Gizzy in Heaven!

Gizzy in Heaven!
I love you forever and ever, Amen!

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Wednesday, June 3, 2009

June Showers bring more flowers and blackberries too.

It has been raining a lot and Georgia is finally out of its 3-year drought status. I have some more pictures of flowers and plants I saw while walking with Gizzy around Lake Irma and here they are: This pretty Magnolia flower snapped off the vine as I was photographing it. Doesn't it look like a rose? From a certain angle it even looked like a tulip. It's amazing how quickly it started to turn brown. There are plenty of wild Blackberries in the woods near my apartment complex. Many of them are already ripe, while others are still busily changing colors. I sampled a few this morning as I walked outside with Gizzy. They tasted very sweet. I want to collect more to maybe bake a cobbler, but I was warned about the Moccasins snakes that are abundant this time of year. When I go into the woods to pick berries, I don't take Gizzy and I wear hiking boots and long slaks and bring a stick and stomp my feet. I'm pretty sure that they are more afraid of me than vice versa. It is man, after all, that is the most dangerous animal on earth. This is a very aromatic Honeysuckle bush. There are plenty of those around. A couple of bright yellow wildflowers that appealed to me. Some more little wild flowers peeking through a fence. I can't wait to sample some of the blueberries on this bush. A pretty Sago Palm growing near the Robert Simpson's Walking Trail. Notice the two carved owls on top of the sign The Walking Trail leads into the woods over bridges and then winds around to return almost from where you started near ye ole watering hole from where people fish. People fish from this deck and if it weren't for the insects, that would be a great spot for a picnic. The water from Bank's Lake flows into Lake Irma and from there to this fishing hole and then turns into a brook that flows along the Robert Simpson Nature Trail. I think this is very pretty ornamental grass. Another common wild flower that grows plentiful around here. Clustered together, they add a nice, bold splash of color to the landscape. I don't know what these are, but I like their color and very unusual shape. This crimson blossom belongs to some kind of vine climbing along a fence. I believe it to be a Scarlet Runner bean. This seems to be a pink Petunia. "If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, it must be a duck” -(Proverb)...and that's all I know about this little ducky! A white Heron looking for food Yeah!!! The Gardenias are back...I absolutely love them. Their earthy, musky scent makes me want to bite into them because to me they sort of smell like white button mushroom and I LOVE mushrooms. I took some home with me because there are so many, they won't even be missed and they make my apartment smell so lovely. Some Cat Tails growing on a mini peninsula in Lake Irma There's many of these flowers growing here. It reminds me of some sort of Iris. I like the mirror image in the water I will enjoy these pears later this year! Don't know what this bush is, but it's not a Crape Myrtle. Teeny, tiny flowers on the ground Pretty palm tree by the lake, not a very common sight in this area. A cluster of pretty heirloom roses, the kind I have by my apartment A closer look reveals a tiny, green spider on its pedal. Itsy, bitys spider... My boy on his poop-out wagon, aka my rollator. It supports me and the boy when he's tired of walking, after all, he's a senior citizen too. Inviting bench overlooking the lake I don't know what kind of butterfly this is, but it's sure pretty Some more little wild flowers that I saw on the way home Thes are the heirloom roses I planted and where I get my dried rose pedals from. They smell very sweet and the potpourri I make from them smells like honey. This Crape Myrtle is covered with honey bees ...and so are the popcorn trees. They have the most magnificent scent that fills the air. It reminds me of star jasmine with a musky undertone. A big ole bumble bee getting in on the action Patches of moss by my back porch...I enjoy looking at it, but in the summer it dies down, only this year it has been raining a lot. It reminds me of green velvet. I wish I could figure out a way to keep it going all year. I have a small empty acrylic fish tank that I could convert into a terrarium perhaps, and see if I could keep a patch green all year. Due to the rains we have lots of little white mushrooms popping up all over the place My little potted lilac bush finally bloomed. It's a hot weather lilac, I forgot its name. This area really isn't for lilacs. It's too hot here. I miss seeing lush, bountiful lilac bushes. Lilacs are my most favorite blossoms. Cardinal at my back door We have so many of those red cardinals, I wish I had a better zoom lens. They all gather by my neighbor's bird feeder. The female is more brownish red and the males, of course, are all red with tht little treademark tuft on their heads. I have to add, that this rain has done wonders not just for the environment, but the senses as well. I have never been able to smell the earth and the trees since I lived here because it has been so dry...I missed smelling the woods that I so fondly remembered when I was a child in Germany. I was beginning to think my sense of smell is failing me, but it hasn't. It's all there and I know thanks to the rain, I can take a deep breath amongst the Gerogia pines and it's all coming back to me ... the musky odor of the earth is back again, reminding me of mushrooms and blueberry picking as a child. Just marvellous! And that's my Story, Morning Glory! Honey Pineapple Carrot Salad 1 can crushed pineapple 2 packages (3 oz. each) lemon gelatin 1/4 cup honey 2 Tablespoons lemon juice 2 Tablespoons orange juice concentrate, undiluted 1 cup grated carrots 1/2 pint whipping cream or 1-1/2 cups defrosted frozen whipped topping Drain liquid from canned pineapple into measuring cup and add enough water to make 1-1/2 cups liquid. Pour liquid into pan and bring to a boil. Stir in gelatin until dissolved. Remove from heat and blend in honey, lemon juice and orange juice concentrate. Pour into a medium bowl and refrigerate until slightly thickened, 20 to 25 minutes. Whip cream until soft peaks form. Blend pineapple, carrots and whipped cream (or defrosted frozen whipped topping). Pour into a 9x9-inch pan and refrigerate until firm. Serve each portion on a lettuce leaf and if desired garnish with a lemon slice and a teaspoon of shredded carrot. ENJOY AND REMEMBER TO THANK YOUR HONEY BEES!

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