gatorcast from paul smith

Today is a gorgeous day, mid 60’s, no clouds and a light cool breeze.  I pulled my lemon tree out of the garage for some sun.  I hadn’t realized it was about to bloom.

I found this beautiful flower on the rose bush in my front yard.  

Yesterday morning an orchid of mine finally bloomed.  In fact, I think this is the first for me.   I have been watching & caring for them for many months, even moving them into the house when the nights turn cold.   The timing of this is just divine.  Like this beautiful flower, I have this overall feeling of a new beginning.

Tonight I added this to our orchid collection.  I got this wonderful Dendrobium Orchid at our local Lowes for $10.  I really like having them around and thinking about how peaceful they grow and the beauty they provide.  There is something so seductive about them.

This afternoon after church Lisa and I went to Garden Gate and bought some plants for the new walkway and driveway.  We first started trimming the spirea and then the evil thorn vines.  This was both hard amd painful.   Maybe our 40 days in the desert.  After much clearing, pulling and frustration we worked until everything was removed.   In the end we ended up with beauty. 

Lisa planted this next to our new walkway.  It is just amazing.  What a wonderful photo.

This morning Lisa and I worked on a ‘fern’ bed in our front yard.  Inside and living with the fern were thorny vines that have plagued us for years.   On the surface then are strong, sometimes very thin, plants with small green thorny leaves that seem to go on forever.  But today we were patient enough and had good gloves, decided to find the other end.  This is what we found.

Notice the thorns all of the way to the tip.  To me it looks very alive.   Like a little monster with arms and legs.  Here is the first one Lisa found. 

I made into a crown of thorns before I sent it to the trash pile.   This is the bed before:

and then after.