Say hello to my little friend....

This cute little guy was in my backyard - just outside my sliding door (yes, that is the overgrown lawn!) He watched us and we watched him - for quite a while. I've not seen him since.

My daughter, the artist

Both pieces above were created my my 18 yo daughter. Ain't she great? The bottom drawing is of her, as a baby. Charcoal on bluish paper.

The watercolor is not one of her best pieces, however, it shows her talent well.

I'm a proud mama.

Heron Rookery

I first saw the beauty swimming - and then came upon her mate nesting later on. Male swans sit on the nest apparently. I've not gone back to see the babies (Cygnets). We're lucky to have this wonderful nature preserve called Lake Renwick, Heron Rookery. We have TONS of herons and egrets and other birds. It's a wonderful place to go birdwatching. Unfortunately it's closed from the end of May through the end of August for breeding season... so we miss the best parts of the summer. Fall is stunning here though. I'll get some pictures after it reopens.

Lake Renwick's info is here: http://www.sparklink.com/rookery/birds.html

Stinky Tunias

They do smell horrid when wet... but the color show can't be beat. With the odd light at dusk these look more blue when actually they're quite purple. But I liked the effect.

Cactus Flower

My daughter inherited or was gifted (I'm still not sure which!) this cactus from a friend. This year for the first time it had the most spectacular blooms.

This was only one of them. I missed getting a picture of more than 10 blooms at once.

Thought I'd start with the garden

These are supposed to be "purple" daylillies. I cannot for the life of me remember their true name. They're awfully mauve to be 'purple'. But they do still have a stunning color.