New Blooms

Sweet Autumn Clematis

Imagine, if you will, opening your front door and walking into air heavily laden with the scent of sweet honey.  That's what it's like at my house these days.  Sweet Autumn Clematis, which is twined around the three columns that support the small section of the roof that shelters my front entryway, is in full bloom.  The blossoms are small, about 1.5  to 2 inches across, but full of fragrance, and there are thousands of them on the three vines.

Although I didn't capture any bees in these photos, I do have to be on the lookout for them when I bury my nose into a clump of blossoms.

I don't recall when I first discovered this late-summer blooming vine, but several years ago I started with one vine, which I planted on a trellis outside one of my bedroom windows.  Autumn Clematis is evidently a good self-seeder, as the three vines now gracing my front walk were all 'volunteers' which I discovered in various parts of the yard.  The oldest plant (the one pictured) is on the northwest corner of the little porch, and gets the most sunshine, making it, so far, the heaviest bloomer.  I've also treated the volunteer plants as pass-along plants, and several of my friends are, I hope, currently enjoying the blooms on their own plants.

I always look forward to having these sweet blooms outside my window and door.  Next spring, I'm going to be on the lookout for some more 'volunteers.'  Methinks that some portions of my chain link fence in my back yard would be improved by planting some vines at the base.

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I hope all my blog buddies are well, and escaped any damage from Hurricane Irene.  I've been saddened to see the destruction left in its wake.

Tomorrow is also a day.

Delighted

Today is Gardening Daughter's oldest daughter's birthday.  She's twenty-three years old -- not a child any more; in fact, she has a beautiful 2 year old daughter of her own. 

Of course, I made her a birthday card.  That's what I do.  I hasten to say that the butterfly images are not "stamped" but were already printed on some lovely papers I acquired at the local scrapbook store. For those who might be interested, the paper patterns are from the "Gabriella" collection by Bo-Bunny.

While I don't often blog about the cards I make, I was pleased with how this one turned out, and since she doesn't read my blog,  she won't see her card until I give it to her this evening.

This is what it looks like when it's closed:

When it's partially opened:

Fully open:

I hope she likes it.

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Did you hear about the electrician who lost all his incandescent bulbs?  He was delighted.

Tomorrow is also a day

Hooray!

lycoris squamigera

It's a lovely, lovely morning here.  At sunrise, the temperature was 68 degrees; the wonderful coolness makes it pleasant to be outside. I thoroughly enjoyed sitting at the table on my little patio while I drank my first cup of coffee and watched the cats stalk imaginary (or real) creepy crawlies in the grass.

Today is going to be a mowing day.  The much appreciated rain that we received last week, a total of five inches, has caused the grass/weeds in my yard to grow with abandon.  If I don't cut it soon, one of those threatening letters from the city fathers will show up in my mail box. Yarrrgh!

The lycoris squamigera , otherwise known as Naked Ladies, that I received two years ago from Carol and her husband (Coward's Corner with Luckie) have bloomed!  I am tickled pink! (pun intended) Naked Ladies get their name from the fact that, at flowering time, the plants send up only a bloom stalk - no leaves.  Each blossom-bearing stalk that you see in the photo above was, in April, preceded by the leaves of the plant, which emerge to gather energy for the bulbs from which the later flower shoots will emerge.  Mother Nature has provided an unusual, but efficient, method for blessing our gardens twice.

Closer view of the blossoms

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Did you hear about the chef who had to be fired after burglars took his stove?  He had become deranged.

Tomorrow is also a day.

Books - August, 1999

The Spoken Word -  Robert R. Irvine
Barking Dogs - Robert R. Irvine
Staggerford - Jon Hassler
First Cases (an anthology) - editor Robert Randisi
The Seville Communion - Arturo Perez-Reverte
The Gifts of the Jews - Thomas Cahill
The Man Who Loved God - William X. Kienzle
Los Alamos - Joseph Kanon
The First Eagle - Tony Hillerman
Extraordinary Powers - Joseph Finder
The Bohemian Murders - Dianne Day
Emperor Norton's Ghost - Dianne Day
The Ape Who Guards the Balance - Elizabeth Peters

Provided links will lead to Amazon.com where you can find further information about the books, should you be interested.

Tomorrow is also a day.

Thank You, Lord, For the Rain

Over 3 inches of liquid sunshine fell on my property between 6 p.m. yesterday and this morning. What a blessing!

Tomorrow is also a day.

On This Day

Hailstones

(image from Internet, not my yard, thank goodness)

August 2, 1954

 

"Severe thunderstorms produced golf ball size hail for thirty minutes in north central Kansas. One drift measured 200 feet long, seventy feet wide and three feet deep. (The Weather Channel )"

I guess a Heat Index of 113 degrees, which is what it is at this writing, is not as bad a three feet of hailstones.  Mother Nature loves variety, doesn't she? 

The photo above, which I found on the Internet, and which is not of the above referenced hail storm, seemed to have had a somewhat cooling effect upon me, but I suspect that could have been due to my crunching on ice chips and sitting close to the air conditioning vent while I composed this post.

* * *

I sometimes am concerned about the cost of the water I keep putting on my flower beds, but an early morning glimpse of large butterflies feasting on my Lantana blooms made the drain on my wallet worth while. I couldn't get outside with the camera fast enough to catch them drinking the nectar, but it must have been tasty; one large one just about buried his/her head in one bloom. Maybe they'll visit again in the morning.

Tomorrow is also a day.