Observing

A beautiful summer's day today.
Lower temperatures, and soft gentle rain, of which is greatly appreciated.

In-between showers, sunbursts and gentle breezes, makes for happy flowers.

Not so pretty, but necessary, wire cages enclose all flowers and shrubs that the deer like to eat.

We had new visitors to the garden today, two mother-hen wild turkeys with their babies, happily plodding along by their sides.

The momma deer,  finally decided to share her new fawn with us, after much anticipation.

Turkeys are becoming a rarity in several Tennessee counties that were once in abundance, it's a sweet pleasure to know they are still here amongst us.

Hope all is well and sweet, in your little corner of the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garden Burglar

I trust you found my Hollyhocks to your liking last night ?

*sigh* (insert sweary word)

 

Morning Mists

Rain-soaked earth, leaving us with an eerie landscape this morning.

 

 

 

Morning Mist

In the morning, skies so gray,
Before the sun lights up the day,
I chanced upon a morning mist
That left the leaves and grasstips kissed
With the aqua of the dew,
It left a feeling with me, too
Something old and something new;
Something that comes with the mist again,
Never what, but always when.

Author Unknown

Guess Who's Been To Dinner ?

Just as the Arborvitaes were beginning to fill out from their last deer pruning, those naughty deer returned under the cover of darkness, and helped themselves.

How does something possess such beauty and grace, yet be so menacing.

It's a constant battle of us vs them.

So far they are the winners.

 

 

 

Rain Dancing

No rain in over a month now, the ground is parched and cracked.
Normally this time of the year, we are having a peak show of color, when the trees magical transform from summer greens to their brilliant fall palette, but signs of brown, dead leaves are all around.
I've noticed the deer have been venturing closer to the house, they hear the splutter of the pond pump, and it must sound mighty inviting right about now.
 

Home On The Range

August days are getting hotter,  and much porch-sitting is called for.

No excuses, we here in the South, know how to handle, heat and humidity.

Lots of cold iced tea, and plenty of chore-pondering.

 

 

 

 





 

 

The Petunias were thriving well in the heat, I admired them so.

Apparently, I was not alone, this cheeky little bandit helped herself to them all, in the middle of the night.

*Sigh*

 

 

 

 

Home, home on the range,

Where the deer and the antelope play;

Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,

And the skies are not cloudy all day.

~ Dr. Brewster Higley~ 1873

 

 

 

Guess Who's Been To Dinner

So beautiful a creature to look at.

Not so garden friendly.

Our daily battle continues........

 

 

 

 

 

Suggestions on a postcard please.

Lessons Learned

I plant very few annuals in the garden nowadays, just a few pots to fill in, between the cycle of perennials in bloom.
When I was younger, I planted annuals until the cows came home, but I've learned throughout the years, that planting a pot one time, and having it return year after year, is far easier than the ritual of planting annuals.

My newest perennial is Columbine "Winky Blue and White". Aquilegia vulgaris
A delicious little ornamental flowering plant, which blooms midspring to midsummer.
It's a companion plant for Bleeding Heart, Delphinium, and Peony, and best of all it's a deer resistant plant !
I need all the help I can get with deer resistance.

Hotter Than A Pepper Sprout

As with most of the country, we've endured relentless heat these early weeks of Summer.
Miss one day of watering, and the plants are shriveled beyond repair.

Nashville set an all-time record today with a high temperature of 109, breaking the old record by two degrees set back in 1952.
The sad part is, we have been without rain for the past three weeks, vegetable gardens are drying up, farmers are losing their crops, and wildlife are endlessly searching for a source of drinking water.

The splish-splash of the frog fountain heard at the pond, has attracted more than the birds this week.

We are having nightly visits from the deer population.

This afternoon a thirsty hawk visited not once, but three times.

We've filled the water trough and placed it down near the woods, hopefully the wildlife will seek it out.

Summer's Waning

" When summer gathers up her robes of glory, and like a dream of beauty glides away. "
~Sarah Helen Power Whitman

The flowers are fading fast. What remains are mostly wildflowers and perennials. Autumn gardening chores are patiently waiting.


Divide the Water Lilies and Iris

Inside the potting shed

A nightly visit from moma deer and baby, eating from the apple trees.

Rose of Sharon

"How sociable the garden was.

We ate and talked in given light.

The children put their toys to grass

All the warm wakeful August night."

~ Thomas Gunn, Last Days at Teddington