Choice Morsels

Welcome back! Just before starting this I was reading a travel/leisure article-photo series about the worlds, "strangest bridges," such as the bridge in China with a huge Ferris wheel in the middle. Of course, I scrolled down to look for witty user comments and the first one I read made me burst into laughter:  Someone wrote: " It's all fun and games till those bridges come alive and form into Decepticons." (I suppose you have to be a Transformer fan to get that.) Anyway, on to Garden Pictures: First up: a shot of  the "teacup" portion of my garden. This is one of several teacups I have with Hen & Chick succulents installed in them in a bed running along a retaining wall we put in a couple years ago. I just added the pea gravel around all of them only a few weeks ago, because I like how it enhances their looks. It also helps prevent rain from washing the soil out of the cup! Next pic is of my Christmas Cactus laden with bloom bu...

  Here, where I'm typing on my desk top computer, there's a window right next to me on my right. It's a south facing window and, since it's nice fall weather, it's open a few inches every day to let in a little breeze and fresh air. Laying behind me, on a cat-scratch platform that's even with the window sill, is my cat, Sunni. She naps or suns herself, content to be a quiet companion while I'm working. She doesn't constantly sleep, but often enjoys peering out the screen. There are interesting things outside for her to see, such as squirrels or birds or even the neighbors cat, whom she can't stand. Earlier this week I noticed that she was rather intent on watching something outside.  So, I looked, too-- and lo and belold, I saw something I've never aeen before---a baby box turtle, strolling right into my strawberry bed, which happens to be right under that window. His shell was only 2 inches at most! I excitedly grabbed my camera and dashed...

The Garden of Pics of the Day  are a couple views of my flower beds and a shot of my tomato plant laden with tomatoes. First up, my front flower bed: This is what people see when they park in the driveway or pass the house. It's a corner bed, triangle shaped. You can see my large pot sitting on the stump that once was a pine tree. This is the pot that has the little blue ceramic cat in it and also has the creek stones I brought back from Indiana. This bed faces east and just gets morning sun.  I took this photo around noon, which is why it's so bright.   Next, a view of the flower beds on the opposite of the driveway from the front bed: You can see the gravel parking space we built below. In the foreground is one of my Rubeckia plants full of blossoms. My house is on the left, the neighbors on the right. In the background you can see a very tall, leafy plant with grassy pampas behind it. That tall thing is my Hardy Hibiscus, which is j...