I'm so happy to see my old friends have found me here! I'm sorry it has taken me a few days to reply to your lovely comments. We went away for the weekend to attend my niece's bridal shower, and I thought I would have more time before we left.
For as long as we have lived in this house--twenty years!--red squirrels have been living in our backyard. They are feisty, territorial creatures. I do love them!
Hummingbirds are feisty, territorial creatures, too, yet so delicate and fairy-like.
I planted five new English roses this year, bringing my rose count up to fourteen bushes! This one is Lady of Shalott:
One of my favorite roses is a beautiful salmon pink one called Boscobel. At first, her blossoms were so pale that I thought David Austin had sent me the wrong rose. She has grown a lot since I took this photo earlier in the season:
The rose below is the Ambridge Rose. A camera really can't capture her ethereal beauty:
Hanging from a low branch on the pear tree across the street from my house is a basketball-sized, papery nest of a bald-faced hornet colony. Today, the Animal Warden stopped by. He parked his truck in front of the nest, rolled down his window, aimed a can of spray at it (briefly), and drove off. I think the wasps laughed. I know I did.
Munstead Wood is a deep, dark, crimson rose with incomparable form and scent.
My neighbors down the lane planted two apple trees in their side yard when they bought their house. Those neighbors moved out a couple of years ago and new neighbors moved in. This year, for some reason or another, the new neighbors decided to remove one of the trees. It is sad, because the trees were so vibrant and healthy. Now the tree that is left is dying, we think of a broken heart. Many people don't realize that trees are communal creatures.
Our kittens Rhys and Wyatt are getting B I G.
Wyatt goes by many different nicknames: Lightning, Stripes McGee, and Ricky Raccoon.
Over the weekend, we got to visit Rhys and Wyatt's sister Miss P (my sis-in-law's kitty). Do you see the family resemblance? Her eyes are amber like Rhys's and her coloring is a blend of both brothers. All of them have pink noses, and white mittens and shirts.
"The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the whole year – the days when summer is changing into autumn – the crickets spread the rumor of sadness and change."~
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
We are in those days now. I am savoring each one of them, although I know 'nothing gold can stay'. ♥
Love and roses,
Sue
We are in those days now. I am savoring each one of them, although I know 'nothing gold can stay'. ♥
Such loveliness! Your roses are magnificent and must bring you such joy. I'm very sorry to read about the trees though. To think of the remaining one dying of a broken heart ... I can fully believe it, and it makes my own heart ache terribly. Why do people cut down trees unnecessarily? I'll never understand.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are beautiful thank you for sharing them. xx
Hello, dear Sarah, thank you for your kind words about my roses and photographs. I have no sense of myself as a gardener or photographer. I just like plants and keeping a visual diary. So many things, each day, fill my heart with joy, and yes, the roses, always the roses. I think people cut down trees (and remove other beautiful plants) because they do not view them in the same way as they do animal life. I have seen people remove beautiful trees because they were "too messy", or they feared branches doing damage to their property during storms, or even because they wanted a different tree in that spot. I wish there were organizations for the humane treatment of plants; perhaps there are, and I am just unaware of them. Do you know of any?
Deleteoh, those lovely english roses...and cats, cats are always a joy to see.
ReplyDeletei was sorry too to read about the apple trees. what kind of idiot cuts down a healthy tree, especially one which blossoms and fruits?! heartless, beauty-blind, daftness...
Hello! Thank you for your comment. I have other roses, too (hybrid teas and floribundas), but the English ones are fast becoming my favorites. Do you have cats? We have so many pets: cats, dogs, birds, guinea pigs, a magic rabbit, fish, a snake, and chickens. Some think it's too much, but it isn't. : )
DeleteI don't understand why my neighbors cut down that beautiful tree. I do think that many (most?) people look at plants very differently than they do animals, even though plants are responsible for the very air we breathe. I have learned so much about plants in recent years. They are communal and communicate through their root systems. Sometimes they do become unhealthy and sad, but often they recover with a bit of care and pruning. I hope the remaining apple tree will recover. Time will tell.
I wish I knew your name, but I do understand the need for anonymity.♥
wow, love the bird photo! your kitties are cute, mine is getting big too, maybe too big! I do lover her though. I enjoyed seeing what you see in your part of the world. Lovely :)
ReplyDeleteKaren, your Holly is just gorgeous. She does seem bigger than my kittens. Her face is pretty and round like a British shorthair.
ReplyDelete