SHADOW ON TEXAS FLAGSTONE

No special story behind this one. Me taking a picture of my shadow, is all. This is apparently what I do when I've run out of subject matter. I must get into the habit of taking my camera with me when I go places. I've snapped pictures of every flower and living thing around the house. And now this.

Peas and Pods

A recent trip to our plot at the Sunshine Gardens was a big surprise! We found hundreds of blossoms on our peas; white, pink, blue. So beautiful. This can only mean we'll be finding lots of pods in the next weeks. Soon we will be eating bowlfuls of peas, adding them to stews, and sprinkling them on our salads, putting the rest up for later, when they are no longer in season.

SEYMOUR THE CAT

Meet Seymour, my cat with odd colored eyes, a blue one and a green one. This picture doesn't really bring out that particular trait, but for those of you who have read the first three chapters of my book, this is the spitting image of what I see when I envision Merlin.

He adopted us about seven years ago, left his old owner to move in with us. I personally think he liked our pet food better than he liked hers, but one never really knows what goes on in a cat's head. He's been a good companion, always showing up for his meals, never missing an opportunity for a good petting. When it gets cold he likes to hang out in my car, which is where he was lounging at the time this picture was taken.

BIRTHDAY FLOWERS

Birthday flowers come and go, unless one takes a picture and captures the image forever.

I didn't get many flowers this year, but Carlos' receptionist, who also is a good friend, stopped by just to give me this lovely arrangement.

PAPAYA GROVE

I took a sickly oak tree down earlier this year, then filled the hole with dirt from our compost pile.

Soon after, the rains came. In record amounts. It seemed they would never stop, though eventually they did.

I noticed that a bunch of papaya trees, small, tender, and fragile, had come up where my sickly oak had been.


Space was a problem, so I selected the strongest and sacrificed the rest. They grew all summer, spreading out their lovely branches, which are really nothing but giant leaves.

I admired them from a distance, thinking how lovely to have a papaya grove in the middle of Austin. It wasn't until I inspected the trees close up that I realized the little things nestled in the crook of every branch were nothing less than baby papayas. Back then, they were no bigger than walmuts. This is what they look like today.

If the weather holds, if we don't get a freeze in the next few months, it's possible we may have some tree-ripened fruit on our plates.
That will be a first!

EARLY MORNING STROLL

Luckily this picture of mama possum and her clinging brood was not taken at my house, though I'm sure it could've been. I hear their eerie calls while it is still dark outside. I know they are out there, somewhere. By the time daylight makes its appearance, they have burrowed into hiding.
It is unusual to see such a large family out in broad daylight. One wonders where mama is taking all her little ones on such a fine day.

Sunshine Plot

Wow, I managed to download this all by myself! Though it may seem a small feat to those who are more computer oriented, it is a milestone for me. From this day forth, there is no telling the colorful images you will be enjoying on this formerly bland blog site.

This is a picture of our plot at the Sunshine gardens, taken a few weeks ago. Today, everything is twice as big, and we are hoping our veggies will be ready for a Thanksgiving harvest.