The world around me was full of beauty and enchantment. There was so much to be thankful for beginning with daily enjoyment of our home landscape we cultivated for over 30 years. Everything seemed to come together at this time and I didn't have to go far to find what puts a smile on my face and joy in my heart! What begins at home seemed to radiate to the rest of the world around me. Such a turn-around from the events of 2020 which were upsetting and turbulent! Come join me as I highlight my world in photos...
Gnome Home under a backyard swing trellis covered with coral honeysuckle and hyacinth bean vines is where I claim as "My Happy Place." It is surrounded by many varieties of lilies, lemon balm, catnip, cat grass, sunflowers, a variety of succulants, and hibiscus. I can view all the vegetable and native plant gardens from here yet have the privacy I need from the public areas in the front yard.
Faerie Tree is located in the front yard and can be viewed as I have morning coffee on the patio. Plants around this tree include ajuga, blackberry lilies, English ivy, lirope, varieties of succulants, various spring bulbs, native plants, and peonies. It is next to a bird feeder and bluebird house so there's much activity including chipmonks, squirrels, deer, and occasionally a fox who has been seen on several occasions resting near this tree stump! It is also a favorite spot for Bobi Kitty to sleep under the peonies or watch the birds.
This is a view from the driveway with morning glory vines growing on an oblisk. There are huge sunflowers, loads of zinnias and four o'clocks. These plants hide the swing trellis which is directly behind the oblisk. The driveway is at street level. The gardens are terraced beginning at this site. The wooded hills in the background have several creeks that fill when it rains with the rushing sound of water that flows into the Pomme de Terre River at the bottom of the hill our house is atop.
The backyard landscape is boardered by a city street which leads to the river below. This highly sloped area of our yard has a variety of lilies and crepe myrtle bushes mostly. It is also the location of many of my favorite irises and many native plants. We have one large oak that provides some shade for the backyard lawn.
The Chiminea Area located at the rear southwest corner of the house on the walk-out basement level is newly completed this year and used for roasting marshmellows and hotdogs with our granddaughter. The sidewalk is along three sides of the house and leads to the gardens. The shade from the big oak tree is great for coleous and creeping jenny.
The final (?) terraces built are steps from my trellis swing area. This is the first year for strawberries and already picking a handful most days now. The adjacent garden will be planted next spring with the newly grown plants from this garden.
View is from the garden shed looking up to the trellis swing area with about a dozen raised terraced gardens on either side.
This view of the terraced gardens is taken from the carport at street level. It is steep!
Frontyard overview is taken from the driveway at street level on a cul-de-sac. It is sloped with two terraces built to divert the rain water that comes from the street; we are on top of a hill. The pie-shaped double lot is smallest at the front and widest along the backyard along the rear city street.
The frontyard patio is where I spend every morning watching the sunrise with my first pot of coffee beginning when the stars are still out. My favorite time of day is this "Magic Hour."
Sunflowers of many varieties are planted each year. This is my favorite.
Prairie Lizard is common as well as the blue-tailed skinks. Welcomed in my gardens and fun to watch them go in and out the rock walls.
Clouded Sulfer Butterfly is common now and they love the many marigolds all around the yard.
Pipevine Swallowtail Butterflies are plentiful in my yard because I have two large Dutchman's Pipe Vines well established which is their host plant. They love the many zinnias I plant all over the yard.
White-lined Spinx Moth loves my petunias planted all along the backyard sidewalk in the sun areas. There are also Hummingbird Clearwing Moths which are more common.
Here is a Giant Swallowtail on an ashy sunflower which is a native plant growing well along the rear property line. There are a variety of swallowtails this time of the season.
Our granddaughter comes to visit often and since she turned 4 years old last month, it is all about twirlly dresses and princesses which really bring enchantment to my world! Here is her Ariel the Mermaid dress.
Cinderella
Unicorn Rainbow Princess
Princess Elsa from Frozen
There was plenty of enchantment close to home but it was now time to travel to an exotic place for awhile to share a very special family time...our daughter's Florida Beach Wedding! It was a wonderful time to be together with our new extended family in such a relaxed and beautiful location. I was very happy that our son and his wife were able to attend with the added bonus of our son officiating the wedding ceremony! Such great memories were made! Here is just a fraction of the photos taken with the hard choice to pick my favorites to share....
Arriving in Florida at the first Visitor's Center was a great place to experience what choices we had for our extended stay after the wedding. This is the home of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.
Our destination was the Navarre Beach Area close to Destin which is located just across the state line past Pensecola. Looking forward to seeing much wildlife which is celebrated here with a National Seashore and protected areas.
Our daughter and six family members arrived first. We met them on the beach, of course! We had condos adjacent a short walk from the white sand beach.
It didn't take us long to get our feet wet even though it was a "red flag" day which meant we couldn't go in very far because of rip tides.
Granddaughter was so ready to run and chase the sea birds after the long drive! I have so many wonderful photos of her joyfully playing on the beach and in the water.
First night dinner was at my daughter and son-in-law's condo with my granddaughter, son and daughter-in-law and new family members. It had been a coule years since my kids were together before the 2020 pandemic. My heart was so full!
Early risers the next day went gathering seashells at sunrise! Included with me were my new son-in-law and his daughter, brother, mother & boyfriend, and my son.
Me and my son at sunrise
Wild Petunias
Some kind of sunflower vine
Blanket flowers grow wild here
I think this is a heron of some kind
Me under the pier where the wedding will take place soon
Pelicans
Granddaughter full of joy!
The Wedding Party is all set
Husband and wife are pronounced at sunset with my son officiating. Two young girls now become sisters.
New Family joined together
It was a glorious celebration all day ending with an awesome wedding ceremony as the sun set on the beach. There were a couple events that did not interupt plans such as a near drowning next to us with large rescue team responding. The groom was helping out less than an hour before the ceremony which was also when a huge hours-long thunderstorm finally stopped and the skies cleared at sunset. It was magical how everything that could have gone wrong didn't. What a bonding experience with new family members as we all huddled under one canopy for a couple hours of fierce thunderstorm before moving everything under the nearby pier. It was clear that this marriage was meant to be and this strong couple has enough love to weather any storm! I'm so happy to have witness this union in such a natural location! The storm stopped and the sky cleared just in time for the sunset wedding to begin. Electric as it was beautiful!
Early the next day everyone left except me and my husband. We planned to stay several more days and enjoy ourselves. We started by spending time walking the pier to see what the storm brought in. We saw so many dolphins, a sea turtle in the water, and several other fish caught by the fishermen on the pier. It was so fun to watch and then we had the best meals beginning right at the end of this pier.
One of many dolphins I saw looking straight down from the pier was so awesome to watch especially when there are several at a time playing.
The best meal I had was the gulf shrimp, of course! The shrimp tacos at the pier were my favorite and we came back here several times to eat.
One of the most delicious shrimp salads I've ever had!
There's a turtle sactuary nearby and we saw this old guy.
The Least Terns are protected along the causeway (road to the beach area) and I zoomed in for this pic from the road. There were dozens nesting!
One of many exotic beautiful flowers landscaped at our condo near the beach
One of so many sunrise photos I took everyday. Hard to choose because each one is so unique and amazing! I never miss a sunrise no matter where I am.
Full sunrise over the bridge
The sun is up and I'm ready for another day on the beach after hunting for seashells
This guy came out to visit us during the many hours we sat in our beach chairs facing the water. So relaxing to watch the birds and creatures around the beach. We had a nice set-up with canopy, anchored blanket, and comphy chairs to spend hours enjoying the sun, sights, and sounds. Perfect.
Our new favorite place to eat was at Destin with a waterfront view and really good food...especially the key lime pie!
Our last morning before driving home had a "red flag" warning due to a hurricane on it's way. I think it got here a day after we left. Our luck just keeps coming!
Plans to stop at Elvis Presley's childhood home in Tupelo, Mississippi was a "Bucket List" thing along with a tour of Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. I'm sure glad we did!
Up on the hill behind his childhood home is this monument of the boy Elvis at 9 years old and the bigger than life Elvis with a description of that journey. A very nice display in a peaceful place.
We made it to Graceland and took the big tour for 5 hours! It was truly worth it and I'm glad we did! I took so many photos to enjoy for years to come. It had recently opened to the public after the 2020 pandemic restrictions.
A great way to end our road trip but there's no place like home! This whole month was incredible and I'm so happy to get back to chasing butterflies in my backyard and seeing the world through my granddaughter's eyes. I am truly blessed!
