I'm In A Good Place!

My potted sweet peas have bloomed! I'm a happy camper! They smell sooooo good!!!!

Hallelujah! The grape vine is alive after all! It was my first time pruning and I thought for sure I had killed it. I have this planted on the gated arbor leading to the secret garden. Turr Tull lives back there along with the fairies. Flagstone is being used to make a pathway to the potting table hidden at the back wall. A large bird of paradise shades Turr Tull's home, and trailing rosemary covers the top. Someday I will plant a small patch of grass next to his house and replace the back yard with artificial grass. Someday...it will take a long time to save $4000!

First poppy to bloom! Not enough rain fell this past winter or early spring to have many (if any) wildflowers in the desert.

This time of the year the fairy duster is at its best. It is in full bloom and beautiful! I have this one planted in my desert-landscaped front yard.

Daffodils are blooming in the wildflower bed. They are shooting up all over! Gosh, I don't remember planting them there!

Very excited to go to NC this weekend! I am taking some Nutrisystem food with me--I love the NINE pounds that I have lost so far and then thinking about pounds I'm going to while I'm there. My granddaughter is now a walker so I will keep up my exercise while I'm there. I'm back to walking around the lake--1-1/2 miles four days per week. This is pretty good after sitting on my a--, and not moving for a year! I'm trying to get in shape for my 70's. I'm on the back side of 67, so I have couple years to get in tip top shape to face my winter years.

Spring Update

On the road coming back home from Tucson I saw this beautiful sunset. I don't take very many sunset photos as I am usually in my east-facing back yard paradise. This was a pleasure to see most of the way home.

Lolly follows me everywhere and loves smelling all the flowers in the garden. She now weights 4lbs 6 oz. Her first birthday was December 28, 2011.

Shasta daisies bloomed this week and I'm waiting for all my wildflowers to bloom!

My climbing nasturtium is loving our beautiful weather, which has been running in the high 70s.

Another great grandchild on the way! My first grandson is going to be a father! I found this cute vase at Goodwill, and added the flowers for the mother-to-be.

I pruned the grape vine (it's either a Thompson or a red flame) and made the grape wreath from the trimmings. I'm hoping this second season produce some grapes.

Here's a few things in my garden that I love:

My turtle planter that I found in Indiana about 10 years ago. Turr Tull hasn't ventured out yet to join him again. The winter has been very mild. Yesterday it was 81 degrees, warm enough for Turr Tull to wake up and join the world again!

My adorable turtle watering can.

More smiles-Hubby will be finished with his second round of Chemo in March. Only three months on this time--now the plan is to stay in remission for another year! And, another smile as I stepped on the scales today--7 pounds gone!!! Yeah!

One thing I don't like is my laptop! I barely touch anything and photos disappear, color changes, then it takes off to other websites. I need to get a wireless keyboard to go along with the wireless mouse. I should have just bought a PC. Maybe I'd post more if it wasn't such a frustration!

The Good Life

Clouds rolled in, but it turned out to be a beautiful day on the lake!

My veggies are doing just fine without any help from me! No weeds to pull and the sprinklers are working. I just wait for the right time to harvest. It's hard to leave the carrots alone--this baby stage is when they taste the best!!

Cabbage hasn't produced a head yet, but

the cauliflower can be picked now. However, I am waiting until I have all the ingredients for my famous eleven-vegetable organic soup. The two heads on this plant have purple streaks running throughout. Could the plant have picked up some DNA from the beet seeds that never came up last year? LOL.

Only one broccoli plant this year.

Three heads on this plant.

Ivy geranium plant has new flowers each day!

The wildflower bed is full! I planted lots of seeds--first pack didn't come out so I added another-that didn't come up fast enough for me so then one more and now it looks like they all came up! Should bloom in February, March, April, and a few in May. Can't wait to see all these!

Nasturtiums are looking good as usual. I have pots of these all over!

I'm so glad I planted a few sweet peas in a couple of pots. Something happened to the soil or who knows what, because only about 8 plants came up out of 6 packets of seeds. I always have two long beds full, hope whatever the problem is this time will resolve next season.

I added a few stocks in the sweet pea bed. I love the sweet smell mixed with the alyssum and petunias. Pretty nice life here!

Little Lolly Bee. My little girl. Kids say she has it much better than they ever did! My life sure changed after Hubby brought her home for Valentines Day. She is with me everwhere I go. She now weighs 4 lbs, 6oz.

Brox is now 4 months in this pic. She is the best little girl! Always has a smile-loves her big brother Ryder. Yes, life is good here!

Picture Perfect!

A picture perfect day! This is on the top of my list of best day ever! Army grandson home on leave from Afghanistan, Grand daughter and family home for the celebration. We had a glorious 10 days together.

Sun-up till sundown we were busy celebrating...

Lots of food...

And tributes...

Ryder stopping to smell the flowers. He loves my garden and everything was watered over and over again!

Fall in Arizona

I love this photo so much that I had it enlarged to 11" x 15" and framed. I have three of my favorite lake sunrise/sunset photos hanging on my family room wall.

TurrTull finally went in for the fall/winter season. He just missed his favorite habiscus in bloom.

Remember when I painted this set purple? Well, now it is going on the front patio and it had to match the mosaic wall in progress so it got the colbalt blue treatment. Nothing last around here very long as it is!!

I have so many beautiful sunrise photos I decided to make a photo book of the many I have taken over the past few years. I love my home and I'm so grateful that I wake to such a daily blessing.

A Typical Morning At The Lake

Another beautiful Estrella lake sunrise.


Lolly Bee wants to play--at 5 a.m.!!!

My first cactus flower in over a year! I could have posted 20 more photos because I was so excited. Isn't she a beauty?

I'm hoping to post more- trying to get back into the blog scene. It's been a long time....

Another Baby Added

My newest great grandchild, Broxton Tayte, born July 26th. We had just arrived home from Maui when we got the call to come to North Carolina to meet this sweet baby girl!

As per usual I had to buy a new swing for the fall/winter season. Swing # 5 blew over in haboobs that the top ripped and bent the frame. The cheap fabric on the cheap swings just won't last more than two seasons! I bought this one because it folds out into a bed.