Texas style photography and words
Peter cottontail is around our house most of the day. I think he sleeps here in a flower bed.
I get to capture his pics fairly easily because he is not skittish. This will probably be a bad thing later on for him.
Today he came from the pasture down the road and was just resting in the shade and listening to what we were saying.
We are surrounded by wildlife and sometimes I get to capture in on camera. This truly makes my day.
One of my favorite breads is Zucchini bread and I have the best recipe for it.
It has 2 cups of Zucchini and 1 cup carrots shredded this produces so much moisture that there is no need to add water.
It has a streusel that cooks with it and a glaze for after it cooks.
The gardens Zucchini has done well this year this my 3rd time to make this bread during this gardening season.
I place the two loaves in my cake carrier and it stays fresh.
Good old fashion homemade bread enhanced with vegetables makes the best desert type bread you could ever ask for.
The potting bench is painted and stained to match the house.
There is a large bucket for dirt on the left hand side under the bench. This is actually under a part that lifts up with hardware cloth and there is a tray to catch the excess dirt so it can go back in the bigger pot.
I actually love it and as you can tell its been getting used quite often.
In the wintertime I always put the fragile pots in the greenhouse and sometimes the plants live but sometimes they don’t. The ones on the bench the small fern on the left lived the big pot was repotted and now is thriving.
I always think about moving these after I have watered them and they are very heavy to move then.
I buy the small bowls at Dollar General or on clearance to have to put plants in for small gifts.
The aloe vera or some of the other succulents or sedums like lemon balm work well in the bowls. Right now on the back porch I have a few with airplane plants in them. Even the pothos or Ivy work well for a good while in the small containers.
The plastic wicker chair has seen its better days its been around about 10 years and I had bought 6 of them at Big Lots they use to be on the back porch until the rockers rotted off so we took those off and now its a very short chair to sit in. I just like the way it looks by the potting bench.
The trumpet vine graces the top of the back of the potting bench as a garland of sorts but it gives the bench the perfect touch.
Planting new plants in the yards or in planters is very relaxing for me and it soothes my soul.
Squirly moves all around our yard and sometimes has a friend in tow.
He has to be careful so he does not get chased by the dogs or a cats. Then there are the hawks that always looking for a quick meal.
In this picture he was on the side deck pasture feeders.
Wildlife is threatened on a daily basis we all need to do our part to help it out.
Look outdoors and enjoy the show wildlife has to offer.
I have always loved the look of Polka dots.
This little plant will give you a bang for your buck. It is sold as a house plant but does wonders outdoors in the sun or the shade. I had some come back 3 years in a row.
Hypoestes Splash is the formal name of this plant.
It comes in several colors but this is my favorite combination. I have some in a planter in the front and the backyard. I think the backyard one is going to get planted in a new flower bed. I bought a flat of it when I bought it.
Add a splash of color to your yard with the Polka Dot Plant.
We see quite a few rabbits in our pasture about 30 minutes before sunset.
This one made it up onto our side deck and let me take a few pics.
I think his name is Peter Cottontail because he was near the vegetable garden before he was on the deck.
I get so excited to see all the different wildlife around us and I try to capture it on camera when I can.
When wildlife flourishes all around you this makes everyday a perfect day.
Yesterday I kept hearing a baby bird cry every time I went in the backyard.
I knew the bluebirds had been nesting but I could see them go into the birdhouse and leave. I thought my hearing might be off but a little while later I heard it was stronger so I knew there was a baby on the ground.
I went into the secret garden to check it out there it was in the hot sun on hot concrete stepping stones since I had my camera with me I grabbed a couple of pics. I knew I needed to move this little one from where it was at.
The first pic she looks like she has on a helmet. The second one is “are you my mother” I am screaming at you.
I had to get her into the shade but when I tried she landed into the tadpole pond. I got her out on a stick and placed it in the shade.
By this time I am being dive bombed by two eastern blue birds the little ones two parents. They head straight at you and you think they are going to hit you but at the last minute they go up and fly away.
I left it there went back later it was hidden in the bushes so once again I got it out placed it in the shade in the grass. More dive bombing by the parents.
The third time I went out it was the opposite side in the bushes ok the parents will never see it like this so I decided I need to figure something out. Here come the parents to keep me away once again.
I decided to feed it had been hours on the ground. I mixed up a messy watery batch of canned pate dog food. I placed in a syringe and fed the hungry little bird. He ate good but I knew I needed a solution for him hiding in the bushes.
It dawned on me to put a hanging basket with some grass and hang it up low and this worked for a few hours but she back out again.
I have been dive bombed about 4 times but all is good they are just protecting their baby.
She looks to have all her feathers but I think she is a few days off from flying. Now when she sees me she opens her mouth lol.
The Eastern Bluebirds had a hard time during our February freeze and we lost a lot of them. I just want to do my part to help build back up this population in our area.
Wildlife has a way of finding me and I feel the need to do my part to help it out when I can. I can not resist taking a few pictures along the way.
Here are a few more blooms from our yard. We plant all colors of flowers but have more pinks and purples than anything else.
These first flowers are Petchoa it is a new cross between the Petunia and the Calibrochoa. Since I love both of these flowers I wanted to try this one out this year.
This planter is one my hypertufa one in the backyard I had made a few years ago using a exercise ball for the mold. Normally I plant petunias in it. So far the container has held up okay but I have learned a few things about making these planters to try next time. A tree limb fell on my one in the front yard and broke it.
The second flower is the Rose of Sharon also known as Althea. I love althea and this week will be going to the garden center to find a few more colors of this colorful bush. This Althea was shared with me by a twig with rooting solution and it has grown like crazy ever since. These blooms remind me of the Hibiscus.
The third flower is one of my favorites the Knock our Roses. They bloom like crazy in the spring and summer and if you want them to bloom more they love left over tea grinds. We save all our tea grinds for our acid loving plants.
I will be doing several post about blooms in our yard.
This post is about the Day Lilies, Texas Trumpet Vine, and the Yellow Cana Lilies.
The Day Lilies were started from a few bulbs our youngest sons 4th. grade teacher Mrs. Oberg gave the class at the end of school.
The Texas Trumpet vine grows wild here and my husband drug this home from work about 6 or 7 years ago and now we have it several locations and it never lets me down. The hummers love the trumpet style flowers but it needs a place to crawl like a fence.
The Cana Lilies our daughter dug me some up from a rent house they were in about 9 years ago.
Flowers can brighten your day and put a smile on your face plus they add to the landscape of your yard no matter how big or small it is.
Our yard has a little splash of color at every turn.
When looking for a different type of planter always look in the summer section at Walmart or Target to see what you can find.
A few years ago I found this summer drink container at Walmart for like $18.00 I loved that it was galvanized metal, rectangle in shape and somewhat deep. It has started to rust some on the inside but should be good for a few more years.
This container could be changed simply by painting it all one color or 3 colors. Even adding a stripe of fabric or burlap just use your imagination to come up with some different ideas.
I love to plant mixed containers this year I planted red caladiums and hosta together for a new mix. The contrasting difference between the colors really go well together. Normally I put 3 different things in a container but this one ended up with two. It is supposed to be thriller, spiller and filler when doing containers like this.
I love hostas but so do the snails and we seem to have a really good population of snails here at our house. My other hostas that are in the ground are snail snacks.
Have fun when planting your containers look for some unique containers to brighten up a seating area in your yard.
Sonya Lira Photography 