Some Serious Soakings

April showers bring May flowers? How about some late March showers? We knew we were in for some serious rain from these clouds on Thursday night.

Two inches fell, mostly in a very short time period; the rest came down softly throughout the night.

Fortunately for the cupola raising, the rain held off until around 6. Bruce worked from home so we could head over there by 1 PM, however, due to the terrible traffic we encountered on our way to Winter Park, it was already in full swing when we arrived. (no pun intended!)

Lifted by a skilled crane operator, the contractor is up there trying to make it fit just right.

New England Avenue was closed off for both safety and storage reasons. The copper dome was to go on next.

Except, the first structure had to be re-raised to get it on perfectly.

It was then that we decided to get some lunch on Park Avenue, a bad move on our part. Not only was the sandwich not so good, but the service was slow as well. By the time we walked back, the copper was in place. Soon thereafter, they raised a bucket to put on the finishing touch.

One last bucket raising with the pastor, the project manager, and the church administrator to bless the raising and it was complete.

With the storm clouds moving in fast and furious! Because we were so close, I asked B if he'd mind if we headed over to Kraft Azalea Gardens a few miles away. When you are a photographer, people are always suggesting places for you to go, for which I am grateful. Two friends made the KAG suggestion, so who was I to argue? The snowy egrets nest there, putting on a show year after year.

Because it is mating season, they sport the green mask you see by the bill. That said, there are plenty, and I mean plenty, of nests already, with parents keeping watch ,while others show off right next to them.

Spanish moss drapes from most every tree, both cypress and oak alike. Generally I don't think too highly of the anhinga, but this shot of one made me rethink that.

They too, are nesting in great numbers, generally higher up than the egrets. Did I mention how noisy it is with so many nesting birds? I should have, although Bruce napped in the car the whole time, so not enough to keep him awake. :)

Riding through Southern Oaks the next morning, the rain did a curious round up of all the fallen oak leaves on the streets, leaving them scrunched up like an accordion.

Then too, the rain did a number on all of the flowering trees, leaving carpets of blooms on both driveways and roof tops.

The blue sky you see was short lived, as more rain fell on both Friday, and Saturday. No drizzles here--driving rain totaling another two inches. The good news i,s after such a long dry spell, this should be great for both our parched lawn and my newly planted flowers.

Michelle brought us a sweet little Easter basket, the only candy to be found in this household!

Isn't it adorable? So cute, I hate to eat it!

About two weeks ago I decided to make a quilt for Fallon. Not for any special occasion really, but I know how much she loves the one I made for Bill a few years ago., loving to snuggle with it while watching television, even if it is not her colors. Knowing she likes all things blue, I began putting my fabric choices together, ending up with 23 different fabrics, many of which I've used in projects for others. After making all of the blocks I discovered it was getting way to big for this novice to quilt on her machine, so I had some leftover blocks that I put together in a baby quilt size. I began quilting and in a happy accident, I ended up with a quilting look I like. Really, I should tell you it was a dumb mistake on my part that I ended up being happy with.

Two lines of quilting adjacent to each other, followed by a space, which I'm sorry is not all that evident from the photo.

Finally, on my way to Wandering Stitches yesterday morning, I decided to check on the horses, finding only some cows. Now, before you think anything about my decision to post a cow photo, let me explain. In years to come, if anyone stumbles upon this blog, I've no doubt they will be hard pressed to believe that in the year of our Lord, 2016, cows were still present amongst us in Orlando. With the improvement in the economy, there is very little open land remaining. So there.

And you thought I only post bird photos! Well, cattle egrets don't really count, do they?

Happy Easter my friends! He is risen, He is risen indeed.

Not in my Easter bonnet, but a springy dress, in spite of the gloomy skies,

Gail

In the Garden

Sharing a common language with the British, after all that is where ours came from, does not always mean we use the same words to describe the same thing. For instance the vacuum cleaner. From what I can tell, it's often called the Hoover in Britain. I'll bet you can think of any number of words that differ can't you?

Today let's talk about the garden. Maybe most Americans call it the yard rather than the garden because we generally have more space? My dictionary tells me that a yard is a piece of ground adjoining a building or house which is certainly true in our case. We have more than enough space to call it that. The garden, on the other hand, is defined as a piece of ground, often near a house, used for growing fruits, flowers, and vegetables. Well, I'm working on that too. In fact, with the fall of our tree, I've begun to really enjoy making a garden.

While doing just that yesterday afternoon, I recalled that it's not that it is a new passion; having money makes a big difference. No longer having to spend money on large amounts of food, I spend it on new flowers, bird seed, pots and the like. I finished my planting of the shiny new blue pots yesterday afternoon and I think it looks pretty darn cute.

Actually, this is taken before I officially planted them, but you can see Bruce moved it for me. Seriously it is heavy, being made out of real metal and all. Let's hope none of those awful people who go around stealing metal from anywhere don't find it! I thought perhaps it might look good with the other blue related items. The plants I chose, after much thought, are called moss rose or purslane. I like the name Moss Rose--it sounds so sweet. The new location puts it just outside Bruce's work window giving him something pretty to gaze upon when they open at daylight.

Speaking of Bruce, he's working in the garden as I type, clearing out some of the lady palms which are seriously taking over one corner of the house! Furthermore, their invasive roots have "uprooted" the brick pathway to our front door. Removing the bricks, he had to use an axe to chop them out, re pack the soil before returning the bricks to their rightful place. While he's been trimming, look what he saved for me:

The light was poor so early in the morning--be prepared for a better shot of the nest next time! Although he's trimming, there will still be plenty of palms left for our cardinals to use for their next nest building location.

I couldn't resist planting some sunflowers, putting them in a pot with some purple violas.

Bill is back at work after taking last week off and he called asking me if I could pick up another tray of Asiatic jasmine for him. He's not lazy or anything, it's just that their hours of operation don't work well with his schedule. Because I was over that way anyway for a 7AM teeth cleaning appointment it was no trouble at all. I'm so loving my new car, driving is kind of fun. Across from Palm Gardens there are open fields with cows and horses grazing free range.

The above was such a curious sight. Originally, before I got closer, I thought it was a foal, but NO, it is a donkey! For reasons unknown to me, the baby donkey seems to think the horse is a parent. Perhaps it is?  How about this face? While I was standing on the other side of the fence staring at him, he lifted that one ear, perhaps the better to hear my quiet chatting? That's what I do when I encounter an animal or bird up close. Talk to them quietly--don't know why I keep the volume down, but I do.

Adjacent to the nursery is another open space, this one filled with what some call weeds, others call them wildflowers:

It was a lovely morning, made better by my early start. The garden center, picking up Baxter's heart worm medicine, buying concrete mix for Bruce's project, and more filled my morning. I had to make a quick stop while driving by the "peacock neighborhood." This male was kind enough to pose in a large shrub:

Those tail feathers are absolutely magnificent! From what Sarah tells me, decorating with peacock stuff is all the rage these days. I do love to see the feathers fanned out, but there's something about this view that just makes you think of elegance.

After lunch I mowed the lawn. Just as I was finishing, Bruce came out with the phone saying it was Karen. I know a bunch of Karen's, but the one on the phone is special, not only because she has a great wit and makes me laugh, but as long time readers know, she has survived fatal health crisises and is still here to talk about it! Make that, joke about it. It's been way too long since we've had a good long chat so we made up for it yesterday afternoon during the worst heat of the day. I'm certain you know how it is with an old friend--you can talk for hours. We did--well not quite two, but almost. Unfortunately, she's been ill again; two recent trips to the hospital because her heart stopped. She faints, and the next thing she knows, she's in the Emergency Room. This did not sit well with the new owners of the Radiology center where she's worked for years and years, thus they used the latest opportunity to suggest she couldn't keep up with the job and thank you very much. We'll see you to the door.

If you think I'm frugal, Karen puts me to shame! Thus, although her situation is not great, she's been a saver as long as I've known her, and this will help tide her over until I HOPE she gets disability. I suggested she apply today, however, knowing her, she'll do it when she's good and ready. Every time we tried to hang up, one of us would say, what about this and that....good times.

After 6:00PM,  Bill came by to pick up his jasmine, giving approval to all my plantings. Or at least it seemed that way to me. :)

Happy gardening to you,
Gail