MADAME BUTTERFLY II

"No garden truly blooms until butterflies have danced upon it."

~K. D'Angelo

Today my friend Madame Swallow Tail revisited my flowers. She stayed for quite some time allowing me to take some pictures, but also to just sit and enjoy her flittering and fluttering. Several times I thought she was going to alight on my knee, but sadly that didn't happen. Maybe  next visit.

GOLDEN SEA OATS

"Strong winds buffet the sea oats and tall dune grasses, tossing sand and seabirds where it will... ."

~Karen White, The Memory of Water

Took a ride along Pensacola Beach this morning. After stopping off at Native Cafe for breakfast (where the tourists outnumbered the natives by 10-1), we headed for the Gulf Islands National Seashore. As we headed towards Ft. Pickens, we ran into a "Road Closed" sign. So we turned around and headed in the opposite direction towards Park East. Another sign greeted us that said, "Road Closed to Thru Traffic." Well, we weren't going "through" to Navarre Beach, so we circumvented the sign and drove along the shore for awhile. The sea oats are just beautiful and the winds from Tropical Storm Debby had them bending gracefully with the breeze. Thankfully, we left the "cone of uncertainty" and today the skies were blue and the breeze, while gusty, was welcome. It was a magnificent day on our part of the Gulf.

Our breakfast spot.

Sea Oats bending with the wind.

The golden glow of Sea Oats

GIVE ME SHELTER

Tropical Storm Debby has the Panhandle on high alert. The storm is moving very slowly and can't seem to make up its mind where it wants to go. Away would be nice. These two Little Egrets landed on the dock and hung around for quite awhile. I think they were resting before flying into the wind again.

We can hang out here for awhile.

Gee, I'd hate to get my pretty yellow feet wet. But ...

...here we go!

HOW MY GARDEN GROWS

"Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes."

~Author Unkown


[ot in my case, peppers]


A small glimpse into the garden.

HURRY UP

Yesterday hubby and I were busy in the yard. He fixing the sea wall and me watering, weeding, etc. Dakota wanted to play, I mean really wanted to play. She ran circles around us being a bit of a pest. I finally took the collar off her (we have an invisible fence) and told her to go swim. She really likes to swim. Usually she makes a bee line for the water and romps around for an hour or so. Not this time. She walked out on the dock, waiting for us to go out to keep her company, whining for attention. And she waited and whined and waited and whined. Finally, she settled in and soaked up the sunshine. (With her black coat you would think she'd search out the shade, but she just loves to sunbathe) I finally put the hose away and made my way out to the dock to much tail wagging and barks of joy. And as soon as I sat in the chair, ready to toss her favorite ball into the water, she got up, walked down the dock and went upstairs to the porch. Perhaps I made her wait too long. The dog definitely has attitude. :)

MADAME BUTTERFLY

"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower."

~Hans Christian Andersen

Swallow Tail feeding on Million Bells

MISSING

My lovely basket of 'Pretty Much Picasso" supertunia has gone missing, a victim, I fear, of the backyard flooding. If found please administer TLC. (Note to self: Baskets are lightweight and FLOAT!)

Proven Winners 'Pretty Much Picasso' petunia sports violet purple flowers edged in lime green. It's a great flower for bedding or containers and adds a bright spot to the garden. I'm definitely going to get more, but this time they will go into a heavy, pottery container!

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY...

After yesterday's monster rain event, flooding was everywhere. Records were broken for one day rain amounts. Don't know the exact numbers, but somewhere in the neighborhood of 13 inches.

It's 6:45 a.m. and the skies are dark, there is thunder and lightening and the rain has started again. Luckily, our sandy soil has allowed the water from yesterday to drain away. But the ground is saturated and I don't know where all this water is going to go. The forecast for the week is rain, followed by rain, followed by rain...

Side yard

Front yard

Front yard with newly planted (now drowning) blueberry bushes.

 Back yard.- Bayside

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

It's been a while since I had some time to myself. May was the month for visitors arriving and departing. And though the days were hectic, they were filled with that special joy of friendship. Then just as the last of the linens had been washed and the beds remade to await the next guests, I found myself the victim of a nasty summer cold accompanied by daily headaches.It seemed like I was never going to get out with my camera. But, I'm better now and ready to start ticking off some of the places listed on my summer "bucket list." These are some pictures I took before the chaos began.

Visit from a Green Heron one early morning.

We are gathered here together . . .

Stuck that landing, didn't I?

Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake your Booty . . .