I love finding surprises in nature.  A few days ago, I was in my yard and walked over  to see my Calla lily bloom (noun – I wasn’t actually going to watch it bloom out). I planted it several years ago, but this was the very first (and only) bloom. As I stepped in the flower bed to look at it, I saw something on one of the large leaves.  It was a tiny green frog, slightly over an inch long.

I told a friend about it. She has been to Costa Rica and said that the green tree frogs there usually live their entire life on one leaf. I don’t know long this one will stay, but he is still here leaf perching. This morning, after several days on that leaf, he had moved to the next leaf.  I know these little frogs are pretty common, but all I have seen around here are the brown “hoppy” toads. So I hope that he does stay. I’ve always loved frogs and have included some in my art as well as quilt designs. Humm, maybe he will inspire me to create a new collection!

Put a little nature in your life today, ribbit!

Phyllis

I wish each of you a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving and hope you are able to spend it with special people in your life.  I wish each of you safe travels and a holiday filled with love, laughter and reminiscences over fond memories!

I want to share my “Thanksgiving Cactus”.  Its in full bloom and measures 32″ across.  Never mind that I bought it during Christmas 4 years ago, thinking it was a “Christmas Cactus”.  But it blooms each year at Thanksgiving and a little research confirmed that it is a Thanksgiving Cactus.  I bought this as a small plant in a 4″ pot.  It amazes me that not only has it lived,  it has thrived and grown and grown each year. Although not a traditional color, there’s definitely nothing wrong with a little pink with our turkey.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Phyllis

These jungle animals are huge and colorful …. and knitted.  One of the most fun exhibits I’ve seen, this was the booth for Lion Brand Yarns at the winter Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) trade show.  (I know, the show was in January, but I just found them in my camera).  What else can I say – the pictures tell the story.

Everything – flowers, blades of grass and the rugs were all made of yarn. The animals were all so cute! It was definitely an exhibit with the “awe” factor.

Have a “roaring” fun day.

Phyllis

I was in Chicago last week to attend the Craft and Hobby Show, the trade show for anything related to crafts (a consumer show followed the trade show). It was exciting to see the show floor filled with people who also seemed excited as well.

While there, my friend Brenda Pinnick and I took some time off to catch the El and go into Chicago to visit the museum at the Art Institute of Chicago. Its a fabulous museum and had expanded with a new modern wing that has been open a year.

The weather was fabulous, much cooler and less humid than here at home so Brenda and I spend some time walking through the city as well.  Chicago is so clean and beautiful and there were flowers everywhere along the streets. Large planters divided the street on Michigan Avenue as we walked toward the museum.  And there were plenty of sidewalk cafes with vibrant flowers.

Huge planters also lined the street.  I just happen to be in front of this one.

I am a huge fan of Art Nouveau and in Chicago, you don’t need to go to a museum to see a lot of this style as its prevalent throughout the City on buildings and other items of interest.

These 2 pictures shows some of the art nouveau designs on buildings.

And here is the famous Chicago Theater landmark on State Street, probably the most photographed  building in Chicago. 

One final shot – the Chicago River.  Didn’t I tell you Chicago was beautiful!

We enjoyed our day and it rejuvenating to have a break.  The next day, it was back to the CHA show  for meetings and to walk the show as well as visit with friends.

Here’s to a beautiful day for everyone!

Phyllis

I love being in my studio designing or painting because I love my “job”.  However an occasional glance out of the window at the greenery is not enough.  I have to go outside for just a few sec’s once or twice a day for a break and enjoy the flowers.  I love this Vintage Hibiscus which has spectacular 10″ blooms. They are simply amazing.

I have another Vintage Hibiscus that has wine colored flowers, same 10″ size blooms, but it hasn’t started blooming yet.

Unfortunately, like most hibiscus, the bloom only lasts a day.  But it is prolific and blooms every day, usually with 2 to 4 blooms.

Stop and take time to enjoy all the flowers around you.

Phyllis

I love spring and all the flowers that bloom.  As I was rushing out to the mailbox this morning to mail out my latest design projects  (sewing designs for a magazine), I “stopped to smell the roses” literally! My Knock Out roses are really starting to bloom.  I couldn’t resist – I picked a bouquet for my studio so that I could enjoy them while I worked.  Since these roses bloom profusely until almost Thanksgiving (at least here in the deep south!), I will be able to pick bouquets for the next 5 or 6 months. 

I wish for each of you a bouquet of roses!

Phyllis

One person guessed that the macro photo that I posted yesterday for Wordless Wednesday could be a flower.  Most of the guesses were for various textiles.

As you can see, it was a flower, a Cock’s Comb.  The full bloom is over 3 times the size of my hand.  The plant is next to my front steps and draws comments from everyone who visits.  The blooms continue growing until the weather gets cold so they are really enormous by then.  There are hundreds of seeds on the throat of each bloom and they look like poppy seeds.  I scrap some off each fall and scatter them for the next spring’ plants as well as giving them to friends.

I love flowers.  But I am also in a part of the country that is having a prolonged heat wave – with temps over 100 daily for almost 2 weeks and counting.  To add to that, we are in a severe drought area.  We’ve had very little rain this summer and none in the past 3 weeks. As a result, we are in a tight restricted use of water.

Cock’s Comb plants grow in front of my house each year from seeds from the prior year. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately because of the water shortage, most of the small plants were accidentally killed with week killer this spring.  I love the Cock’s Comb plants because of their gorgeous colors and the size of the blooms.  The blooms last all summer and just keep growing, getting bigger and bigger.  Last year, I had one that was 12″ wide.  They also dry extremely well and keep their color   

With the water shortage, keeping my flowers alive and blooming takes being creative. I conserve water inside the house and use for watering the plants. We have bowls in sinks to catch the water that is running.  Its amazing how much water is used just to wash hands or while waiting for it to heat up.

Another favorite flower of mine is the Hibiscus.  They are just so pretty with so many large colorful blooms.  I just wish the blooms lasted more than a day. Unfortunately, it gets too cold in the winter here for Hibuscus, so they have to be planted in pots brought in when it gets cold.

Recently while plant shopping, I found some “vintage” Hibiscus. The blooms reach up to 8 or 9 inches across.  I have plenty of buds, but didn’t have any blooms today while I was taking pictures.  They are amazing in their size and beauty.

I didn’t plant many flowers this spring due to lengthy cold spring. Even though I miss them, I guess its a good thing due to the watering restrictions. I don’t wash my hands enough to keep several flower beds watered!