FOTD, Last Day of July

Flower of the Day is fun, interesting and sometimes mysterious. Today I give you mysterious, mostly because I have no clue what any of these are. I ordered this cool idea that had a biodegradable roll embedded with wonderful summer seeds. Yeah, the idea was cool but the results in my opinion were mostly weeds. If the weeds bloomed, that would also be acceptable as some weeds have lovely blooms. And that being said…these may be weeds with lovely blooms.

This one kind of looks like a poppy but it never opened up any more that here. The actual bloom diameter is about 2.5 inches.

These I am naming Small white flower. It is a single layered, 5 petal flower about .5 inch in diameter. Below is a macro of a single bloom for you to see the delicate beauty.

The next flower is also white but I am calling it Tiny flower. It is on a cluster but the cluster itself is only about 1.5 inches wide and the singe bloom is probable as small as .125 inch. It will have a macro for it below as well.

***The weed leaf give perspective of the flowers tininess.***

We only see the tiniest glimpses of beauty nature gives us to enjoy, so pay close attention and you may be surprised at what you see.

And always remember to share kindness in all you do. That has a beauty all its own.

An Afternoon with the Birds

It took me a couple of years of trial and error to figure out what food works best for the majority of the birds in my area that also detracts from squirrels. I don’t mind squirrels that much except for two years they ate holes in my feeders. I tired Crisco on the feeder pole. I tried a baffle and I even put a slinky around the pole like in the picture below.

That seemed to work…somewhat, but mostly I changed their food. I now mostly have safflower seed which is a variety the birds enjoy and the squirrels don’t. YAY! The doves love the platform feeder and sometimes you will see the other birds wait on them to leave then they will eat.

So I added other types of feeders to help everybody get some. Here is a sparrow enjoying some basic wild bird food from a feeder that I got at Hobby Lobby and painted myself.

The most fun this afternoon came from the House Finches. The males are a beautiful red and I think who came by was a father and son. The larger of the two was showing the smaller bird the feeder. At one point he walked over and handed some seed to the smaller bird.

The fun part came after this feeding lesson. The younger bird went to the bath and had a good time. I don’t have a super good camera (or expert technique) and while the picture looks a bit fuzzy, that is actually water being slung everywhere. I thought this would bring a smile to someone, for that is the purpose of blogging, at least to me it is; to share the things that make me smile.

Well enough of my armature photos. I hope they made you smile. Remember the power of a smile. Even without words, a smile can show kindness and relieve someone’s hurt.

Smile and Be kind often

Weekend Sky, July 30

After a week of cloudy skies, which I am not complaining about because of the cooler temps, it was nice to see the clouds clear away showing their artistic whims as they left. Hammad Rais reminds us to look up at our constantly changing sky and catch its beauty as it changes.

If you get the chance to be still and study the sky, ponder on its beauty and the fact that it does constantly change – at least at least as we see it. An different attribute that is seen that we can make as a constant in our lives is…kindness.

FOTD, July 30

Wow, how this month has flown by. Thank you Cee for making us slow down enough to enjoy the beauty around us.

I have always loved today’s flower, Lantana, and it comes in several colors. This particular group is located in a raised flower box at my church.

And here is another bloom along with a special friend. Even though bees get a bad rap sometimes, we would be in a heap of trouble without them.

As we explore all the different aspects of nature, we must remember that everything fits together with a purpose and a beauty. Let’s respect that beauty and purpose by being kind. At some level, all of nature understand the beauty and purpose of kindness.

FOTD, July 29, Petunias

I found the most amazing colored petunias this spring. While I have always been a fan of rich purple, these with their varied color for each bloom makes me hope I can find them again next year.

I have posted these earlier this summer but I felt they needed an encore presentation.

Each bloom is different and beautiful all their own. It kind of reminds you of human beings. Each person is created beautiful by the Love from above. He never makes mistakes, maybe some challenges but He always guides us as we grow.

I encourage you in your own beauty and beautiful growth and remind you to always be kind reflecting the kindness of God.

FOTD, July 23, Ranunculus

Cee’s fun challenges allows us the ability to draw back from the past. These beauties filled the basket by my gate in early spring but we had a major “90s” heat wave in early April that threw the early spring flowers into a tail spin. So lets enjoy the picture anyway.

And we close in beauty by remembering the beauty of kindness.

SOCS, July 23

Tomorrow is going to be crazy busy, so I am popping in tonight since its been awhile since I played with SOCS.

Since this is my week to do the phone devotions/encouragements for the church, I have a bunch of encouraging books on my desk. A random peak in the closest one to me, top of page 34…

“With God, nothing is impossible.”

In this world of chaos, disappointments and anger, its important we do not forget this truth. God loves us ands wants the best for us in all that we do. I think people have a tendency to belittle their abilities and allow the negative energy around them to dampen the beauty of what we see and do. So surround yourself on positive energy and expect good things.

And as always, remember the positive affects that kindness can bring into your life. With one true kind word, you can brighten the lives of others as well as yourself.

A Early Evening Stroll of Beauty

Those who read me often know that I have a thing for things that grow out of the dirt, either because of its beauty or because it taste good. After cutting the grass this afternoon, I took a leisure stroll and enjoyed the beauty the flowers that were willing to share with me, and I thought you may enjoy walking with me.

My yard is not large but I make use of many pots to create an array of different colors. I start out tonight with a interloper. I did not notice him until he had gained some size and then I didn’t have the heart to pluck him from the pot.

A bird dropped a sunflower seed in the pot

I do plant sunflowers along the outside of my fence but these flowers need to be in the ground. I wanted to see if it had limited growth room, what would it do.

I thought this bloom interesting as it seems to have shed all of it petals, yet the only seed showing is located about 1 o’clock. Not much story here to tell, so just glance through the flowers see how they are very much like us humans – all different but yet all beautiful in their own right.

***The ever expanding bed of daylilies***

**Geraniums with light pink centers, a red splotch center petal and ending in a** ***darker pink***

And we finish tonight’s walk with my wax leafed Begonia. Its a doubled bloom with a kiss of peach color along the edges of the petals that seems to make them glow.

These are not all of my flowers but just the ones that caught my eye this evening. I hope you enjoyed this walk with me and always enjoy the beauty flowers can share when they give us their all. As you go about you evening or day tomorrow, remember to always show kindness like flowers show their beauty.

Silliness of the Things We Love

Life can be frustrating, confusing and down right hard. So today we are throwing in a little silliness to bring a smile and possibly a chuckle to the day. I give you Daisy…

Hello, My name is Daisy. Some have seen me before but today I give you my official duties. Its not all love and cuddles. I am the chief protector of the home. The sofa is my favorite perch to look out. The softness of the arm is comfy on my bottom and allows quick jumping to the window to warn anybody of my presence…if they didn’t know already.

I love going outside. The yard is fenced in so no one else is allowed in my yard and I protect it with a vengeance. But sometimes I wonder what’s going on inside , so I go look in the window to see what my mom is doing. She watches a lot of TV.

My most favorite place to snooze is also on the sofa…the whole sofa. I am long and stretch out to the fullest. Preferable on my back. I like hanging my head over too…it stretches out my neck.

I kind of shadow my mom…wherever she goes…you can never tell what may go on in the bathroom…the shower is in there. That’s a bad place.

So hello, my name is Daisy and it was nice talking to you.

And like we all need to remember, animals like kindness too. So be kind to everything.

Weekend Sky, Sunset

Sunday found us at an outdoor concert by the river and the sky was fascinating. Hammad Rais had a fascinating photo on his #68 post that looked like a lion. Our weekend sky was much less dramatic but still beautiful.

First it was building…

Then its color started changing and it started falling…

Then it fell away and got swallowed by smaller ones…

The sky is always fascinating as it moves and changes. In closing I remind you to never change from being kind. Kindness is a trait we should always keep with us.

We can always use more joy in our lives – so always be kind.