In a Rain Storm

"Anyone who thinks sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain."

~ Anonymous ~

A beautiful watercolor found tucked away in an antiques shop. I have yet to frame it, perhaps never will, but today it stands on the mantel as it feels like the day.

The rains came..........................yesterday light and drippy, this morning heavy and saturating. The parched earth is soaking up each drop, manna from heaven, nourishment for all that struggles to grow, flower, feed and share its beauty....................unattained in any other way than that given as a gift by Nature.

"And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without rain, there would be no rainbow."

~ G.K. Chesterton -1874-1936 ~

All Creatures Great & Small

There have been dragonflies this Summer.................but butterflies have been sparse. How I've missed them flitting from plant to plant in the garden.

The parsley, usual depository for the beautiful Monarch's eggs, has been munched on by just one lonely green and yellow striped caterpillar - usually there are dozens.

The weather conditions are to blame for our gardening woes this year. No beans or peppers made it. Tomatoes just now turning red for picking but not by the pound as in other years. Cucumbers not bad, but not many. Eggplants? Well there's one hanging on waiting to be harvested - eggplant Parmigiana for one perhaps!

Lack of rain, unbearable heat..................how the farmers make it remains a mystery. How grateful we are to them for bringing their vegetables and fruits to the weekly market.

Decoupaged pot with dragonfly.

Do you have butterflies in your garden this year?

Not Far From the Tree

"When the oak is felled the whole forest echoes with its fall, but a hundred acorns are sown in silence by an unnoticed breeze."

Thomas Carlyle (Scottish Historian and Essayist ~1795-1881)

Yesterday I noticed a true sign that Summer is on the wane and Autumn is imminent. Not only do I see them, I hear them falling on the roof with a clatter, then rolling down and bouncing off the back deck. Some are still attached to sprays of leaves like this, bright green acorns stuffed into their little rough textured cups. Some years we have thousands fall from several mighty oaks on our property - they'd be ankle deep if we didn't sweep and blow often.

The first acorns of the season.

Background is Edith Holden's beautiful watercolor illustration in

The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady (1905).

"If the 24th of August be fair and clear

Then hope for a prosperous Autumn that year".

Pink Saturday

Blooms in the garden are few now ~ the torrid heat and almost non-existent rain have wreaked havoc....................Nature struggles to put forth anything fresh, new or colorful these past few weeks. But I do love green! When permitted we water. Still restricted to a few hours a week but this does enable the many shades of green, from chartreuse to hunter, to fill in the bare spaces.

But this is PINK SATURDAY so I had to find something pretty and PINK. Here is the Mandevilla vine making its way up the gazebo and blooming in the heat because it's tropical.

The flowers start out pointed, somewhat like a Morning Glory bud, then slowly unfold and open in their stunning pinkness, surrounded by a backdrop of thick, leathery, dark green leaves.


The Mandevilla is an annual here so I plant a new one each year after the last frost ~ must have something pink throughout the long, hot Summer.



Be sure to visit Beverly at How Sweet The Sound our Pink Saturday hostess. There you will find the list of this week's participants and I'm certain many of them are surrounded by every shade of pink imaginable!

Friday's Favorite Family Foto

Lost in the music while playing the piano at Arts Together

~ August 2008 ~

A granddaughter wants a piano. It doesn't have to be a fancy one. It does need to be in tune. The wood can be scratched...................piano shawls are beautiful. It has to fold up to fit into a small apartment or cottage!

Dream on sweet child. Sometimes dreams come true.

**************

Visit our hostess Deborah at Pictures, Pots & Pens for more FFFF posts ~ and do join in by sharing your favorite family photos each Friday.

Decoupage

I've always enjoyed painting and decoupaging pots. If you peek in the door of my potting shed you will find several stacks of plain terra cotta pots awaiting embellishment when the cooler weather arrives.

These below I decorated some years ago ~ they move around from shelf to shelf on the Welsh dresser in the dining room.

The one with the butterflies is a favorite. I was pleasantly surprised to see this image in the ad below in a current national magazine. Target will be selling John Derian decorative items during the month of September. He is the master of decoupage ~ cutting and gluing paper images to surfaces ~ his special talent being layering images under glass such as plates, platters, paperweights, coasters, bowls, bell jars, urns etc. I will be checking the Target offers as they often do well with affordable designer items.

Walking to France

Carcassonne, France~2006

Before visiting France in October, I need to get some exercise! The heat of this Summer has kept me indoors a lot. My walking shoes have been left empty by the door and the spare pair in the trunk of the car has probably broiled in the heat! Every now and then I play 'Hampton and The Hamster Dance' - go ahead laugh but I assure you it will get you moving! It will not however provide the same benefits as some serious walking.



Staying here while in Provence.

France......................aah! Think food, of course, great food. Beginning with breakfast croissants and baguettes still warm from the village boulangerie oven, followed by a light lunch to hold one until dinner...........that lovely time when, the foods of France and the talents of great cooks, bring families and friends together for leisurely eating and interesting conversation. Think wine, fabulous wine from grapes growing all around the village where I'll be staying - just take your jug and fill at the co-op for a couple of euros!

My neighborhood running/walking track.

So before climbing the hills of the Luberon which I'll also be visiting on a side trip to Provence, and to have the stamina required for many hours of market browsing so I can bring you photos of all the lovely things to buy..........................I plan to be walking here (Boring? Yes!) as often as possible.

My posts may become sporadic for a while - walking takes time - however I will check in with you now and then. I'm also cleaning out closets and organizing Fall clothing, spending a lot of time on my French homework assignments, trying to keep the parched garden from completely dying on me, making some important travel plans for next year, and squeezing in a little time for some creative projects which need attention.......as well as all the regular household stuff.

Life is busy, but then that's what life's all about, right?