Living the Dream in Retirement
Everything’s blooming this week – or at least growing, after days of long steady rainfall followed by early intense summer sun and heat. It’s been an incredibly beautiful Memorial Day weekend in spite of the pandemic and my outdoor oasis is giving me a place to exercise, enjoy nature and escape. Don’t we all need to connect with those things that feed our soul?
Be safe friends.
Sunshine, blue skies, warming temps and light steady rains are making my garden “pop” back to life, with blooms emerging from under last autumn’s leaves. Here’s a few flowers that brightened my Tuesday.
On a recent trip to Nevada, my sister and I took a three day/two night girl’s trip which included a day spent in Death Valley. The weather was perfection with the sun adding warmth, color, light and shadows. It was a magical place and a dream to photograph. The photos below are my favorites.
This week in the garden I was thrilled to find that three of my four hydrangeas are blooming. While it may not seem like a big deal to some getting them to bloom at all has been a challenge. I’ve added black-eyed susans to my 2019 garden while my morning glories and sweet peas continue coming up everywhere. Snapdragons from years past have re-seeded in between bricks on my patio and are thriving.
Using my PlantSnap app, I learned that what looked like zucchini (which seemed odd since I didn’t plant zucchini) is actually gourds. It seems seeds from old gourds, tossed behind my grill four or five years ago have decided to grow…..go figure!
The beauty of Nevada continues to thrill me. Since my sister and brother-in-law moved here last fall I’ve made several trips and am more in love with it each time.
One of the highlights, the pool at sunset overlooking the iconic Las Vegas strip, surrounded by mountains.
A week of extremely hot weather including several soaking rainstorms sent my garden into overdrive. Multiple varieties of lilies, my first hydrangea and black-eyed Susan blossoms and every variety of hostas sent up their blooms. This gallery represents a stroll through my garden today.
The word is out, butterflies are welcome in my garden…pass it on. 
The garden continues to evolve, flowers on the way in….and on the way out.
After seemingly endless rain we’ve had two gorgeous, sunny days and my garden is responding with enthusiasm.
