into the yard

Daddy would be so happy!  He loved working in the yard, puttering around and seeing what nature brought him that day.

We have a "bumper crop" of hummingbirds this year.  (I totally would have WON the contest.)

This little guy guards the window feeder and sits on this chair between visits.  He is FIERCE and runs all the other boys away....ladies are welcome though.  There are a couple that he brings with him...such a little Casanova!

The dianthus we planted last year is exploding...

My oxalis is super happy.  I have this stuff everywhere....in pots, in the landscaping.  Such a happy plant.  Pink blooms, white blooms...doesn't matter, I love it all!  

Even our nature trail is blooming, making our walks that much more enjoyable.

Oh, and I can't forget to share this.....tasty bruschetta.  Nothing like clipping basil from your own garden for it.....so good!

"garden fairies greet the day, kiss the flowers then fly away..."

Kaela's art

Kaela doesn't bring her sktechbook home often....so when she does, I have to snap pictures FAST!

Some of these are class sketches she had to do to "fit" a quote the teacher had put on the board...others are for, well...others!

 pencil for fun at home

  
 ink and watercolor, a gift for someone

pencil for class quote

                                                                   
   acrylic for local exhibit

colored pencil for practice at home

acrylic for class quote (my favorite!)

pencil for class quote

colored pencil and "liquid white out" for fun at home

Her work amazes me.  Brings tears to my eyes.  I hope all parents of gifted children tell them how wonderful they are.  I hope and pray she never stops developing her gift.

"Art is not about what you see, it is about what you make others see..." -Degas

April's challenge: Cherub Pod Hot House

This month's challenge is to repurpose something.  I made (drumroll...)


"Cherub Pod Hot Houses!"

Our family loves tomatoes and we eat all types all year long.  Lately we've been eating Cherubs brand in these cute little pods.

When empty, they look like little mini terrariums.   

I hated throwing them away so decided to use them to start some sunflowers for Kaela...they are her FAVORITE flower and I just can't seem to grow them.  

So here's how I did it....

I took some coffee filters and cut them to size.

and stuffed them down into each pod so soil wouldn't fall out the holes.

Then I filled each with a little soil and mixed in some seeds and watered them ALOT...had to let the water drain!

Then, I covered each pod with plastic wrap to create a little hot house

And set them on the warmest window ledge in the house.

In less than 8 days, I had to uncover them!  I loosened the wrap so you can see but left it on lightly because the window gets chilly at night.  

Once they got too tall for the pod, I replanted them into

a pot on the patio.  

These worked so well, I did the same thing with 2 more varieties of sunflower.   I didn't even bother putting these on the ledge in the house.

They've also been transplanted and are thriving!

Happy Birthday!

He wears many different hats but husband, father and son are the most important to US!

To the man of the house, we love you...

Happy Birthday sweetie!

Florida

The trip to Florida was a quick one but we still had loads of fun. We did things other just hang out with the dogs!  We did a little shopping and the girls went to the pool and beach...

 I dropped an owl outside a restaurant the first night there.

The next day for lunch, we had pizza...and laughter!

When we got back to Page's, this bottle of wine sat, in daddy's honor.  So sweet.

Sitting on Page's porch.......what a view.

I finished a scarf and dressed up one of her cherubs for his close up.  hahaha!

We did lots of sitting on the patio.  Five dogs needing supervision will do that to you!

We had a great trip...

Socialization

We had a few days off for spring break so headed to Florida.  We took Osa so she could meet her sisfurs and get some much needed socialization in.  There was a lot of booty sniffing and jumping and bouncing around going on!  (A little posturing too....but not much.)

Olivia and Annabell checking out the kid with the LSU bandana on....

Olivia is her BFF....truly.  Puppy kisses, awwww!

Osa finds the most interesting places to hang out...

relaxing with me one morning while everyone else was still asleep...

then back to tearing it up with Olivia!

What more can a puppy ask for?

Osa...

Hard not to take a ton of photos of a puppy y'all!

With her "big girl" collar on...

Sheza pepper!

She put herself to bed the night of her big girl shots....didn't feel good...

sneaking a close encounter with Suki...she tries SO HARD TO BE GOOD...

Her favorite pose!

haleping me garden...

What a happy pup!