.  Go figure.

And much to my amazement, the rhododendron bush in front of neighbor Mike's window downstairs is blooming, too.  They usually bloom in mid-Spring.  Neighbor Rhonda speculates that it is what she calls an "Encore" bloom.  I'm just delighted to see them both.

At rest, more beauty and family fun

- More mountain scenes from the Nantahala Forest taken with my iPhone.  This is a farm I see every time I drive up the mountain to my sister's vacation home.  See the cows there resting in the distance?  The field of yellow wildflowers caught my attention every time I passed.  Click to enlarge.

- Back at Hamilton Gardens in Hiawassee, Georgia.  I loved the wildflowers next to the Oakleaf Hydrangea bush.  That's some sort of utility shed in the distance.

- And the view to the right from the back porch at the house.  The farmer across the river is in his 90s - I've mentioned him before.  He was out every morning and afternoon, working on his plantings.  You can just see a corner of his property there on the left.

- And there was some of this - watching kayakers go down the Hiwassee River.  Family fun, looks like.

Several days ago, I realized there is a bird's nest in the fern hanging by my front door.  Mama Wren flew out as I started watering it and kept yelling at me from a nearby perch.  Early this morning, I was outside watering potted plants and heard movement and chirping from within the plant - it was positively vibrating with life. Lovely.

Gone too soon, so pretty and jelly bird eggs

- One of my favorite authors of all time, Pat Conroy, passed away last Friday.  Three of his books are displayed here on my bookshelf that features authors from the south.  The first book I ever read, written by him, was The Water is Wide, a memoir of the time he spent teaching children on Yamacraw Island, South Carolina.  I've ordered a used copy to add to this shelf - I loved it so much.  How I will miss his presence in the world.

- When I was leaving for church on Sunday, I got out of my car to snap a photo of neighbor Rhonda's pansies.  They have weathered all manner of cold weather and ice and still look so pretty.

- My late mother loved black jelly beans and I used to pick up a bag for her when I'd spot them.  They had them at Publix this week, so I picked up a couple of bags.  I kept one bag for my desk at work and shared the other bag with the printing plant manager, who likes them, too.

Infinite Summer, lyrical and dance *

- Infinite Summer. The challenge: Join endurance bibliophiles from around the world in reading Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace over the summer of 2009, June 21st to September 22nd. A thousand pages ÷ 92 days = 75 pages a week. (Plus end notes. A lot of them.) No sweat, right? Although loving the idea of the project, I find the book infinitely difficult to follow. So bye-bye Infinite Jest, you may be just a little too deep for the summer. And the library wants you back.

- The lyrical voices of the nail technicians as they speak to each other in Vietnamese.

- Doing a little shrieking dance at my front door when I think a spider might have fallen in my hair. And then doing a slow turn to see if the elegant couple in building 3 are on their back porch as they often are. They are, but kindly acting as if they didn't notice.

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* This is a re-post from June 26, 2009 - a long time ago, seems like.  Between outside plant watering and a 45 minute video work out before work this morning, I completely forgot about my blog!  Since I always post on Friday, I looked at past posts dated June 26 and liked this one the most.  And ... (1) I still don't want to read Infinite Jest.  (2) I'm going to the same nail place this afternoon after work, and (3) I knocked down a spider web in the same spot this morning, using the handy spider web knock down stick I keep on the table by the front door.  :)

Happy weekend, y'all!

Lovely surprise, it's her gift and the deer

- That lily there in the distance was the very one I placed in the sanctuary of my church in honor of my late parents on Easter Sunday 2014.  Neighbor Rhonda planted it and it has bloomed!  We've had a lot of rain the last couple of days and that's why the photo is a bit gloomy - no late afternoon sun.  I got drizzled upon as I snapped the photo with my phone, but I just had to - it was a lovely surprise to come home to.

- And this planter was the one that I planted Lantana and Sweet Potato Vine in last year - pictured here.  This year I decided that I was "planted out" and turned this container back over to Rhonda, who has a gift for planting flowers en masse.  Love the red geraniums with the purple (whatever that is.)

- Naomi was hoping to see a photo of the deer mentioned in my last post.  I had not included it, since it was so blurry and taken through a screen.  But here it is - showing four of the six deer - the other two were still in the river.  I guess these guys are the brave leaders of the bunch.  So lovely. 

Hope you are having a peaceful and good day.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Shyness and beauty, out front and loyalty

- The spring potting is underway.  Company is coming, so I was motivated to get started.  This is my very shady back porch, so I've got Woodland Fern, Hosta and New Guinea Impatien there.  And I always love my shy angel that sits on bricks from my maternal grandparents' home.  When I was there for the last time - I walked around their back yard, saying goodbye to it and saw some bricks stacked against the house.  I asked my mom if could have them - and I've made good use of them, I think.

- Out front - I named this photo "Lantana and friends" because that's the only name I remember - there are other type plants in that planter on the right.  And I do remember from posting about Lantana last year, that it is not revered in other parts of the world, as it is in the southern US, but it reminds me of home, so in the pot it went.  (But it does kind of smell bad - maybe it'll keep the mosquitoes at bay.)  :)

- When I opened the front door this morning, neighbor Cali there licked my toe.  She always does that when I walk out in flip flops.  :)  The photos I took of her are comical.  They are all action shots - she never stops moving, so I had a hard time getting a good one, but in this last one, she only had eyes for the door her person went into for a moment and there she stood until neighbor Rhonda came back out. 

My sister Jo and her daughter, niece Amanda are on their way to visit from Florida, for some city happenings.  I'm off from work today, and excited to be with family.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Just before sunrise, right on schedule and spring is here

- Just before sunrise at the condos and I wish the photo did it more justice.  It was gorgeous as I was getting into my car to leave for work at 7ish this morning. 

- Right on schedule, my potted Hosta wakes from its winter nap.  As good a sign of spring as any.  :)

- Early this morning, these plants were still in their containers from the plant nursery.  When I got home from work (early) there they were - already planted.  Neighbor Rhonda - a great container gardener. 

- And then when I got home from my manicure / pedicure (oh bliss!) her Hummingbird feeder had been added.  Now I know spring is really here.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

Transition time, cutting back and still blooming

- It always truly feels like fall to me when I sit out this fake pumpkin purchased on sale at Rite Aid pharmacy a few years ago.  That's it on the table beside my front door (next to the stick I knock down spider webs with).  When I opened my door on Sunday morning, this card was there, reading:  Hanging Basket...  Geranium - 'Vancouver Centennial' and Lysimachia 'Golden Globes'.  When I posted a photo of that hanging basket in September, someone asked in a comment what the plant was.  It's still pretty, so I asked neighbor Rhonda this weekend.  She found the plant tags and wrote it down for me, so we can remember it for next year. 

- A remnant from the Blue Daze Evolvulus pot that was so beautiful all summer.  It let me know that fall was here, so I cut it back and hope it will come back next year, since it is a perennial.

- And I always feel a twinge when I pull up the potted geraniums in the fall, after they start getting straggly, like this one.  But then it bloomed again, so I just couldn't. Looks as if it'll be sticking around for a little while longer.

Happy mail, painted for me and mystery plant

So many good things happened over the weekend, I don't even know where to start.  We'll stick to three though.  I helped out at a children's carnival on Saturday for the kids at my church's preschool, which was fun, and had a wedding to look forward to Saturday evening.  When I was getting ready for the wedding, there was a knock on the door.  Neighbor Mike had gotten a package in his mailbox meant for me, and he handed it over:

- It was my copy of String and Bones, written by my friend Kim.  Kim Talon's first book is available here, from Amazon.com, where I ordered it, and here, directly from the publisher.  And read a Goodreads review here, from someone who couldn't put it down.  I am savoring the thought of reading it this weekend, but may sneak in some reading before.  Happy mail!

- The wedding was the marriage of two friends, who have already been together for 25 years.  It was wonderful to be a part of this event with 140 carefully chosen guests.  Ronnie has always packed lunch for Stephen, which includes a boiled egg.  At some point, Ronnie began writing a message on the egg each day with a Sharpie.  Stephen always photographs them and has made coffee table books from the photos.  So for this event, a year in the planning, Stephen (a talented artist), painted 140 eggs for the 140 guests invited to the wedding.  He says each egg was painted with each wedding guest in mind.  An egg was included in a gift bag that could be picked up as we were leaving.  Stephen announced that you would likely not get the egg meant for you, but to remember that one was painted with you in mind.  Just before I left, he wanted to see the egg I got from the bag I had picked up.  When I lifted the lid of its box, he looked startled and said slowly, "This is the egg I painted for you."  And it has a butterfly and beautiful words.  Click to enlarge.

- When neighbor Rhonda's parents passed away (within a week of each other), she brought some plantings from their home in North Carolina, and transplanted them here at the condos.  My building is the happy recipient of all this beauty.  This planting started out small and I thought it was a weed.  She said, "No!  It's going to be beautiful, you'll see."   It grew and grew over the summer, but astoundingly, it bloomed on Saturday.  When I got home from the wedding around 11pm, I spotted this gorgeous blossom.  I still don't know what this gangly plant with big leaves and pink blossoms is, but it sure is beautiful and made for a peaceful Sunday morning photo shoot.  AND promises more blooms!

Reflections, good night moon! and all is calm

- Leaving my volunteer work on the evening of Tuesday, September 30.  It was a cloudy night with a little drizzle as I headed up 14th Street in Atlanta.  I was a little later than usual leaving, having paused in the volunteer work to wish my sister a happy birthday via cellphone.  So it was neat to see the reflection of one building on another (there in the center), and I snapped this "through the windshield" photo.

- This past Tuesday evening, October 7, I left volunteer work just before sunset and was in the same spot, when I spotted the vapory looking moon, hanging huge and white in the sky, framed between those buildings.  This turned comical, because I wanted to snap a photo of it with my phone when I stopped at the next light.  But it was not to be:  this NEVER happens - I got green light, another green light, and I kept going, missing my turn, determined to snap that photo.  And I got green lights all the way to Peachtree Street, where I was forced to turn left and lost the view.  So I gave up and had a head shaking laugh at hitting all the green lights.  That has never once happened before now, and then the sun was setting, so missed snapping that photo, and imagined the green lights laughing back at me.  :)

- So I asked Siri, "is there a super moon tonight?" and got a response that there was a "Blood Moon" on the morning of October 8 that would be best viewed in the 6:30am hour.  Hey - I'm up then, so I got my shower early, made coffee and took it and a bowl of cereal to the parking lot of the condos and watched the lunar eclipse before heading to work, with only one curious look from a neighbor driving past me leaving the complex.  It was a peaceful 25 minutes - watching the eclipse, listening to early morning sounds and watching the lights come on slowly around in the buildings.  One neighbor in the next building to the left curiously has Christmas lights in a bush beside his front door.  I've never noticed that before.  I just don't look that way when I'm leaving for work.  On this day, the moon didn't really glow blood red for me, but disappeared.  I got in my car and got on with the day.

Did someone mention coffee?  Time to go make some.  I hope you are well and happy this morning.  Have a lovely weekend!

Special touch, wise beyond her years and first day

- That's neighbor Rhonda's hand there in the picture.  I was saying to her that of all the plants we've had on our communal front porch, I think this one has been the prettiest and most lush looking.  She says she grew it from seeds!  I think she's got the touch.

- A young lady, 12-years-old, and wise beyond her years, tells me she likes my kitchen.  I point out things in it I love - mostly heirlooms, like my grandmother's fruit plates.  She says she likes my spice rack the most.  I tell her the year I bought it, at House of Denmark, and her eyes widen.  :)

- It's the first day of autumn!  My favorite season.  Love the little animated First Day of Autumn illustration on Google this morning, especially the last part.  There's an article about it here.

Freedom, farmers market, greeter and peace

- My favorite farmer is Mr. Martin, who grows vegetables by the Hiwassee River in North Carolina - across the river from my sister's vacation home.  On this day, I snapped his photo through the screen of the back porch as he drove that tractor all over his property.  (Click to enlarge.)  He is well into his 90s, has cancer (diagnosed more than a year ago), and lately has been living in assisted living.  When I was there in May, I saw him on the property, but someone was always with him.  This time, I watched as he drove his tractor alone - no one else in sight - even over the part of the property that is not farmed. Freedom.

- Downtown Hayesville, North Carolina, last Saturday morning.  They always have a farmers market on Saturday mornings there.  Vegetables, preserves, baked goods, some crafts.  People are so friendly there.  One man proudly gave credit to his wife for the bonsai trees he was selling, "She's off talking somewhere if you want to ask her about anything."  

- This dog walked up to me for head rubs.  A nearby man said, "That's Rowdy.  He lives a couple of blocks down the way there (waving his hand) and comes up every Saturday morning to hang out with us."

 - Here's Rowdy again, this time greeting at the pie lady's table.  She was selling her homemade buttermilk pie, a proud secret recipe.  (Although I have it if anyone wants it - my grandmother used to make it.)  She asked me what time it was, and said "never mind" when I pulled out my cellphone to look.  I explained that I don't wear a watch anymore - I just look at my phone for the time.  She said, "I gave up watches and cellphones when I retired here and have never missed them."  I could see that and totally agree.  She just wanted to know the time so she could go home after selling those last two pies.

- I asked if I could snap a photo of the flowers in the wine bottle (a great idea, I think.)  She said (smiling), "You can have them if you buy a pie."  I replied that although I probably have it in me to eat a whole pie, it doesn't seem advisable.  :)  I left with no pie, but a little later noticed the women in the photo just above this one, walking away with pie and flowers.

Thank you for sharing my walk through the farmers market.  Mr. Martin used to sell potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, etc. there - I have a photo of my sister buying potatoes from him to take home (probably 10 years ago.)  I'm betting he'll be back, judging by the crops I saw coming up across the river.  Have a great weekend, y'all!

Lantana, greeter and May

- When the real estate agent, a lovely lady named Linda, arrived the first time at mom and dad's house to have a look at the home that just hadn't been selling (about three years ago), she said, "Love the Lantana at the top of the driveway!"  I always loved it, too.  The house eventually sold and I always wished I had taken a cutting of the Lantana. 

- This variety is called "Mrs. Huff" and is apparently very hardy.  I found it at Ace Hardware garden center and it looks like the same one mom planted so long ago.  I planted it in a planter that hugs the deck railing in front of my condo, along with some sweet potato vine.  It makes me smile when I come home and it's there to greet me.

- Neighbor Rhonda named this little stranger "May" - since she turned up in the month of May.  Here she is on one of Rhonda's blue chairs;  I am in its companion.  I wandered out to water a plant that looked peaked on Saturday evening and May followed my every step, rubbing her face on my ankles when I would pause.  Rhonda says she is a stray that neighbor Mike (downstairs), started feeding.  Guess she's staying then.  :) 

Sunset, best parking lot ever and neighborly

- That's the sunset behind a partial skyline of Atlanta there - way in the background (click to enlarge.)  After a long day, I was loading a few food items into my car after shopping at Whole Foods.  A young man who was returning to the store after helping someone out with groceries pointed out the sunset to me.  "Isn't that a beautiful sunset?  Look at that."  I was taking it for granted.  It was beautiful.

- And then he pointed out the moon, saying, "And did you see the moon?  This is the best parking lot ever!"  I think so, too.  

- The day had started out with bang.  I had a flat tire about a half mile from my home and was able to pull into a convenience store parking lot.  Roadside assistance was slow coming (but a cheerful man arrived 1.5 hours later - allowing me time to clean out the car's trunk.)  A neighbor came by to get convenience food and walked over.  We are nodding acquaintances - I see him out walking his dog. "You're my neighbor, right?  Do you need help?"  I told him help was on the way and thanked him.  He said he would help anyone, but especially a neighbor.  How nice.  

I'm off to get two new tires this morning, thankful I had a good spare tire in the trunk and that the flat came just before I got on the expressway.  And cleaning out the trunk while waiting revealed two Santa hats that had gone missing, a tumbler from the church kitchen, and a book I borrowed ten years ago (don't ever loan me books.)  I'm having dinner with the book's owner tonight.  Full circle.  Have a great weekend, friends!