Pale Yellow Moon

Pale yellow moon atop the pale green grass,

Have you seen the summer pass

Over the land?

The Crime Scene

A thief ransacked our little Nook Saturday night and this was what I found the next morning.  I had my suspicions about the identity of the culprit immediately.  Let me present the evidence and see if you jump to the same conclusion.

Unfortunately, I was the one who forgot the bowl of tantalizing, juicy berries on the lower shelf of the etagere and I know exactly who would find them impossible to resist.  Note the 5-fingered handprint midpoint, on the left hand side of the photo.

The cushion is pulled down and tufts of white and dark-brown fur are everywhere.  The curtain lies crumpled on the floor (Exhibit-F) probably yanked from its place in an attempt to climb it.  This led me to a hanging ornament notably missing its shiny jewel. I eventually found the jewel in the center of the cushion.  I know of only one suspect with the manual dexterity capable of removing it.

Berry-stained prints leave a trail of his progress across the room where he knocked the cushions off the sofa and tipped over the candle on the small table (Exhibit-G).

One last bit of vandalism.  Really?  Why the sudden urge to destroy my clothespin?

Have you guessed the identity of the culprit by now?

Yes, it was a member of the five-fingered, berry-loving, white and dark-brown furred, climbing, jewel collecting, love-to-chew and knock things over, raccoon family that live under one of our decks all summer long.

Life would be very dull without them :)

Phoenix Rising

From dark earthy ashes

Petals unfurl to greet a new day

Filling the sky with crimson flames

Sky-dyed Blue

Curled petals of a hue

The most delicate blue

It's rare to find a flower that is beautiful, uniquely coloured, hardy, easy to grow and disease resistant.

This is the current star in my August garden - my Hibiscus "Blue Satin" also called "Rose of Sharon."  I bought it in a 10inch x 10inch pot two years ago and it has already grown to 6 feet tall by 4 feet wide.

There are plenty of seedlings growing at its base and I am dreaming of creating a fantasy forest in blue!

The Teacher

It's not what you do for your children,

But what you have taught them to do for themselves,

That will make them successful human beings.

~ Ann Landers ~

Made of Stone

The best artist has that thought alone

Which is contained within the marble shell;

The sculptor's hand can only break the spell

To free the figures slumbering in the stone.

~ Michelangelo ~

Pond Life

I have a pond in my backyard that runs about 12 feet long by 4 feet wide and 3 feet deep.

I started off knowing absolutely nothing about ponds and between myself, my husband, my children and the internet, we managed to figure out, in a trial and lots of error kind of way, just about everything the pond needed to be healthy and balanced. 

It's amazing how much we've learned, and in the process, developed even more respect for the complexites of Mother Nature.

For example: I learned that if the pond is in full sun, the surface of the water should be covered up to 50% by plants.  After purchasing the plants above, I learned that raccoons love to eat the bulbous parts :(

The pond goes from looking sterile and bare in the spring, to covered in moss, and flowers which continue to change throughout the seasons.

Sometimes it's what's around the pond that brings out a colour or shape

that went unnoticed until now.

My number #1 wish was that the pond would be a place for dragonflies to lay their eggs.  Of course the chance of that happening was slim because you can't exactly tell dragonflies what to do...

This year my wish came true and we are the proud (adoptive) parents of several dragonfly nymphs :)  Dragonflies live 2-3 years as nymphs underwater before they crawl up onto a plant, shed their skin and become the dragonflies we all love.  They live above-ground for just one season, during which they lay their eggs and eventually die.

We also have a few baby goldfish swimming around, 10 points if you can spot one in the photo below!

Hang On!

The world is round

And the place which may seem like the end

May also be only the beginning.

~ Ivy Baker ~

I've added to this post a link to a wonderful story.

 "A picture is worth a thousand words."

For me, the picture has captured so many things: a moment, a relationship, serenity, love, devotion, and that time can be finite.

For all those photo-bloggers around the world, know that your pictures can and do make a difference in the lives of others.

"I'm still dumbfounded. A picture can join the world together in joy and happiness? It can cross barriers of language, culture, religion? And it has crossed barriers -- it has crossed every one."  ~ John Unger ~

Lazy, Hazy Summer Day

Lazy, hazy summer day,

Come and take my cares away.

Ka-bloom!

Flowers don't worry about how they're going to bloom.

They just open up and turn toward the light

and that makes them beautiful.

~ Jim Carrey ~