Just too busy!

I've just realized that it's been a week since my last post!

Having my nieces here, going hither and yon, cooking,

working and plain having fun, I really wonder how women do it?

How did I do it years ago AND work full time?!

So I'm taking a minute to take another breath and post a few

photos from our trip to the Butterfly Gardens...
Hats and hearts alike.

Camo...

Delicate, deadly, Datura...

 One curious and gentle parrot.

Alien larva.

Leopard pitcher plants.

Floating art.

Flaming floral art.

 Asleep in pink pajamas.

Blue loving the bananas.

 Slowing down the teenagers.

...and so the adventure continues. 

Whats up?

This morning when I looked outside I was almost blindsided by something...

The sun!

It's been rainy and drizzly for about a week and a half but seems like FOREVER!

Not only is spring happening outside but here inside the house things are unfurling too...

 my lovely 'mother fern' is growing like a weed..

 ...her fiddle heads are little works of art...

 ...slowly unwinding the winter blues...

 As I stepped through the gates into the garden, I spotted this slithery fellow...

Some people are afraid of snakes but not me...these ones, garter snakes,

are totally harmless. In fact they're really good for your garden since they eat a lot of pests.

Just look at the smile on his face! He's as happy as me to see the sun and feel the warmth on his skin!

 A friend of mine gave me this wicker bench years ago and since

it's decayed too much for sitting in, I couldn't bare to throw it out

so I turned into a 'green bench'...

 Succulents and creeping woolly time growing amongst the moss...

 Earlier in the spring, my sisters oldest girl helped me plant

a memorial garden for her mom...we planted 2 roses; one for

my sister and one for my Aunt who died at Christmas time.

We also planted a bunch of Asiatic lilies (which my sister loved)

 She loved to feed crows and jays so I moved this rusty cut out into her garden...

 My aunt gave me this rose quartz heart after Tracy died so I put it at the base of the rose...

 In other spots, my New Zealand flax has a giant flower bud on it.

It's the first time since I planted it about 6 years ago that I've ever seen a bud

so I'm excited to see what it will look like...

 And the poppies!!!

 How gorgeous are these imitators of crepe paper and ruffly feather hats!!

 The beekeeper was up today checking on the hives and trying to prevent

4 swarm cells from taking off!

Him and his helper had to work really fast to create some new empty hives and

so far so good...they seemed to have settled down by the early afternoon...

 Besides the bees being active, I noticed quite a few butterflies around...

 they love the phlox!

Anyway that's what's happening in my world...how's your garden growing?

 



The birds and the bees...and the butterflys...

This morning, out in the garden, the world is a-buzz.

The bees are so happy to have the warmth.

No wonder someone once capped the term

"Busy as a bee".

Trying to catch one still enough to take a photo is quite the challenge.

Especially when they are diving in and out of foxgloves!

Can you imagine the view inside that flower?

Not that the bee is paying attention to that...too busy collecting pollen.

...but, hey...maybe they do notice the beauty...I'd like to think so.

Some early mornings I find a big bumble bee asleep on a flower.

Maybe they were so drunk on nectar and the loveliness of the flower

that they decided just to curl up and have a nap.

As I was watching the bees, I noticed a tiny movement on the flower.

This is like one of those 'find the hidden image in the picture' games...

Do you see her?

Blending right in with the colours...

Isn't nature fantastic?!

A bug that I've never seen before was also visiting the foxgloves...

How pretty is that golden beetle?

The honeybees from the hives are also crazy busy collecting food for honey production...

I hadn't seen many butterfly's this year but the weather being what it has been, 

I wouldn't want to risk my weightless, fragile body, floating around in all the cold and rain either.

But this morning they were out as well...

If you have high blood pressure or stress, just sit and watch a swallow tail.

Guaranteed to calm you right down...

And the birds!

Oh the symphony of song in the early part of the day!

The dawn chorus.

It always starts with the robins.

I call them the hardest working birds in showbiz.

First ones up and last ones in.

This morning I caught this one having a bath...

I was lucky enough to see one of the most handsome birds as well...

The cedar waxwing.

So dashing in his velvet coat and black mask!

And so I've spent another few hours day dreaming in the garden when I should be

out there weeding and pruning...oh well...there's always tomorrow.