Blushing Poppies

When Lee and I first bought our house 20 years ago, one of our favorite things about it was the secluded back yard, which included a large flower garden with a wide variety of perennials.

I was pretty much a novice gardener back in those days, and at first I didn’t even know what some of the flowers were, so I spent a fair amount of time looking them up in gardening books and magazines.

Since those early years, our perennial garden has evolved and changed. I’ve moved plants around, added new ones, lost others, weeded, added and taken down various borders, weeded, tried to keep the dogs from walking on (or nibbling) the plants, weeded.. . . .and so it goes.

I’m a more seasoned (albeit somewhat less enthusiastic) gardener now, and have accepted the fact that even once you get your garden just the way you like it, it’s not necessarily going to stay that way, even if it’s all perennials!

But over the years, there has been one constant in our perennial garden, and that is the Oriental Poppies. We didn’t plant the first ones; they were here when we bought our house. So, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I saw those fuzzy frilly leaves start popping out of the ground that first Spring we were here. (I wasn’t entirely sure they weren’t some kind of strange weed!)

Indeed, it was quite an experience to see how quickly and how large those distinctive leaves grew, and then to watch the buds evolve as well, and finally to see the huge bright orange-red blossoms open up for the first time.

To my delight, the Oriental Poppies come back every year. I don’t know if they’re all the same plants . . . somehow I doubt it. In fact, every year there seem to be a few more plants scattered throughout the garden. Lee and I have come to expect the annual splash of bright color in our perennial garden, and we’re never disappointed, even after the harshest of winters.

Although the bright orange-red Oriental Poppies were the original ones in our garden, and the most prolific, I have added a couple of other varieties over the years. We now have a few white and some peachy pink colored Oriental Poppies called Maidenblush.

I’m happy to say that it’s the time of year again when are poppies are starting to bloom. And this last week, our very first poppies (the Maidenblush variety) began to open. Since I was lucky enough to be able to get some nice photos of their progression, I thought I’d share a few with you . . . .

Thanks once again for dropping by, and enjoy your Sunday, Everyone!

I hope to see you again next week . . I still have some Blog Awards to catch up on!

Wordless Wednesday . . . .

In Honor of Memorial Day . . . . .

The greatest glory of a free-born people is
to transmit that freedom to their children.

~ William Havard ~

After the Rain . . . .

Sun shines once again . . .


Scents of blossoms fill the air . . . .


Flowers bloom crisp and bright . . .




Hope you're having a beautiful weekend, Everyone!

Wordless Wednesday . . .

Sharing the Love . . . . .

Funny, isn’t it, how LIFE sometimes gets in the way of BLOGGING?? I’m afraid that is what’s been happening to me lately!

Ever since Lee and I got back from our Montana trip a month ago, it seems like I’ve been playing catch up, both inside and outside the house. Spring has finally sprung here in Utah, and there’s SO much yard clean up to do. . .not that I’m complaining! Indeed, I’m welcoming Spring with more than my usual enthusiasm this year, after the long cold winter we had.

And, of course, I’ve also been playing catch up on my cardmaking, as I try to get some new inventory into my Etsy and Artfire shops, and complete a few custom card orders.

Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time I’d like to keep up with my important blogging activities! But I’m hoping that will change, starting this week. For the next little while at least, I hope to be able to do more regular updates to my Blog, keep more current on reading the blogs on my blog list, and continue to discover and share any new and interesting blogs that I LOVE to read!

And on that note. . . I’ll be focusing several Blog posts this week on the theme of “Sharing the Love . . . .”


Thanks to the kindness of some of my fellow Bloggers, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by over the past few months by three different Blog Awards. And now I’m happy to be able to “share the love” by passing along these awards to other blogs that I consider particularly worthy. I will be posting several blog entries this week along this Sharing the Love theme, each in regard to a different award.

The Blog Award I'd like to pass along today, is the One Lovely Blog Award, which Teddyree of Excerpts from the Edge, was kind enough to bestow on my blog. I’m honored that she considered my blog worthy of such a title! Teddyree, Thank you SO much! (I think YOUR blog is lovely too!)

And, I in turn, would like to pass this award along to the following four blogs . . . . .

Sassy Glass Designs – This great blog never fails to disappoint, with blog giveaways, featured artists, interesting articles and fun photographs. And an added fringe benefit of this blog is being able to see this talented blogger/artisan’s fabulous handmade jewelry!

Original Miniature Art of Melody Lea Lamb – I’m truly in awe of Melody’s artistic talent and her wonderful drawings of various landscape scenes and animals. Melody's deep and enduring love of nature and animals is apparent in her art. She is also a member of Art for Critters, a group of artists who donate a portion of their art sales to animal charities.

City Gal moves to OZ Land - I love visiting Oz Girl’s blog! Not only is she a talented photographer, but her posts are particularly nostalgic for me, as they bring back memories of growing up in Kansas. And sometimes I go visit just to listen to her blog music!

The Photography of Lee Everett Robinson - And last but (certainly) not least, I love my husband Lee’s photography blog! Lee rarely posts narrative, but he does post a new photo almost daily, and I think you’ll agree that his photography is exceptional. (I like his blog music TOO.)

I hope you’ll take a look at these four LOVELY blogs! And I hope that each of these deserving One Lovely Blog Award recipients will take the time to pass it along to a few others of their own choosing!

More blog awards to come later in the week, so I hope you'll check back.

Until we meet again . . . . .may your days be lovely.

Wordless Wednesday . . . . .

Look What I Got for Mother's Day!

In all the months (about 9) that I've been blogging, I don't think I've EVER posted two Blog entries in one day. So, this will be a first.

But, I'm just SO thrilled by my surprise Mother's Day present today, that I couldn't help but share it with all of you!

My husband Lee and I don't have children, so I'm not a mother in the biological sense of the word. But, we have had dogs throughout our entire married life, so I suppose our dogs have always been my "surrogate" children. And over the years, it's not been at all unusual for one or more of our dogs to give me a special Mother's Day card (with a little help from Lee, of course!)

As most of you know by now, our current "dog child" is Harley, a beautiful ex-racing fawn colored greyhound. He's not only handsome, but smart and sweet too.

Well, both Lee and Harley outdid themselves this year. This is what they gave me for Mother's Day . . . .

Some of you may recognize the image of Harley, contentedly snuggling into our comforter that had fallen down over the edge of his doggie bed. I happened upon this photo opportunity a few months ago, and used the photo for one of my Wordless Wednesday posts.

Well, unbeknowst to me, Lee decided to have this image enlarged, matted and framed for me as a surprise Mother's Day present!

How greyt is that???

And as if that weren't enough, the present was accompanied by a wonderful handmade card, done by my talented husband (with a little help from Harley, who posed for the picture) . . .

Here's the outside of the card:

And the inside of the card:

Today, I'm feeling like one very lucky dog mom!

Happy Mother's Day!

It's Mother's Day!

And in honor of this very special day, I'm dedicating today's blog post to all my fellow bloggers, followers and friends who are mothers. . . . .

Some of you may be mothers in the most traditional sense, and will likely be celebrating this special day in the company of your children and/or grandchildren.

And yet others of you may be mothers in a less traditional sense, with beloved pets in the household who look to you as their "mom"!

But whatever your particular maternal role or roles might be . . . .

I'd like to wish you all a Very Happy Mother's Day!

Wordless Wednesday . . . . .