Sometimes when you look at a flower to photograph you are trying to get the whole thing into focus, get the color right, and lighting just so.  Then you go inside and view it on the computer and realize that an Iris, is only an Iris, and the beauty of it lies within its center.  You realize then that the beard spilling out is the picture.

But before all this there was the beautiful flower you found when you moved in two years ago.  You can’t remember the name of it but you knew what it was by its foliage… and now after all this time it has matured enough to bloom.  You have no idea how or when the seed chanced to land there by the side of the house, but you knew enough to leave it, waiting for just this day.   The day when it was all abloom against the wall with sun and shadow playing against it.  Like this…

You planted the little Ballerina when you first moved in because you loved her so in your garden in California.  You ordered her in a small sleeve to be delivered by mail.  When she came you placed her into the ground watered, fed, and protected her from the snow.  You waited for her to bloom and this year she rewarded you with the bowers of bouquets you knew she had within her.

But the surprise was the last photo you took.  Your seeds were planted and watered in and not wanting to deal with the heat and humidity any longer, you had cleaned up and put away your tools.  On the way back in you glanced down from the porch and chanced to spy this… and taking a parting shot you were stunned when you downloaded it to your computer.

In summary, your camera may very well be the best gardening tool you own.  It captures moments, vingettes if you will, of the beauty you had a hand in creating.  Long after these blooms have faded you will still have a record of what once was in the garden, and will be back again next year!

Hurt no living thing
Christina Rossetti
Hurt no living thing: Ladybird, nor butterfly, Nor moth with dusty wing, Nor cricket chirping cheerily, Nor grasshopper so light of leap, Nor dancing gnat, nor beetle fat, Nor harmless [snakes] that creep.

I used to teach my first and second grade children this poem every year.  It was a favorite of mine and soon became a favorite of theirs when we learned about insects.  The thing is, that I really do believe this philosophy.  I try very hard to coexist with the creatures in my environment.  Hence, when faced with a situation such as this snake I found trapped in bird netting in my chicken yard… well, I just had to set it free.

Note:  The picture is the best I could do with only one hand.  As you see the other hand was obviously preoccupied!

The poor thing!  Its face and neck (do snakes have necks?) were completely entangled in the netting.  It had apparently tried to chew its way through and made things worse.  Miraculously, it was not cut by the tightly wound filament!

It took some work to get my little embroidery scissors under the strands and not puncture its skin, but eventually I got it loose.  I then took it to the back fence and set it free in the weeds on the other side.  I told it if it wanted to thank me, then it should live a long life and go eat lots of mice and voles!

Last night it rained so hard we had standing water a minimum of 2 inches deep everywhere.  To make matters worse, the storm hit so hard and so fast that I did not get to put away my chickens.  I chose not to worry.  I thought,  “If it gets bad enough they will put themselves away… after all, they did it in the wind storm.”

Never trust a chicken to do the sensible thing.

Later in the evening I went out to do what I should have done earlier in spite of the downpour, because no sooner had I gone out than the sky just opened up!  Bob came out to help and running as fast as we could, without slipping in that 2 inch water,  we went to the chicken coop to lock up…

The poor little critters (remember they are chicken brained) were huddled it the wettest spot in the run IN THE RAIN!  Who’s the “chicken brain” now?  Not only were they soaked, but we were too!  Necessity being the mother of invention, we quickly turned over the biggest of the two umbrellas, and  ‘poured’ the little wet things into the umbrella thereby making two short trips out of the job.  It did not matter we were still soaked to the skin by the time we got done.  Thankfully, the good Lord held back the worst of it till we got into the house, for no sooner did we get in than the lightning portion of the storm hit.  What a show!

Needless to say I will be watching them closely over the next few days to make sure they are not coming down with some form of chicken pneumonia!  Further, I will take this as a lesson learned about good stewardship.  I will no longer put off putting away my critters based on the assumption they will take care of themselves in a storm.  They are after all just animals and cannot reason as well as… I should have.

This morning I awoke to fog and when it burned off what was left was blue skies and sunshine!  Here is a view looking out my picture window at my herb and flower bed, and as you can see, I am almost done getting this winter’s grass and spring’s weeds out of it.

The Iris float above my garden like some exotic butterflies.

I was surprised that they are none the worse for the storm.  And the chickens?  See for yourself!

Chickens are Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks

The Goslings in the background are my Pilgrims.  I think all this rain made them grow some more!

Things found on the ground…

A new Robin’s Nest

Can’t be all that bad. “Why?”  I can hear you asking  “How is that not bad?”

Well, because it was an unused Robin’s nest!

And finally,  a beautiful Butterfly resting on my lawn!

She opened her wings and then my camera’s battery went dead ~ pooh!