§ Call Me a Flasher!

The other morning, when I went out to water the potted patio plants, I noticed that my Epiphylum [white bloom] was blooming. I went in and got my cellphone and took it out, turning the flash on since it was still just before sunrise and snapped a photo.  It only blooms at night.  I also counted eight more buds on the plants! Afterwards, watering more shrubbery in the ground, I also took a photo or two [pink - Strawberries and Cream Crepe Myrtle] [orange-red and yellow is the Mexican Bird of Paradise]. When I got back in [with a handful of grass for Isaiah to munch on -indoor cats need this to help digestion], I took a photo of one of Bud's wood carvings from nearly 60 years ago when he was just still a 'child'! This one is called El Bandito.  He has since stopped whittling with his arthritic fingers.  Too bad.  I loved the primitive work he did.  Unique and one of a kind.

§ Come around thru the Gate to our Yard...

As I type this up for pre-scheduled posting, it's a dark and stormy day! Earlier, we had buckets of rainfall. The thunder is still rumbling in the distance, and the sky is black on the horizon. I was sure the power would be off any minute, but it never went off. Which was surprising. What is more surprising is the weatherman the night before -his forecast- was humid but dry [meaning no rain. Ha. I wish I would've continued my college education and majored in meteorology....90% of the time wrong, and still get paid a six figure income! [jk] Anyway, I am using my laptop in case the electricity goes out still, and will share my photos from the other day. A trip around the piece of property we call home....

...a little bit of our back yard:

Top left to bottom right:  1-cement bird bath I use for bird seed [the water pump is real, but only for decoration]  2-off the patio, the feeder station 3-my pelican island [and ducks] with crepe myrtle and indoor palm.  4-our pomegranate tree

Both front and back are full  of blooms:

Top left to right: 1-Ixora and Don Juan Climbing rose 2-Rose and hot pink crepe myrtle 3-lavender crepe myrtle and orange/yellow lantana 4-duranta [purple cluster] and yellow and pink lantana 5-my prized hybrid variegated hibiscus and close-up  6-pink crepe myrtle.

One of several wind chimes and a small sparrow sized bird  house

§ A Walk in the Pasture....

~ Got the backyard edged and mowed, while Bud was doing the same in the front yard. We both got up and out at first light for the day to get it done while the temp was tolerable. By lunch time it was already 94 degrees! We mowed and edged lawn at 7 am....it was 82 degrees. It's done for the week. We need some rain and some cloud cover for a  few days...this white hot sky in the morning is becoming depressing.  While I was sitting in the shade of the pecan tree, waiting for Bud to finish HIS job of work, I took a photo of the Strawberries and Cream Crepe Myrtle bush...

~ I entered a contest for a magazine I get delivered to the house. I was allowed three images... of the one limit for each category. I chose a flower, a butterfly, and a bird. I'm sure that my bird entry will be disqualified from the get go...it IS a photo ...but, a photo of one of my paintings. Oh well.  The contest entries are due by August 2019.

~ I started reading a different book....first person, and a debut novel by Sarah Schmidt. So far, not bad. Of course it's of a subject I've always been intrigued by....another unsolved murder case. Well, she did get away with murder in my opinion; acquitted...but, it's still a mystery, and with so much written about Lizzie Borden, I'm not the only one that thinks on those terms!!!

~ I went to the Corpus Christi Trade Center [an indoor flea market] in search for some new earring studs...or perhaps a neat windchime. I found neither. But, I got my daily steps in....indoors, where the air conditioned huge building was an oasis to me on such a hot, humid day! I did find, however, something for Bud and bought five of them for him. He has always liked anything native american. And I found a bin full of polished buffalo teeth! He has thoughts of making an ornament for his cellphone carrier. That remains to be seen tho.

~ Monday, I drove to the islands....didn't get too much walking in...only 7500 steps on my fitness app. But, at least I wasn't sitting at home, idle. Other than the normal water fowl and land birds, this is what I saw...I first decided to take a trail I've never used before, an unpaved, primitive path that meanders around and through some of what is called Charlie's Pasture..it's land given to the town of Port A for nature trails and boardwalks. Since the boardwalk is no longer accessible, I opted to the nature trail:

~ After completing this leg of the walk, seeing many many silver leafed sunflowers [and an immature mocking bird in photo], I took off toward my favorite area...a cargo ship was seen above the cliffs and pasture, heading out to sea [you can barely see the white conning tower of the ship; pointed out with a black arrow],

...so I was hoping to watch the dolphins [tho one image has the dolphins cropped off through my viewfinder, I was going to just delete it...but, I thought better...a better way of showing you how close to the ships they are...they are right under the bow anchor!!!

~ Before I left for home, a Coast Guard Ship cruised by... I bid them farewell!!

§ Where the Flowers Bloom....

On Wednesday we had a mild cool front move in. High 70s to low 80s. After hitting the century mark in heat already this month, I took advantage of the cloud cover and 'cooler' temps to pull weeds in our yard. Naturally, when taking a break, I took pictures....

My favorite hibiscus...the PINK.  Yellow Hibiscus, Don Juan Red Climbing Rose

Strawberries and Cream Crepe Myrtle, Ixora,  Purple Bougainvillea, 1st blossom of the season of the Epiphylum!

Another favorite of mine...the Duranta!  Love the weeping purple flowers.  [one on the left is entangled among the hybrid variegated hibiscus which isn't blooming yet...but here's an image of the blossom]

Another view of a 2nd Ixora.  Both this one image and the one above in the other series are supposed to be pale yellow blossoms, but here are two confused flowers...with a striking red.  Notice the 1st one has a cream colored stripe in the center of the petal, while this one has two halves in pale yellow.

Y'all know how I love to photograph and see the Texas Wildflowers. While sitting after the noon-day dishes were done, I was curious to find out if poppies would grow in my area. My sister sent me a photo of her red poppies in bloom in her front yard. We texted back and forth about them, and she said she'd send me some seeds this Fall. I didn't know if they'd survive the damp air. It's worth a try. So, I look forward to attempting to see if they'll 'take' from seed. Anyway, my point of this is while I WAS LOOKING online, I found a great site. All about identifying [with photos] wildflowers. Not only Texas [which this site has Texas divided into areas of the big state]...but, EACH state in America!! You may be interested in it, so I thought I'd share the links.

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/

Use the drop down menu found on the site for each individual state [and Canada]