Learning, always.........learning

Last night one of my favorite people on the planet, Sarah Henderson, came over for an all too short visit before she heads back to Colorado today. I miss her infectious smile, as I know everyone in our small town does, and I am sure the reason we have had so much warmth and sunshine this weekend is because she was here. She found me out in the side yard covered in soil and sweat where I was gardening my heart out getting the new wine barrels set up and the first of them planted with tomatoes in their comfy wall of waters. We got to talking about my writing and this led to her career as a photographer (Sarah Micayla Photography) and bamm......I ran in the house, dirt and all, to get my new camera that my daughter, Sara Henderson ~ also a wonderful writer and photographer (I know....confusing for some, but not for us) had given to me last summer. I am not a "read the book and learn" kinda person. I am a "show me and then I can do it" kinda person. At least where anything technical is involved. And the Fstop, change this setting, now do this to make it blur the background....and on and on has just not sunk in very well. I use the auto settings for everything and then get frustrated when the picture doesn't capture the story like I would like. So we stretched out on the soil line of the moon garden and proceeded to take a lesson.
my peonies are pushing their way up to the sun.....
I asked her "Do you want to see my mini-greenhouses?" Somehow I think she thought they were going to be just slightly larger..... 

and of course Chopper was helping us  
 my own personal weather "past"caster, if the red tulips out front are still standing straight up in the morning it didn't freeze the night before and I know I didn't lose anything down at the nursery.....

See, I told you she is a Ray of Sunshine! Thank you Sarah, I PROMISE I will practice everyday :}

Rise and Shine, It's Gardening Time!

A day in the garden today. The sun is shining, temperatures couldn't be more perfect, no wind and the best part- no place I need to be - perfect! Started out with some journaling about this weekend, it's the 11th Anniversary of Bob and I owning The Flower Tree and I kept finding myself getting up from my chair, coffee cup in hand, and walking around the garden. It's very hard to put into words the feelings that I have about these last 11 years, how do you sum up the joy of doing what you love, with people that you love even more, and capture the magnitude of it all.....so we will start in my own garden first.









My pumpkin patch that I didn't plant. Love it when things just sprout up from the wine barrels where I drop my kitchen compost all winter. I have four barrels in the side yard and while I plant them with flowers, sometimes things just come out on their own. Lovely - just wish all these blossoms had time to produce, but we know a frost is just around the bend. 
aghhhh, THRIPS have invaded my David Austin rose in the back garden. Not a whole lot to do this time of year, will have to put some organic controls on them in the spring.

The tomato plants are HUGE this year. I will be covering all these plants with frost cloth soon. Don't want to miss a one of the hundreds that are still green on the vine.
 
 The rose tree out front. First time I have tried a rose TREE, we usually don't even bring them into the nursery, but we fell in love with them when they had a mistake shipment on the truck that was delivering our Weeks Roses so we kept 30 of them. I think we all took at least one home. I planted mine in the ground and it is COVERED with new growth, just hope I get to see them bloom before the frost.
 well OF COURSE I have things to plant today
 $12.00 bone from Scraps in Reno that he won't touch .....
 .50 one from Safeway.......guess I didn't raise a vegetarian dog....
 prune off the suckers - or you could spend $28.99 for a spray that will keep them from coming back. Me, I prefer the couple minutes of pruning
 and when the little ones won't work....watch out dead stuff - your coming down!
 yeah, I know, what was I thinking????? I forced this squash???? (another compost freebie that sprouted itself in the herb garden) in between the trellis, if I flipped the picture it might make a good Halloween story - arrow through the head and all......
 the back rose garden.....so totally neglected this year because of the shoulder issue ... all pruned up now though and it doesn't seem to have minded - all except for the thrips :{
Enjoy your day, I know I am.......
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