Friday, June 28, 2013

A Love Affair

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It is worth mentioning that as I type this post, a crow is standing on the pitch of my roof and tap, tap, tapping away.  His perseverance to open the nut that he is working on will hopefully result in his reward for a nibble for breakfast.

Nature.
Sweet.
Beautiful.
Precious.
Tender.
An affair of the heart.

The yellow butterflies, dragon flies, large black bumble bees, hummingbirds, doves, the crows, the fat blue jay that takes afternoon dips in the bird bath…..all special visitors to our yard.  The other day two orange dragon flies came for a visit.  One landed atop a lamp base that I was working on in the backyard, the other landed atop a garden finial.  The one on the lamp base stayed there for the longest time and watched me as I worked on items near his perch.  It was the strangest thing, but I was able to be nose to nose with him and he allowed me to touch him.  Such trust.  My husband watched in amazement as I spoke to my bug guest.  We were equally surprised that he didn’t fly away.  Later he, and his partner, flew off together. Hopefully they enjoyed their stay and will come back again.

These tender moments are blessings from Heaven, from our Father who loves to bring us snippets of joy to our days.  He knows our heart, he knows when we need a smile to land on our face.  I imagine that he smiles back as he watches us take notice of his love and grace.  Ahhh, such fatherly love. 

I praise you, dear Father, for all you do.  Tears well up in my eyes with my love for you.

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Another love affair of mine are my mop top hydrangeas.  This year they seem to be larger than last year.  Big billowy blooms that fill up one corner of our yard. 

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Our weather is to be a scorcher this week (106 for a week!), so I decided to cut off some of the mops that were starting to fade from bright pink to a softer shade of green and pink.  Also spared were some of my Double Delight roses, as shown in the first picture.

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Let me “point” out to you the faded beauty…a Peter Pan moment….this is me with my lost shadow.  :)

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Drying now are my buckets of mop tops that will eventually be tucked here and there inside – some boxed up till Christmas so that they can be tucked in a tree.  One of my favorite things to do with them is to set them in a primitive dough bowl or tuck them in to silver plate trophies that are of varying height and sizes.  (To dry the mops, I simply stick them in a bucket -no water- and let them dry standing up.)

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My Peter Pan shadow and I bid you adieu. 

Till next time….

19 comments:

Stacey said...

This is such a sweet post. I feel the same way you do about nature. It is all a gift from God, without a doubt.

Your hydrangeas are beautiful. We had lots of them in Oklahoma. No shade here on this lot at all.

Linda Walker said...

Beautiful, beautiful hydrangeas! Love it when mine are in bloom. Hopefully soon! I too love nature in its glory!
Linda
mysewwhatblog.blogspot.com

Sandy said...

Beautiful post! Lovely photos, sweet flowers and I love your "Peter Pan" shadow!

marie said...

Just the thought of my Father in Heaven "smiling back" when He's made me happy, brought tears of joy to my eyes!
Such a beautiful post Becky....beautiful blooms too!!

20 North Ora said...

Your hydrangeas are beautiful Becky. Mine are beginning to wilt also. They are really sagging by the end of the day and then in the mornings they are all standing up tall!

The Lord is definitely the greatest artist ever.

Judy

Unknown said...

Beautiful!!
Hugs, Gee

Jocelyn said...

Sigh....... so beautiful. Thanks for sharing this beautiful post.

Jocelyn @ http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogpspot.com

Patty Marker said...

I have tried to grow hydrangeas in every part of my garden with no luck but I refuse to give up! Your double delights are so pretty and you are so smart to bring them in before this scorcher of a week we have coming. I agree, I think He gets a good chuckle at us sometimes, too.

Happy@Home said...

Your Double Delight roses are so pretty and look so nice with your background.
I love to see dragonflies in the garden. They always amaze me. Hope yours return for another visit.
Beautiful hydrangeas!!

Vee said...

Now they are glorious blooms...both the roses and the hydrangeas. Wish I could have seen you with the dragonfly. Who knew that such a thing was possible? And were you like Henry David Thoreau and his bird: "I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn."

becky up the hill said...

Your sweet post made me weepy. In a good way. Love you my friend. p.s. I am outside about a half dozen times in this weather spraying my hydrangeas, they cook in the air. ugh.

Cranberry Morning said...

What beautiful hydrangeas! What an amazing and generous Creator we have. I loved reading of your delight in the Lord.

susie @ persimmon moon cottage said...

What a beautiful post! Lovely pictures to see and enchanting moments in nature to ponder. I hope your dragonflies will come and visit you again soon.

And Vee, thanks for the sweet Thoreau quote.

NanaDiana said...

Oh- what a beautiful post- This was so touching and so true- there is so much beauty around us-freely given to us by God to enjoy. Your hydrangeas are just beautiful. I am hoping ours bloom soon- xo Diana

Mimi Sue said...

Wish we could grow big beautiful hydrangeas here. Ours suffer in the dry heat. But I keep trying! Mimi

Kris said...

What a beautiful post!!!
xo Kris

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful post, really enjoyed reading it. I could just hear the crow with the nut. I really enjoyed the story of the dragonflies we have many that come to visit us and we love watching them. Sometimes they land on us as we float around the pool. These wonderful gifts that our Lord has Blessed us with, all the beauty that so many take for granted.
Thanks for sharing!
Have a Blessed Day!
Diane M.
PS: Love the photos of the beautiful flowers!

"Create Beauty" said...

I miss my hydrangea's!!! None planted here yet but I've acquired 5 rose bushes. Beautiful photographs Becky, I enjoyed your self portrait shadow.

~ Violet

Donna said...

Those blooms are gorgeous!