Goin' "Green"...

Welcome to Summer!!!

It's been seriously hot down here for days now...at least for the 4th it won't be 105. EEWWW.

In light of our warmer weather, and the really nice days that we still have, I decided to do a post that's more "green" than anything...

This sign is what I brought my momm

a home from my most recent trip to L.A., and she went crazy over it. The pic doesn't do it justice though. She plans on hanging it in the backyard once it gets closer to getting finished. It will be so pretty!

This is a small area of my mom's front yard.

I honestly, have no idea what these flowers are called, but they are so pretty.

She has several different kinds of these, they are some of my favorites. Their colors: purples, yellows, reds and oranges, they are so fiery and vibrant...just beautiful.

This is our little welcome sign.

My momma's "Welcome Home Bear".

He is the first thing you see (well, one of the first things) as you head up the walk to the front steps.

There have been a few times in my life where I was gone but one time in my life where I was gone for what seemed like years, but was not...and when I finally came home, came up that walk, it was nice to see that familiarity...

He greets everyone, but is old and getting a little worn for years...

He's made of wood, and I'm thinkin...maybe just a nice fresh coat of paint might do the trick?

Do you know what these are? Arn't they just absolutely beautiful?

These are Stargazer Lilies, and they are truly my favorite flowers ever. I have other favorites like forget-me-not's, morning glories, and a few others; but these...oh they certainly stand alone.

In fact, one thing I want to do, and have wanted for several years actually, is to get one of these tattooed on my shoulder, at the top, where the petals can unfold slightly around the edge of my arm, and collarbone...I love ta

ttoos...My mom hates them, (I think she thinks they are the spawn of Satan or something...) but I love them, and for me, are an expression and very meaningful to me (or on me).

But my mom bought these for me...she found two plants, and will be planting them for me in her front yard very soon!!

These were my grandma's. A little Dutch boy and girl that are kissing...They are stone...very heavy!!!

My grandma also used to have a saying that was on a Dutch plate that hung in her kitchen that said

"Cookin' Don't Last, Kissin' Do".

I always used to love that, I just thought it was sooo cute. Now that my grandparents are together again, this lil' boy and girl sit under my mom's bedroom window, guarding her, or maybe just watching to see if anyone catches their "almost kiss"?

And this little guy is in my mom's yard as well. She has a few of these, different colors. I just love them...they are actually bright and glittery, so why wouldn't I?

My mom loves to make her yard so bright, especially in the summer time, she finds the cutest little things to just "fill-in" right where they can be spotted nicely. And my mom has ALWAYS gotten so many compliments on her flowers, yard, and her decoratio

ns over the years...people just seem to love her work...I think it's because she just "has the touch".

This is a corner of her yard, by the front deck. The rock fountain in the corner is the newest addition, and we all love it!

It's really pretty, it does fit right in, and it sounds so peaceful when we turn it on and the water flows, it reminds me of when we used to go camping, and the streams I'd always walk by, or go fishing in, or even the massive river I fell into one year...(yeah not so much fun when your foot gets stuck between 2 rocks bigger than you are, thinking you're going to drown...) But it's funny how I think about that sometimes if I do just hear that little trickle of water! Funny how your mind works sometimes. And everyone that comes by, notices, and just really enjoys it.

Or when we sit outside, when the boys are on a break from irrigating, I make lunch or my mom will, or breakfast (whichever the case may be) and they sit outside relaxing, its nice to have that restful feeling...

And these are the lilies I brought home to my momma from my trip to L.A.

She was sooo excited, they actually still sit in her kitchen, because s

he just loves their colors...they have pink, purple and white all in one plant...you gotta love those hybrids!

Aren't they just as pretty as she is?

I just love her!!!

She is right now, doing one of the things she enjoys most, and not many are better at it than her...she is baking!! I found 4th of July cupcake mix so that's what she is whipping up! Yummy....

These are a few more of the little ones my mom finds and plants, they are just so bright and full of color, I just love them.

In fact, lots of people do, so many people give my mom praise for her various gardens, and usually, we put so many different things in the county Fair. But we are not this year sadly...every year since I can remember, my grandma, my mom and myself would put tons of different flowers in the fair, we would put vegetables in as well, and as I got older, I put in some of my photography and ceramics. My grandpa would also put in his almonds, peaches and nectarines and onions, as well as bunches of other things. But this year, we just have not had the time to really get it all together...maybe next year!!

It's so awesome when we can grow many things, and just relish the beauty of it all...all these plants, shrubs, trees, all of them...and their Creator...I think of that passage that says that "He knows all the birds in the air...wouldn't He care for Me all the more?"