Snap, Flash, Pop! Rain

If you can hear thunder- you can be struck by lightning! We had some great rain yesterday with lots of thunder and lightning. I saw a flash and hear a snap. I immediately went back inside.

We finally got some rain...

This morning it rained
1-1/4 inches at 11:30am
brought the temps down
to 74'F. Thanks Dolly!

Things that I like about commuting...

We really need some rain

We don't have very many muscadine grapes this year because it has been soooo dry!
-but we have a few. We really need some rain.

Storm clouds

We watched these
storm clouds roll
across the south
yard last week.
They were amazing!

Why I plant parsely

These are photos of the
Black Swallowtail butterfly
in its caterpillar stage.
Click on the title link above
to learn more and see how
beautiful the full butterfly stage is.
Try planting some parsley
and see what shows up in your garden.

Goose Parade

The geese are still parading daily around the house.

Leapin' Lizards!

This one jumped right out near me.
He hasn't quite changed colors to match the plant yet.
Can you see him?

Little web weaver

This lovely little spider was spinning on the camellia tree this morning.

The upside to the heat and rain

The upside to the heat and rain is that my garden is growing faster than I can tend it. Even the weeds. Here are some images of the sage, tarragon, lemon balm and blooming oregano that is happier than I am in the heat!

Hyla cinerea

We used to have just one frog in the mailbox
Everyday we would get the mail and
he would be there- so we named him "Prince"
Now he has a friend that we nicknamed "Princess"
They both hang out in the mailbox together.

North Porch

The geese love to graze in the north yard.

Striped blooms

I bought this Rose-
and it is finally blooming.
I like the striped roses-
although they don't have much scent-
they remind me of camellias.

Big Charolais

Our neighbor's Charolais Bull is beautiful.
Just don't get to close to him or his girls...

Bootsie

Bootsie is a new cat
that has been hanging around with Lakeview
and especially around feeding time...
We nicknamed it Bootsie

Shallot blooms

These are Shallot blooms.
Aren't they exotic?

Lemon mint blooms

I got it on sale.
It's Lemon mint and what a crazy bloomer!
it s positively Suessian!

Honeysuckle - Lonicera japonica

These honeysuckle vines smell so sweet at night.
They are really blooming this year.

Blackberries are ripening now

We picked a half gallon and had them with fresh cream and sugar...
YUM!!!

Yellow Bellied Turtle ( slider)

We recently had
about 10 inches +
of rain in our area
and the creeks and bayous
rose and this little guy
popped up
as did numerous snakes
and frogs and other creatures,
displaced momentarily by the rising waters...
We helped him cross the road
so he would not get squashed.

Wisteria Hysteria

It is that time of year again,
as the fence-line becomes a wall of
lavender wonder when the wisteria blooms.
I need a bumber sticker that says
"I brake for wisteria'!

Fringe Benefits

The Fringe tree sapling (Chionanthus virginicus) bloomed this year! I thought it was done in by the freeze.The bees love it. It is also known as "grancy-greybeard" and is a native species

Duck prints

When you have baby ducks around the studio- things happen.
Here is a "collaboration" between me and the baby rouen "duck duck".
He loves wading through the watercolors..

colored eggs

the hens are laying some nicely colored eggs.. no need to dye them!

Galanthus nivalis

Snowdrops( Galanthus nivalis) are finished blooming now.. but they were lovely this year.
There are evidently 75 different species and varieties of snowdrops.. click on the title above to find out more about them...

Rouen ducks

Instead of Mallards this year we took a chance on two straight run Rouens..
They look like Mallards, but they are heavier and more suitable to small farms...
Click on the title above to go to the The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy page on Rouens