Summer Shower

We had a brief thunderstorm this afternoon. It didn’t rain long, or much, but it freshened the air and rinsed the pollen dust off everything. Afterward I walked to the park next door to see what I could see.

Birds of a [Different] Feather

An American Robin and a House Sparrow were keeping company on a dripping overhead cable.

Dropped

A maple leaf had let go of its lifeline.

Mystery Blossoms

Raindrops freshened flowers and foliage and pattered down from the trees overhead. I don’t know what these flowers are — the pink ones are on a large shrub, and the blue ones are a vine entangled in it. (If you know, please tell me!)

The Last Iris

The First Daylily

Hammock

This web is strung horizontally between the leaves of a huge hosta. There was no one home, but as you can see the larder is full of gustatory delights…if you’re a spider, anyway.

Storm? What Storm?

Behind the apartment, all traces of the storm were gone.

Rosa Multiflora

Bowers of tiny roses climbed high into the trees, their petals already dry.

The Calm After the Storm

leaf light and sky shine
illuminate clear water
ripples reflect peace

Wishing you a happy Wednesday, friends.

Craving Color

Today looks like this — again. And it’s snowing — again.

Now, I think the snow is beautiful, and I’ve been enjoying it. But as you can see, my world is pretty much a black and white one at the moment. It seems it has been so for months.

Yesterday, knowing another storm was coming, I decided to walk to the shopping center that’s just a couple of blocks from the house to stock up on a few essentials. I can’t face a storm without milk and bread and a rotisserie chicken.

And just inside the door, I found this:

Be still, my heart, and breathe deep, my soul. I didn’t need to buy any to bring home (they’d have frozen before I got there, anyway). I just feasted my eyes and filled up the well. It made me very happy.

On the way home, I stopped by a snow mountain piled up by the plows in the parking lot, and snapped a silly selfie. The sky was blue. That made me happy, too.

Then, half a block later, this:

Not much color to speak of, but a tiny message of love right at my feet, from a Universe with a sense of humor. That might have made me happiest of all.

I wish each of you a happy Valentine’s Day, full of love in whatever color and shape you find it.

Windsday Walk and Click

Please Please Please Stop Blowing!

OK, I admit I didn’t get far for Walk and Click Wednesday this week. The weather has been chilly and the wind has been blasting for most of the past couple of weeks. It’s the kind of wind where small trees in large pots get blown right over and your patio chairs go missing. They might — if you’re lucky — be found later up against the neighbor’s fence. But in between gales I did take a stroll or two around the yard to see what was blooming.

The first stop was the apple tree outside my bedroom window. The sweet scent filled the whole back yard and there were so many bees at work that it sounded like the tree had a motor running.

Next, the Lady Banks’ Rose. Each flower is barely an inch across, but the mass of them is amazing. They have only a slight fragrance, which in this case may be a good thing.

There are several pots arrayed beneath the roses. These little Paludosum Daisies reseed themselves and come up every year. They’re one of my sister’s favorites and she gets excited when she sees their first tiny leaves popping up around the yard in the spring. The tiny purple flower sharing the pot is filaree, one of my favorite “weeds” — I think it’s as pretty as the daisies.

We were all excited to see the grape hyacinth. The bulbs were planted so long ago that no one quite remembers where they came from, and this is the first time they have bloomed.

Rosemary is a plant that does well here. It’s heat and drought tolerant and, best of all, the rabbits don’t like it! We have many varieties around the yard. They bloom in different shades of blue, but they all smell wonderful.

This hot pink Autumn Sage is a lovely contrast to the blue rosemary. Unfortunately, the bunnies think this is delicious. I keep a cage around it, but removed it for the photo.

My French Lavender has been blooming almost continuously since I got it last fall. The rabbits won’t eat it, but they sometimes nip off a few branches and leave them lying underneath it. Maybe each new generation has to try it for itself? Mother Rabbit: Leave that alone, you won’t like it. Baby Rabbit (trying it anyway): Ptooey! You’re right, Mama, it’s yucky.

And have you ever seen a lavender flower really close up? They are surprisingly intricate.

The Mexican Poppy shrub in the corner of the front yard has just begun to bloom. I love their texture. They look like crushed tissue paper, and they fade sort of like old tissue paper, too.

The California poppies were started from a six-pack of seedlings from the nursery a few years ago. They’ve seeded themselves over a large part of the yard and spread farther every year. The rabbits don’t bother them and their cheerful orange faces are always a welcome sight.

There’s even more, but that’s probably enough for now. Wind or no wind, I know I’m fortunate to have warmth and flowers when my friends back east are still waiting for snow to melt. I hope you enjoyed our little garden tour.

Linking with Lissa’s Walk and Click Wednesday.