" Rainy Days and Mondays - Just Call Me Crazy ! "

Can you here the Carpenters singing this famous song now? " Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down". This was going through my mind all morning as it is a rainy day today. It is also Monday. But even though this is the tune of the day in my brain, I am not down. No, as a matter of fact I took a stroll in my yard today with umbrella in hand to take a few photos. The photo above I shall call " Wet Roses "!

This photo is a self portrait. It is one of my favorite photos. My stunning beauty just overwhelms me everyday! Actually this photo was taken two summers ago when I took my granddaughter Sarah to the park. It was an extremely hot summer day and I was amazed at my granddaughters ability to run gigantic laps around the park in 90 plus degree weather! She gave me her sunglasses to hold for her so she wouldn't lose them. I didn't lose them. I wore them. And I didn't care who saw me. Just call me crazy. There is something about having gone through menopause that can be very liberating!

An overview shot of the lilies, and the weeds. I love the weeds. They never give up. Weeds persevere. They always give us something to do outside. Weeds are very at home in our gardens. What a wonderful compliment they pay to us each and everyday. Rain or shine. Wind and hail. They are always there for us. Weeds are trustworthy. We can always rely on weeds. I guess you could say, that weeds are our friends.

Here we have the lovely Cone flowers. They are nearly as tall as me! Well it's not as if I were ten feet tall so I guess to all of you flower experts it's no surprise. I do believe that they are at least three feet high. My secrets out. I'm a munchkin!

This little beauty is, I have to say, my favorite flower. At least to date. It is a Cosmo. I bought a package of seeds last year as I thought they were so pretty. Several of them came up. Early this spring I noticed these tiny little sprigs popping through the same spot that I had the Cosmos planted last year. I thought that I recognized the sprigs as the Cosmos from the previous year so I let them be. It wasn't long before I knew that they were indeed the Cosmos. I don't remember them being a perennial. But who am I to question Mother Natures hand?

There were so many of them popping through. I had a lot of thinning out and transplanting to do. So now I have this glorious little flower all over my yard and in planters. I prefer to think of them as a gift from God.

Lilies in the rain.

My last flower photo today is my Lantana. I purchase and plant this flower every year. I plant it in the same spot year after year. The Lantana grows very large. It's branches have been as much as four feet long. It is situated directly across from my kitchen window where you will forever find me doing dishes. And year after year our little Hummingbirds return to these red Lantanas and the red Cannas which grow right next to my kitchen window.
The Hummingbirds will sometimes come right up to the kitchen window as if to greet me. This takes my breath away, year after year!


Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds."
And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:11-12