tomato hunt

She is enjoying fresh picked tomatoes 

warm from the summer sun

just as much as we are.

Who can blame her?

again please

again please...

says my dog as she wants me to throw the ball over and over.

and i will say

again please

as i want one more day of sun so i can sit surrounded by foxgloves

and throw to my zoe.

walkin', prancin, and flyin' in a winter wonderland...

Stepped outside today and discovered these beauties.

 If I was a gnome I would so live here.

 with these lights nearby

and this guy could come visit anytime.

Well school is now out for the Christmas break and

before it was over the art clubbers did a little 

prancin' in a winter wonderland...

 only chose 2 to include here, 

but the rest were adorable too.

 and I got to teach all 19 in my during school time class

with the same theme -

here to stay is a new bird...

 again I couldn't choose them all,

but aren't they precious?

 The students happen to love angry birds so

I knew these would be a hit.

Borrowed the idea from pinterest and it took me to this great art blog.

Don't you just love how the blogging and pinning communities share,

and the whole world gets to be enriched from a project

done in one small classroom,

and before you know it,

another class gets blessed creating a similar one?

What a wonderful creative world we live in!

a Sunday Blessing - my little green friend

can you see him?

my little green friend 

has insisted on making his home

in and on our hose carrier.

he has lived here for months 

and guess what happens

whenever I want to water?

he goes around and around and around

and he holds on for dear life

and refuses to let go.

it is a froggy merry go round.

just love that persistence...

he is my hero.

he refuses to be bullied

and intimidated.

he refuses to relinquish his beautiful home

with its hollow plastic center and awesome aqua color.

I am so careful not to squish him 

and fearful as 

he is often napping between the hose coils.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress
and my deliverer;
my God is my rock,
in whom I take refuge.
Psalm 18:2
may I be reminded of my little green friend
and cling to my rock, my fortress
with the same fierceness
and determination that he shows.

labor day means no labor

 if you were coming over today 

I would first offer you some sun tea...

 and a place to sit down

 and then I'd offer you some wursts,

sweet potato fries (the best from Trader Joes).

green beans marinated with onions and olive oil,

peppers cooked about 2 hours on the stove in balsamic vinegar...

and then let out Zoe to keep you company...

and you would hear the nearby fountain

bubbling away

as the glass balls clink

and 

 then you'd see the newly discovered bird's nest
sitting atop its new home...

 and the sun would slowly go down
on this perfect day

 but the fun would just begin.

 we get so few perfectly beautiful summer days here in the PNW
so I just had to share some more photos of the yard
so I can remember it when the weather turns,
which will be soon enough.

 I had fun overlaying these 2 old papers.

you are welcome to pull them off and use them for your photo enhancing.
I first used them here.
So what are you doing to celebrate 
the final days of summer?
ready for the cool crisp days of autumn?
not me...more summer please.
and I do believe today will find me in the studio 
dabbling in some plaster and joint compound too
after I have had my sun fix 
and given you your second helping of iced tea ;)

they labor...

 these beautiful sedums 

 are just starting to pop

 and are being devoured by the bees...

and this variety of sedum

 is being consumed by the furry cousin of the other bees.

So my question is this -

how do they know that the furry ones are allowed on one plant 

and the regular bees are only allowed on the other?

pretty funny...

and yes they do not know they are supposed to be resting.

Happy Labor Day weekend to you all!

summer hop

finally summer arrives...

and Zoe and I could not be happier.

we get to enjoy the patio
and the plants

and the sun

and the most incredible wisteria ever

and the paths

and mr. crow who surveys the yard

and the fountain

and one foxglove left

and sedums too.

but of course the yard takes work

and it seems we rarely sit and enjoy it.

a couple of blogs back I showed you the tree that we took out here

(where I dream of a studio)

so we needed to change the gravel and planting area

and we worked two days to do that

and cut more trees

and everyone pitched in

to move bark and edge

(just love corgi butts)

and explore.

and finally some rest

and pool time.
now if we could just get day #7 above 80 degrees this summer...