PS: Parting Shot

 

My hair has thinned, but, as of this photograph my husband Kevin took this afternoon, I still had hair.  I've already undergone my first chemotherapy treatment for Stage IIIB breast cancer.

 

Another fight for life has begun.  I feel like a warhorse having already been through the kidney transplant and previous major medical issues.  Confronting cancer is just the latest battle.  Finding out about the cancer initially blindsided us, but there really wasn't that much time to stop and let fear gain a foothold.  I am so fortunate ~ my forever loyal and devoted husband, my generous and spirited daughter, and my good friends lend me strength and inspiration and even keep me laughing through the harder times. 

 

This will be my final blog. My focus needs to be health, family, close friends, and centering.  

I've truly enjoyed sharing with all of you who have come across "my little corner of the Internet."

 

My message, my "point to ponder," remains constant ~ Live life peacefully, be loving and kind, and continue to treasure the everyday beauty that abounds in nature.

 

Keep looking up ...

Susan

    

Blog Break

We're still seeing some late migrating butterflies.  I saw this Comma Butterfly just a few days ago. It rested and sunned its wings on our back steps, long enough so that I could take the photograph above to remember her by and share with you.  Notice the notch under each front wing resembling the comma symbol.  This was a first time sighting for me.  I'd seen a Question Mark Butterfly a few years earlier, but this was my first Comma :)

 

I thought a post about the Comma was a fitting post to serve as a pause to my blog.  Life has thrown us an unexpected turn of events, and I may not be as frequent a contributor to my blog in the coming days.  Then again, I may be back posting my thoughts and sharing nature's beauty through my photos sooner than I anticipate ... but for now... , 

May you always find peace and beauty in the world of nature. 

Roll Out the Red Carpet

Fall is just beginning to show its colors in the Catoctin Mountains.  The crimson red leaves of the Black gum tree herald the beginning of the parade of colors.  Red is the dominant hue to start off the grand show.

 Honeysuckle berries are a vibrant red, too.

 

The Virginia Creeper vine is a bright scarlet.

Even the late blooming roses add a red blush.

 

Today, I collected a bouquet of autumn leaves with a cornucopia of different colors. Soon, the woods will come alive with not only reds, but bright, golden yellows, oranges, and all shades of tan and brown ~ a burst of autumn brights before the subtle grays of winter. 

 

Fall Colors from Summer Veggies

Our summer vegetable garden provided a cornucopia of color (minus the cornucopia) as you can see in the photograph above! We are so pleased to have so many delicious peppers and tomatoes to add to and spice up our meals. Unfortunately, our bountiful green and yellow bean plants got mowed down by a hungry white tailed deer that came like a bandit in the night and gnawed the plants down to nubs.  At least we were able to enjoy quite a few of the beans for dinner already. I was also able to blanche and freeze a couple of batches, too, which we will savor on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

 

It was so nice that my initial gardening efforts at our new home were so bountiful.  None of the wildlife seem to like tomatoes or peppers, so we will enjoy them until the first frost later this year.

Monarch Sightings

 

I'm so happy to report several Monarch Butterfly sightings already this August.  Late summer is generally the time they start to migrate through our area on their way to warmer climates where they'll stay for the winter.  Last year, I didn't see a single Monarch.  Due to herbicide and pesticide use as well as habitat destruction and eradication of their favorite host plant, the milkweed, their numbers have dwindled dramatically.  The Monarchs love our butterfly bushes and stay for lengthy periods, stocking up on the sweet nectar from the tiny purple flowers.

 

 

The Monarch always has the company of many other butterflies as it feeds.  In the photographs to follow, you can see a couple of the other butterfly bush feeders.

 

Tiger Swallowtail

 

Silvery Checkerspot

 

We also have a white flowered butterfly bush. It's favored by the black swallowtail butterflies which frequent it the most.  It's a real joy to watch these graceful winged beauties!

 



Little Things

Wildflowers

Baby Skink

Honey Bee

Garden Snail

Inch Worm

Up early this morning,  I decided to poke around the yard a bit and see what I might find.  It didn't take long to discover all sorts of tiny surprises, which you can see in the photographs above.

 

 

Butterfly Bush Beauties

Most of the butterfly bushes in our yard sadly didn't make it through the harsh winter weather we experienced earlier.  By carefully pruning and nurturing it, I was able to save the largest one.  I'm so happy it survived and is thriving now ... the butterflies are, too!  We've seen quite a variety of butterfly species visiting the pendulous spikes of tiny, nectar-rich purple blossoms.
Today's visitors are seen in the photos below.

Skipper Butterfly

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Cat Days of Summer

We are entering a new phase of summer.  The day lilies had their rise and fall and now the crepe myrtle flowers are in their pink glory.  Though this long stretch of hot, lazy day weather is often known as the "dog days" of summer, here it is most definitely the "cat days."  Jasper could literally stay outside all day long lounging and luxuriating in the summer sun.  She is her happiest outside in the backyard where she can feel the sun's warmth, hear the birds sweet songs, and munch on anything green she finds tasty.

The look of pure contentment



The hostas are now in full bloom, too, with their tall stalks of pale lavender flowers. 

 Although the days are steadily, little by little, getting shorter now, they still feel long and lazy...and hot!

Summer Blues

I discovered the pretty blue wildflower in the top photo in our yard today.  It was growing among what looked like some weeds that needed pulling.  Now that I know we will have flowers to enjoy, no pulling will be necessary :) 

 

Our most frequent patio visitor is the skink.  We see multiple skinks skirt across our back porch and patio everyday, their bright blue tails glistening in the sunlight.  They love to bask in and soak up the sun!

We're also enjoying the summer brights ~ the black-eyed-susans I planted this spring are in full bloom now and are dazzling!
 

Jasper loves being outside.  She's such a mellow kitty, just loves to roll in the sunshine.  The skinks often go right under her nose and she just watches them pass.



Flower Power

The flowers growing in our yard have been an inspiration for the "landscaping" of my little cat paintings.  Our day lilies, roses, and irises have all made it into the miniatures I create and sell on eBay.  These little cat ACEO paintings have proven to be my best seller from the first I one created in 2011 to these three, all painted this summer.  They are always so fun to create because I just imagine our little cat Jasper appreciating all the natural scenes :)

Garden Fresh

Today, I harvested our first batch of string beans from our small vegetable garden.  The recent rains intermixed with days of bright sunshine plus hearty plants provided us a bountiful crop.  Can't wait to have these beans for dinner tonight ~ there's nothing like right off the vine,  garden fresh veggies!

Sea of Day Lilies

It's officially summer now and officially the season of the day lily.  We have waves of the bright orange flowers flowing across our yard, their large blooms glowing in the sunlight.

In addition to the common orange lilies, we have a variety of other colors, like the yellow Stella Dora lily pictured above, the only day lily with a scent.

Salmon colored day lily

 

Burgundy colored day lily

 

Even though they are the most common, the orange day lily is still my favorite.  The paths in the woods behind my house when I was a child were lined with these beautiful flowers in summertime.  I always looked forward to their arrival then, and it's so nice to have them gracing our yard now!

 

Bee Balm Buddies

For over an hour today, the black swallowtail and the bumble bees shared the sweet, spicy nectar of our bee balm flowers.  The butterfly was stirring up so much pollen that its wings got covered with the powdery orange grains.  The butterfly continued fluttering and the bees continued hovering in a choreographed dance that left them both satiated and happy :)

Beetle & Nightshade

Today, Kevin and I discovered this brightly colored beetle crawling along the posts on our deck.  It was a new one to me, and, always curious about new sightings, I went to look it up in our insect guidebook.  Turns out it's a pretty common beetle called the Colorado Potato Beetle.  It's found across the US and Canada in mountain meadows and potato fields.  As you might guess from its name, this beetle feeds on potato foliage ... and also on foliage of  nightshade plants which are poisonous weeds that grow wild around here. Nightshades belong to the same family of plant that the potato plant does.

 

Nightshade Plant

The nightshade is a scrubby looking plant.  Its leaves, stem, roots, flowers, and berries are all poisonous to humans and other mammals.  We discovered a few of these plants growing under our rhododendron bush out back.  The flowers are quite pretty, but the plants are thorny and their leaves are very bug eaten ... perhaps they'd been munched on by the Colorado Potato Beetle! 

Bee Balm & Butterflies

I planted two bee balm plants this spring that are doing so well in the bright sunlight.  Their flowers opened just a little before our first day lilies sprung forth in bloom.  True to their name, they've attracted a lot of bees ... and also butterflies.

 



A tiny skipper butterfly and the larger fritillary enjoy the bee balm flowers

Our Special Day

Today is our wedding anniversary.  Much like it was on the day we were married, today was a picture perfect sunny day of low humidity and gentle breezes.  The sky was a bright blue and it was comfortably warm.  When Kevin and I looked out in our backyard this morning, we discovered that the very first daylily had opened. We have daylilies all over the yard ~ front, back, and sides.  Daylilies are such bright and happy flowers.  It was so sweet to find that the first day lily chose our special day to open :)

Beauty on the Wing

In just a few minutes outside today, I was approached by a male ruby throated hummingbird, buzzed by a magnificent tiger swallowtail butterfly that flew right over my head, and kept company by a dragonfly, who politely obliged to pose for the photos below.

The graceful, fairy-winged adult dragonflies live for just a few months, yet they appear so carefree.  There is much symbolism connected with the dragonfly.  Perhaps their most important lesson is to, as much as it is possible, enjoy life and fully live in the moment.  Given the big picture, life is fleeting and short for us all. Making the most of each day and being kind, generous, and authentic in our relationships is a most worthy everyday goal! 

Wildflowers

I absolutely love flowers ~ all flowers ~ but this morning, Kevin presented me with my very favorite kind of bouquet, a simple one of wildflowers which he placed in a plain glass vase ... Beautiful!!!

And How Was Your Day?

Bunnies & Beans

We've been enjoying the antics of our resident cottontail rabbit population.  Yesterday Kevin and I watched a pair of young bunnies at play.  At one point one of the bunnies leapt into the air and the other dashed right underneath it ... so funny to see.  Today, a larger bunny was nibbling in the yard.  Our yard is full of clover, a favorite treat.

 

 

I've gotten our vegetable garden planted, and, so far, the bunnies have left it alone, preferring to munch on the clover.  I planted tomatoes, various peppers and green and yellow beans.  My favorite garden veggies are the beans.  I'm hoping for a good yield!