I'm your Fan Friday

I don't know where this week went, or how it got to be Friday so quickly without my noticing, but I have found some favorites for this week. Hope you like them.

I love this bird!

 Check out Jean's post at the joy of bird watching. I have seen one of these gorgeous birds only once, and at the time I had no idea what it was. Jean's photo is just awesome.   This bird is not as rambunctious as a Quaker parrot and didn't have the outgoing personality of the Conures I used to raise, but it's spots and coloring are no less spectacular. Congratulations Jean on catching a shot of such a gorgeous bird. I am definitely your fan this Friday.
By now all of my gardening friends know I love Lantana! It has a weird smell and the little hairs on the stems can be very irritating, but from late spring until the final killing frost, it blooms non-stop. Butterflies love it and skipper moths find it irresistible and this shot

 from Mom Snaps captures it's charm. ( don't tell my hubby, but I am secretly seeding it in any available space in my garden). Lantana stays full of flowers of all colors and ready to provide a meal or just a resting spot for some breathtakingly beautiful creatures. Mom Snaps, it's Friday and I am your fan too.
Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Aww' He's so cute! NOT!!!!!

Well, I used to think racoons were some of the cutest creatures that God had created. I loved their little masks that gave the appearance of bandits. I also thought the rings on their tails were somehow just adorable. The way they seemed to wash their hands had always intrigued me and I never really minded that much when on a camping trip they raided the cooler and made off with the next day's meals. That was then....

Now, They are not cute, they are not adorable they are hunters as well as scavengers.

The racoon in question attempted and finally succeeding in capturing 1 of my birds. Precious a cute little blue and white budgie was living peacefully on the screened porch as close to nature as a caged bird can. His life was cut short by a masked bandit and his friends were traumatized as well. I know that it is in an animals nature to survive anyway it can, and it must have been extremely hungry because even after we bolted the door at 1:30 Am, the racoon returned and ripped the screens out. I don't believe the racoon was vicious although my birds might see it differently, I think that he was just opportunistic. He saw a food supply and was determined to extinguish it. By 5 AM, the remaining birds were moved into the safety of the house. They are so traumatized that one of my blue quaker parrots, who used to talk incessantly, hasn't spoken a word in days. The others although subdued are now responding to me, but not Geebee. Geebee remains silent I miss the sound of her voice asking "what doin?" even though she had a habit of repeating it until she got the answer she wanted.

Since the birds have been banished to the indoor world, the racoon as returned twice. I guess he is wondering what happened to his free lunch. There is a place in this world for all of God's creatures, and I don't begrudge the racoon his, but my screened in locked porch at 1, 3 or 5 AM is not it.

All Things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
( From and old Anglican hymn)

Welcome to my world

Welcome to my world. I live in Pawley's Island, SC a tiny little barrier island known as the oldest seaside resort in America. I'll try to keep it full of fun things. I am usually always in the garden which has been a work in progress for about 18 years. One of these days I will quit re-designing the whole thing and actually let it grow. I love to grow anything I can find and I am always experimenting with different propagation methods, ways to germinate seeds and feed plants. If there is a new plant, I've gotta have one and if I can grow it from seed, that is just icing on the cake. I have recently accepted thatPlants are like POKEMON! Ya gotta have them all! ( and I am getting close) .
If I am not in the garden, my aviary is my other "happy place" I raise Quaker parrots, Cockatiels and Budgies. There are about 50 or so birds in the aviary and most of them talk and all of them provide lots of entertainment.
I love to make jewelry with wire and beads. My husband makes copper sculpted flowers which we will be selling in my etsy shop. I also love to travel and photograph everything, especially flowers and landscapes. You never know what you might find here, so stop by often and be sure to say Hi.