{Weirdness}

I was out early in the morning wandering when I spied this cluster of eggs in the brown grass. It looks fuzzy; but, it is actually a webbing of some sort holding them together. These were hard to take a picture of as they are mega tiny. I have marked the place with a stake to keep an eye on them.

Macro Monday {Frozen Bluebonnet Plants}

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All the above were taken on January 25, 2014.

Macro Monday {Bluebonnet Plants}

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I never knew the leaves of bluebonnet plants are hairy!

This was taken on January 21, 2014 before our recent freeze. I am hoping the plants survived. We shall see.

Wordy Wednesday {Early Signs of Spring}

This was taken on January 21, 2014 before our recent freeze. I do not know if any survived. We have had more rain than usual this winter and these bluebonnet plants started sprouting everywhere on our land recently. It is our hope that the plants are hardy and it continues to rain here and there giving us a beautiful spring. We shall see. By the way, I have what I think is a cool macro shot that I will post on Monday.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

The ice in the shade barely melted on the first day and it refroze again in the night. These were taken on the second day of our freeze -- January 25, 2014.

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Shot with my macro lens.

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Shot with my wide angle lens. Do you think my Rosemary plants will survive? I am thinking not. I had hoped that both my Lavender and Rosemary plants would survive and thrive. I will most likely have to purchase new plants this spring.

Macro Monday {Water Diamonds on Stickerburrs)

For a couple of weeks, we have had dew upon the ground practically every morning and it is absolutely beautiful when the sunlight hits upon the water droplets giving off the impression that there are thousands of diamonds all over the ground. This is why I named them "water diamonds". There is only a short time frame in which this diamond effect happens.

{To see a larger image, go here. When you get to the image, click on it to expand.}

Wordy Wednesday {Texas Sage Bush}

Texas Sage Bush

I am going to miss this bush. It is an evergreen shrub, native to Texas, which is not a true sage. As you can see, this one was left to grow “wild”. This is how we are – just let them be and grow as they please with a minimum of fuss.

I love the beautiful flowers that bloom all over the bush.

And, I love them for attracting the bees...

Bees...

and more bees.

Bees are a passion of mine. I have always had an interest in them since the days of my youth when my dad kept honeybees. I want to have a couple of hives here on this new land of ours.

Since this plant is native to Texas, maybe we will plant a bush or two here on our own piece of heaven. I am a huge proponent of wildscaping – gardening for wildlife. My main interest lies with the birds, butterflies and bees. However, I do love the other beneficial critters (e.g. lizards) that live off the land. So, I desire to stick to plants and trees that are native to Texas with the exception of the fruit and nut trees.

{All pictures taken on May 26, 2012.}

Macro Monday {Sticker Burrs}

{Participating in Macro Monday, I heart Macro, and Your Sunday Best.}

Sticker Burrs 10/17/2012.

{To see a larger image, go here.}

I first posted images of clusters of these plants and of being hurt by one of these things in A Week of Pictures (#4).

We have since mowed the yard. My Chessie now has trouble with sticker burrs getting on her paws and her fur. She prefers to roam the back and sides of the house; but, I have been forcing her to go to the front because there were not as many of them out there. We also have to brush her before going back inside. She loves to be brushed; so, no problems in that area. However, she often refuses to go back inside after the brushing because she wants to stay outdoors!

Macro Monday {Crepe Myrtle Blooms}

{Participating in Macro Monday, I heart Macro, and Your Sunday Best.}

Crepe Myrtle Blooms

{To see a larger image, go here.}

A Week in Pictures (#1)

NOTE: This is a day late due to the fact that I could not access my photobucket account at our new house. I finally figured how to work around the problem using Firefox. I will soon figure out and fix the problem in Chrome. At least, that is my hope!

I am going to start trying to take a picture a day. I will share those pictures on Sundays. Since the first day of the week is Sundays, the pictures will go from Sunday to Saturday from the previous week. The only exception will be this post as I started over a little over a week ago on Thursday, September 20th.

Some of you have already seen these pictures on facebook. There is a group that challenges people to take a picture a day. Honestly, I have been having fun. Some pictures are just simple snapshots and others are attempts at taking “great” pictures. In all cases, it will be a learning experience for me. At least, I hope to learn from each and every picture I take. At the very least, it helps me relax.

These posts will be written and scheduled well ahead of Sunday. I will only have to add Saturday’s picture to the post some time on Saturdays. At least, that is my plan as I do not want to be taking the time to write and/or blog on the weekends. Weekends, for me, are for my family and the Lord.

Jumping Spider (9/20/2012)

Gracie, my huntress, discovered this critter in our house and yes, it is missing a leg. I believe she is responsible. After I took pictures, I gathered up my courage and rescued the scary thing by taking it to the great outdoors on a business envelope. The thing scared me a couple of times by waving its front legs in the air.

Just a Beautiful Weed (9/21/2012)

Shot at dusk. I waited too long to take pictures; but, it turned out alright. This flower is about 1/2" wide.

Frenemies (9/22/2012)

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Gracie has taken to lying in my sewing chair and gazing out the window. Well, a neighbor cat decided to stop by on this day. When I discovered them, Gracie was attacking the window with her lone front paw and the next door neighbor's cat would then "attack" back. After a bit, they both laid down and relaxed. I guess they decided to be frenemies.

Millipede (9/23/2012)

(Bigger picture here.}

This critter was a tiny visitor at our new house. It is the first one I ever saw in my life

“This is MY man and don’t YOU forget it” 9/24/2012

Chessie, our 15 year old Maine Coon cat.

The State of Things 9/25/2012

Boxes tossed into a bedroom waiting to be flatten and taken to “the dump” – a recycling dumpster.

Lemons at the Rental House 9/26/2012

{Bigger Picture here.}

I went into the backyard in the morning and much to my surprise, I discovered lemons growing -- first time in four years of living at this rental.

Last Gasp 9/27/12

Packing up the Pantry and Laundry Room.

Dismantled Bed Ready to Sleep One Last Time at the Rental 9/28/12

This is probably the best made bed in ages. Ha! And, oh my goodness, it is very low. The cats, especially elderly Chessie, loves it as they don't have to jump so high.

Broken{hearted} 9/29/2012

The movers broke my sewing machine and cutting table.

Macro Monday {Rosebud}

Popping on for another Macro Monday.
I heart Macro.
Your Sunday Best.


I need to do something other than flowers as they are too easy unless the wind is blowing (which it was on the day this picture was snapped).

Wordy Wednesday: After the Storms

I woke up to tons of lightning one night. Dan said the wind was fierce and he thought he heard the chairs were blowing about. When I got up in the morning (January 25), this is what I found in the backyard.
The stalk from the Agave plant fell over. Yes, it's dead. It's been dead for a very long time. We just didn't know what to do. We still don't know. We tried pulling it out by ourselves; but, it's still rooted to the ground. It has since settled to almost being horizontal to the ground. We told the landlord about the plant; but, she's doesn't seem too concerned. I'm thankful that it fell on our side of the backyard instead over the fence into the neighbor's yard. In the meantime, what to do? What to do?

Backyard Ramblings (7/11/2010)

I felt restless early Sunday morning of July 11th, 2010. So, I grabbed my camera and went out into the backyard to practice.

Our current backyard has no rhyme or reason to the landscaping and we're very neglectful caretakers. I'm one of those people who like to let the yard go within reason. As a result, nature loves it. And, a person can find beauty in the midst of what seems like chaos. It's not really chaos out there.


The owner of this place planted an American Agave. Both the Agave and the flowering cactus beside it is overgrown. I know nothing, absolutely nothing, about taking care of cactus or plants like the Agave. I notice this thing sprouting late in May or early in June; but, didn't think much of it. I was shocked at how tall this thing had grown. It is about two stories tall.


You can't see it in this picture; but, there were hundreds of honeybees swarming all over the flowers.


The honeybees were also all over the flowering cactus next to the Agave.

Note: I'm not scared of honeybees. I actually stood in the middle of a swarm once when I was a little girl and I didn't get stung. I have a fascination with honeybees and would love to have a hive or two or three.

Moving on.


This little Clouded Skipper butterfly was resting on one leaf of the cactus.


This bird was sitting in a tree next to the Agave. I was a tad disappointed with it because it moved his head when I snapped the picture. But still, it's a cool shot because it had a bug in its beak.

I decided to see if I could find some butterflies among the various plants and grass. I had fun stalking them. Many are just too shy or skittish to be photographed. But, I was patient and I won out with several. It was early enough for the dew to be present and as a result, many of them were still be resting and/or drinking.


A beautiful Elada Checkerspot butterfly.


A Little Yellow butterfly. This critter is extremely tiny. Thank God for my macro lens. I must have stalked this thing for at least 15 minutes before it decided that I wasn't going to harm it and rested for a bit for me.


Another Clouded Skipper butterfly drinking from a Morning Glory. The Glories around here have run amok in the the backyard. I am not complaining, just saying.


Morning Glories among the Crepe Myrtle bush. I didn't notice the ant until after I snapped the picture. I guess he adds interest. But, I'm not so sure because at this moment, I despise ants and have declared war upon the ones that insist upon entering the house. I must have gotten bitten a dozen times or so amongst my toes and on top of my feet before winning the war. By the way, tracking the ants to plug up the holes along with Cayenne Pepper seems to work best with these suckers.

{takes a deep breath} Moving on.

By this time, the sun had risen and it was hot enough for me to sweat. But, I had to attempt to take just one more picture.


Paper wasps. These are often mistaken for Yellow Jackets. I know I did until I did some research. I'm one of those who hate to destroy a nest of any kind unless I absolutely have to (such as one being in a bad place whenever mowing the lawn). I must say that if they had been Yellow Jackets, I would have destroyed the nest because they are known to be aggressive. However, most wasps are generally good garden critters. They feed on nectar and many will also feed on other insects including beetle larvae.

Like the honeybees, I'm not afraid of wasps. They generally leave you alone if you leave them alone. Mess with them, you'll get stung.