Some things I like about summer

Summer means:

Reality TV: (Duck Dynasty and Food Network Star and Design Star). Guilty luxuries but hey, they're rated G! I love that the next morning I can scan the blogs and recaps and comments and commentaries. A time waster for sure.

Birds: lots and lots and lots of them at dawn. I love my yard. I live that I love where it is quiet enough to hear them through even my hazy waking up veil of sleep.

Big breakfasts: today it will be pancakes. A second pot of coffee if I feel like it. Carefully scanning the online ad in making my grocery list with steaming cuppa joe next to my notepad. Little things that keep me functioning but pleasurable to be able to take the time in doing them.

Flowers: I threw some morning glory seeds around last year that I'd dried. The ones I threw at the base of the large tree out front took. Now there are pure white morning glories almost as big as a bush climbing up the south side of the trunk and when the afternoon sun sets it lights them up so brightly! Gorgeous!

Blogs: Searching out bloggers worth reading. I like blogs that feature lots of photography, the kind where they post big pictures of birds or their kids or their farm and I don't have to read a lot. I read all day, by the time for leisure arrives I just like looking at pretty or nice things..

Facebook: As stated so succinctly on The Big Bang Theory:
"Leonard Hofstadter: I thought you hated Facebook.
Sheldon Cooper: Don't be silly. I approve of anything that replaces human interaction."

It's true. I can stay engaged without fear of being suddenly hugged. I love reading the witticisms from my friends, like this "It's summer and the weather is getting hot. Girls of Madison County High School: You can't fit 10 pounds of potatoes in a 5 pound bag."

Or this:

"This status goes out to all of my friends who might get a job out of high school because they didnt post nasty status updates & pictures of them smoking a blunt."

Photos: My friend Jeanne used to drill it into me when I was editing the newspaper, "Pictures, pictures, pictures! And make them big." I love looking at even unknown people' photos of anything, family, birds, landscapes...but I always forget to post photos on my blog! That's gonna stop, right now.

O made my pass around the property this morning while the dew was still glistening. I checked the figs, the birdhouses, the magnolias, enjoyed the hayfield and the birds flitting over it.

Summer!

Summer shots backyard

Backyard beauty

Later I'll post some shots of the inside, cats galore, lounging and relaxing.


Bird in the magnolia tree


















Late afternoon sunlight dappling the scuppernine grove













The next magnolia to bloom will be this one














Mathematical perfection in the magnolia seed structure. Perfect proportion. Beauty too

Curious about my yard

Now that spring is solidly in bloom and summer upon us almost, I am curious about the things in my yard.

In the garage are these weird pipe-like nests attached to the concrete walls. The holes are too small to be bird's nest, so I surmised it was an insect. Googling "weird insect nests" I discovered that they are organ pipe mud dauber wasps (or dobber). Solitary wasps, they lay eggs inside and the new hatchlings emerge from holes they create in the pipe.

This glorious tree has entranced me from the first. Its long, shiny leaves are thick and stout. The tree towers, it is about 75 feet high and proportionally pleasing to boot. It affords shade over much of the side yard, and to my extreme delight, provides great cover for many birds, who sing and chirp there all day long. I searched Google and found that it is a Magnolia tree. How wonderful! I have a Magnolia Grandiflora in my yard!

The roses are blooming. I don't know what kind they are but they are huge and colorful. I put my 'little girl' planter in front of it to support the long stems.There is another one, a red rose, in the front yard that is blooming one giant blossom right now. It looks to be a "Purple Passion" if I compare to this photo.


I am not sure what these three are yet, but the pink and white are really vibrant. More than I could catch in the high sun.

So after my trip to the Farmer's Market, I arrive back home to find two of the cutest doggies ever in the dog pen under the Magnolia tree. I emerged from the car laughing. The landlord laughed too and said that they sure were cute.


In a serious moment though, he said that he saw them trying to cross the busy road in front. They would step out and skitter back as a car whooshed by. He saw they were clean, and had new collars on with lots of tags so he surmised they were well-kept pets. He grabbed both and brought them to the dob pen. Reading the collar he saw a name that rang a bell, and called the woman across the street. Sure enough, the lady's friends were visiting, with their dogs, which they had let out to go potty and then the family fell back asleep.

I'm so glad he nabbed them. What a shame if they had been injured!