Sunday Serenity

wisteria bloom with a touch of honey bee wing

Wisteria flower

Blooming when it should't be

And it's beautiful!

~~~  

xoabb

Sunday Serenity

Foggy Missourahhh morning from the plane window

Winging my way home

After a wonderful time

I want to go back

~~~

xoabb

Sunday Serenity

dahlia, after the rain, in my folk's garden, taken on 8/10/16 at 8:20pm

Nothing better than

Flower petals drenched in rain

Such beauty is there

~~~

xoabb

Off to my Dreams...

perennial hardy hibiscus. Dad said he started with one red and one white, and ended up with a
light pink flower* with no center redness - it's beautiful!

~

The dance is over

It's time to go. Off to my

Dreams...there's no more show...

*Dad's hybrid

~~~

xoabb

Little Punk Blossoms

what we've always referred to above as a mimosa tree blossom, we've come to find it's really not.
My grandparents had two of the beautiful trees growing in the backyard of their California, MO
home. Every time I see a tree in bloom, I think of them, with much love, much much love. 

Little punk blossoms

Blooming in your pink pink way

Wish I could be you.

~~~

xoabb

Sunday Serenity

the bottom of 2nd Street - the best place to capture sky photos

The clouds at sunset

Such beauty found in the sky

Never tire of it

~~~

xoabb

Sunday Serenity

eggs of a speckle
cardinal eggs...hopefully uninterrupted

My parents have wonderful folks that help them with the heavy labor in their garden because, well, at 90 and 93, it's just not physically possible for them to do everything anymore. (Hell, I'm 61 and couldn't begin to do all that, tho they both seemed to be able to do ALL THAT at my age...) Yesterday, their helper had been clearing off the non-producing bean trellis when she stopped, came in the house and asked what she should do about the suddenly discovered bird's nest, complete with eggs, that was nestled in the trellis. Mom quickly told her to cease and desist, which pleased the gal very much, as she said: "O goody! I'll have to find some pulled foliage to protect the nest from the sun! So...nature wins out over a neat garden. A mighty good choice! (We eventually found dad and he heartily agreed that the nest should stay.) 

Just hope mama redbird won't abandoned it!

Clearing out debris

Sometimes leads to a surprise

Hey mama, come back!

~~~

xoabb

Sunday Serenity

cleome, after the rain, in my folk's garden. Taken on 8/10/16 at 8:21pm

Gifts that Inspire Serenity...on a Sunday

There are the little things that I absolutely love...
Gifts from the heart of a ~bff~ - a metal bird nest and moonstone egg, 
Gifts from a traveling parent - a perfectly egg-shaped rock from some forgotten beach
Gifts from the dump on my parent's property - a tiny bottle with a cap that has an ~A~ stamped on it
Gifts from nature - two little acorns that fell too soon and are adorable, but not at all grown up
And a wayward green visitor ~gift~ I found in my bathroom...now free to the great outdoors

~

Little things that mean
so much. Forever friendships,
and a lot of love.

~~~

xoabb

Our Sweet Sweet Father, August 2016

dad reflecting on a reflecting pond - glass still that pond is tonight - waiting
for mom, Care and me to return on the golf cart from Chanterelle-picking overload

We love this dad, ours,

Loving us always and there

For us, thick 'n thin

~~~

xoabb

Plumbago in the Evening

the beautiful flower, plumbago, that dad grows in a pot on the deck - color not enhanced by me - at 6:00pm.

the same flower (different cluster) captured at 1:30pm in the full sun - color not enhanced by me

Plumbago flowers

No matter what time of day

Beautiful you are!

~~~

xoabb

Chicken-of-the-Woods - An Edible Treat!

photo taken on 7/31/16 @ 3:49 pm

  

photo taken on 8/1/16 @ 2:31pm
(covered in mud spots because of the hard rain that fell last night)

photo taken on 8/2/16 @ 3:20pm

photo taken 8/3/16 @ 3:27pm just before harvesting

Mom has been watching a certain oak tree all spring and summer just waiting for the perennial chicken-of-the-woods to reappear. Yesterday it finally did! On our way back from Claysville Store, she looked over and saw her c-o-t-w's for the first time! (It hadn't been there when we left at noontime.) After we were dropped at home, mom and I immediately got in the car so we could go take a photo of it and try to estimate when it would be time to harvest it to eat. That first photo is of the mushroom yesterday. It rained all night and most of today so it wasn't until just about 24 hours after the first photo was taken that we were able to go check on the c-o-t-w's and see if anything had changed. MAN! Talk about growth spurt! Look how much that baby has grown in just a days time! (If you look at the little green plants on the left, you can see they're exactly the same in both photos.) If that were a human baby, I'd say it had gone from an infant to a 10 year old in one day! At this rate, it'll be ready to harvest in the next couple of days! Can't wait to see how big it is tomorrow!
We harvested it today, the 3rd of August. Had a bit of it tonight just to try it, and will have more tomorrow - will let you in on the secrets of Chicken-of-the-Woods preparations!

~

Chicken of the Woods

Soon on our dinner table

Deliciousness waits!

~~~

xoabb