Hopefully returning

Oh my goodness it has been so long since trying to do a post that I couldn't remember how.
So much has happened since I last posted.  I'm still flying the friendly skies and love seeing all of God's beauty that he give us to enjoy.

We moved almost three years ago to Arkansas where I am originally from.  Now my garden is much smaller and much more manageable.

I just came in from working in my flower beds cuttting back my lantana and rose bush.  They look so much tidier now.

I had to quit Facebook for now.  Too much ugliness on it and I found myself angry after spending time on it. Plus that's another problem. Too much time on it.

I'm going to try to visit some of the folks that use to be regular readers of my blog and see how everyone is.  Thanks for visiting if anyone is.

Been gone so long.

My goodness I can't believe how long it has been since I've blogged. Facebook and life has definitely gotten in the way of my posting.

Life has changed and continues to change. After our home sold (after 14 months) we moved in with my mil. Now we are moving again   to AR. So excited and anxious about it.I'm from AR and look forward to being closer to my mom and family there.

Still working for the airlines and loving it. I've seen so much of this beautiful country we live in. God is so good to have given us such beauty. Seeing it from the sky is so different from the ground.

I'm leaving BWI and heading to HOU for my base. Should help with my commuting which has been horrible. At times it has taken me over a 1/2 day to commute.

Hope all my former blogging friends(and some fb friends) are all doing good. I'm sure, like me, all will be glad when winter is over.

San Francisco and Omaha

Last weekend I was so fortunate to get a reserve trip to San Francisco and Omaha. Two cities I had never overnighted in.Our hotel was on the Bay in San Francisco. There was a walking trail right beside it that I had to get out on. It was a picture perfect day. Flowers there are gorgeous. This Princess Plant (Tibouchina) was gigantic and so pretty. This was my view from my hotel in Omaha. I had no clue this was such a nice city. They have an area called "The Market" which is a must for visitors. Great shops and restaurants along with brick paved streets. They also have bronze statues thru out town that are really pretty. But I think the best part of my trip was getting to work with these two ladies. I actually graduated training with one of them. We laughed and had a great time. Hope to work with them again some time soon.

Well that's it for this week. Unfortunately I am at home with a stomach bug and had to call in sick.

Where I have been...................

For anyone left reading this blog, no I haven't fallen off the earth. A few months ago I decided I needed a career change and went for it big time. I began the process of trying to become gainfully employed with Southwest airlines. As the good Lord above would have it I succeeded.(much to my surprise).


Needless to say it has been a long road. After all the interview process I went to training in Dallas,TX for 4 weeks in June-July and then immediately went to work. I am stationed in Baltimore and commute there.This was my view for 4 weeks out of my hotel window in Dallas. Not exciting I know but I spent most of my time at school.Luckily I had this lovely area to walk and explore. It was across the street at a beautiful hotel.
We spent several hours in a maintenance hangar going thru this jet. I cannot imagine having to learn all those buttons and controls.I can't believe how big those jet engines are. My goodness! I truly have been blessed. It's a crazy life I'm living right now and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I have really missed everyone and hope all is well.

Little wonders

Now you see them!Now you don't!!!

It amazes me how little birds can make little nest in such odd places. This is my mil's front door. The little nest is right behind the flowers. We kept seeing little ones flying in and out of here and now we know why. Turns out they are little finches.

An update from my blue bird house is all 5 birdies are gone. Believe it or not we now have a new family making a new nest. Makes me proud to contribute to the blue bird population.

A Little Iris Color

Recently I was over at my mil's home and noticed how pretty her iris's were. Mine haven't even budded yet. So I decided to snap a few pics.I don't know the names of any of them but they actually came from my yard in Atlanta. She had dug some up on a visit there.These were given to me by a patient from where I use to work. I don't think this one was mine but I still think hand me down plants are the best!

Hope everyone has a great day and happening gardening!

Happy Easter Everyone

For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16.

Happy Easter everyone!

Birdies

I love to watch and feed the birds as I think most gardeners do. Recently I was at my mil's home and noticed her little birds.Tried as they may they couldn't figure out how to get into this little bird house. They finally gave up the idea.This ring neck dove is fairly new to our area. They are a lighter gray than our mourning doves. He was checking us out from the pine tree.My mil has this small feeder that the little ones seem to enjoy. She simply fills the jar and they eat the seed in the holes.Like this as you can see. Well one evening I happened to look out the window and low and behold one had gone thru the feeder hole and was sitting in the jar. Sorry no pic but it was so funny. He was just sitting there watching his little friends feed. Poor thing didn't even seem to realize he had a problem. Luckily DH was there and he went out and twisted the jar off and out the little one flew. So far, we haven't seen anymore venture in.

So until next time ya'll, enjoy your birds. They provide constant, free entertainment!

Or Maybe Blue is Better

Pink isn't bad but how about blue?Okay I know what some of you are thinking. Spiderwort? Why it's just a common weed! I reckon in many places it is but I like it's blooms and basically it takes care of itself. Now who doesn't like those kind of flowers?I know this plant has appeared on my blog before but I just love it. It's called Arkansas Blue Star(?). It's very grass like, blooms these beautiful blue star like blooms and turns a beautiful golden color in the fall. Then lastly, aren't these the prettiest little blue bird eggs? The blue birds have been hanging out at the nest lots so I popped my camera in and this is what I found. Can't wait for the babies.

So until next time, happy gardening!

Guess I Like Pink

Strolling thru the yard I realize I must like pink.My pink rose bush has never had this many blooms. But then maybe it's because it's never been this size. Duh!This year I have a couple of rosey pink geraniums sitting on my front porch. They are doing well in a mostly shaded area.Lastly pink azaleas. I'm not sure what variety these are but they are late bloomers which is fine by me.

Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful spring weather we are having! Until next time, happy gardening!

A Little Treat

I don't know about ya'll but sometimes you just have to reward yourself for all your hard gardening work. One way I like to treat myself is to breakfast. It's actually my favorite meal of the day. Now I'm not endorsing McDonald's by any means but recently I had a couple of free coupons for their new oatmeal.Can I just say it's delish!!! It has chunks of apples, dried cranberries along with black and gold raisins. I do like to add a little butter to it but other than that it's really good. And of course with free coupons it's hard to beat. Now what goes great with it?!?!? Why their coffee of course. If you have never tried it, give it a whirl. Yummy!Now on to more important matters. No, I didn't buy this blueberry bush at McDonald's. I got three of them, two varieties and they are all looking good. But I would like to know if someone can tell me when blueberries produce? Is it true they need to be fertilized as long as they are leafing? Any hints would be great. Thanks ya'll. Have a great weekend!

I'm so bad!

I had hoped to return sooner but I've not done such a great job. Sometimes I guess life just gets in the way. Or is it blogging gets in the way of life? Either way, I admit it, I've been bad. So, if anyone is still out there reading this blog, I thank you.

We've been blessed with some really pleasant weather for the last couple of weeks. This in turn has made it feel so much like spring and some of the plants are really looking "springish" with their new coats of color.I think the Bradford pears are prettier this year than they have been in a long time. They do stink but I think their blooms make up for it. And who doesn't love the daffodils? They give me such a wonderful feeling of spring not being too far away.Unfortunately this camellia is in my mil's yard and not mine. I've seen lots of camellias blooming now and they are beautiful. Maybe I need to get some.

Well I'm sorry I've been away for so long. Can't promise I'll be back on a regular basis. Right now I just have a lot on my plate.

Happy gardening everyone!

Merry Christmas Everyone

I just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful Merry Christmas. Sorry I haven't been in the blogosphere for the past couple of months(goodness, I can't believe that) but I've been pretty busy.

Hope Santa is good to you all for Christmas. See ya after the first of the year.

Pumpkin Fun at Work

Since it is that "pumpkin" time of year I thought you might like to see some work creations.This poor guy got all messed up in his basket. Wonder how that happened?!?Say hello to Gordy. Check out those bushy eyebrows!Little baby pumpkin stacks. We also sell the big stack-able pumpkins which are a big hit with customers. This last pic is an old cooking stove covered in some fall beauties. Ornamental peppers and crotons are really beautiful this time of the year. Plant together with some orange sedge and pansies and you can have a beautiful container.

Here's hoping you find some "pumpkin fun" this fall.

Remembering our Arkansas vacation

When we were on vacation in northern Arkansas this past summer, we stumbled onto something we didn't know existed.We love to travel back roads cause you never know what you might find. As we were driving along we came to the Norfork dam and a campsite. We ventured into the campsite and then across the street we noticed this sign. But more than the sign, it was the sight of the bathrooms that caught my attention. If you travel back roads much you'll find there aren't as many of these as you might wish. (smile).
Neither of us had ever been to a fish hatchery before so we decided to explore a bit. Plus the price of admission was too good. No charge! The first thing you notice are these tanks that seem to go on for ever.
And as you can see they were filled to the brim with trout. I've never seen so many fish in my life.
They were beautiful and some quite large. If you enlarge this pic you can see big daddy in the middle.These are the pumps that keep the water circulating. It was quite an operation they had. Also they had netting across the top to keep birds from having a tasty dinner.Here is where the little babies start out. This room was really cold.Look at all those babies. Can you imagine how many thousands are in here? And they have many tanks of these little guys.The hatchery was located on this creek. They had built this nice walk along deck to aid in fishing. It is a catch/release creek mostly for kids to learn how to trout fish. I really loved the creek and could have spent many hours there just watching and listening. It had lots of trout swimming around.

If you are ever in this part of Arkansas I would recommend checking it out. We had a great time while there.