Raindrops ‘n’ Puddles

This picture is a really big deal!

“Why?” you ask.

The weatherman says we haven’t had an inch of rain in any month since January.
During our lengthy drought, we haven’t even been able to stick our toes in a puddle very often!

Today, we had puddles!!!

Raindrops on the roof were like music to our ears this morning!

“Thank You, God, for all the little things,
including little raindrops!”

It’s amazingly refreshing to the human spirit 
to see the plants bathed in raindrops
instead of powdered with the dust of drought!

Everything just looks greener after a rain!!

While sitting on the porch, enjoying the soft gentle rain
and the somewhat cooler temperature,
I noticed these Nandina berries.
Almost every one was sporting a little raindrop –
like a tree decorated with tiny white lights!

While I was looking here and there in the yard for rain pictures,
my observant husband noticed this rather flat green worm, with a white stripe on each side.
He was crawling on a fern frond on our porch.
I haven’t been able to identify him yet from pictures on the Internet.
If I find out what kind he is, I’ll come back and update here.
If any of you know, I’d appreciate your passing along the information about him!
Do you think he’s the one who’s been feasting on this frond?!!

…and then observant husband spotted one of our resident lizards
in the fern on the other side of the porch.

This little anole has been spending a lot of time on the shady porch,
especially around our back door.
I really like him better when he’s on the outside,
but I have a feeling one day when we open the door
he’s gonna invite himself in(!)

My husband always reminds me that he’s more afraid of me than I am of him –
I’m really not afraid; I just don’t like anything that moves so fast
and can hide out inside the house!

They really are fascinating creatures, though,
especially when they change color to camouflage themselves quite well in their surroundings.
They help us by eating spiders and insects,
so they are definitely good neighbors!

They are also entertaining to watch.
They often appear to be making eye contact with us –
and their tiny little feet are so dainty and nimble!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Thank y’all for stopping by to visit.
May your life be filled with little blessings, little chuckles,
and little deeds of kindness (both given and received)!

…and if you happen to live in a drought-stricken area of the country,
then I pray that you hear the sound of little raindrops on your roof, too,
and that you have little puddles to enjoy!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Too Bloomin’ Hot…

 …but still bloomin’ !!!

In spite of the continued intense heat and drought in our area, there are a few specimens that just keep on keepin’ on.
One of the showiest and most prolific is the crepe myrtle.

These are all pictures from an early evening walk a few days ago. 
When it’s so hot like this and I’m carrying a water bottle,
I usually don’t fool with taking the camera along. 
We usually wait ’til almost time for the sun to go down,
so there’s really not enough light for much good photography. 
However, here are a few snapshots taken with my camera phone, to document our little outing. 
I will try to get clearer pictures of the flowers later with my camera.

This is a “little” shot of the moon, just to set the scene.

Now back down to earth and the reality of this persistent drought!

We’ve been watching this pear tree for a while. 
It seems to have held up pretty well with such a long period of upper 90 to 100+ temperatures.
You might say it’s growing ‘roasted pears’(!)

We were amused when we came across this tree, which seems to be pointing to the sky. 
The top is rotten, and there are a number of woodpecker holes around that upper part of the trunk. 
It looks like some of the holes were probably pecked after the tree began to deteriorate. 
I wonder what the woodpecker thought when he had drilled and drilled his beak into that tree –
only to come out on the other side and see blue sky!!

Back home now, and entering the gate by the side of the house.
We have two confederate jasmine vines that cover an extensive area of our side fence.
We don’t notice these seed pods every year, but here are a couple that have appeared recently.
I hope they will remain on the vine to dry and turn brown.
If so, there will be some very interesting-looking seeds inside,
and I hope to be able to show you pictures of them later.

It’s said that “good fences make good neighbors.”
That’s especially true if there’s something pretty blooming on both sides!
Our side of the fence has the confederate (or star) jasmine;
our neighbors have pink honeysuckle on their side.
(Just for the record, we are blessed to have good neighbors!!!)

I’m always happy when I see the first pink blooms peeking up over the fence. 

This is a close-up of my favorite color of honeysuckle!

One more picture from that evening — a bright yellow hibiscus that we purchased to plant along the back fence.
We have another hibiscus that seems to be thriving in the heat (as long as we keep it watered)…
so we decided to try this one, too.
We both really like the brilliant color!

By this time, the mosquitoes had gotten really hungry and obnoxious,
so it was time to call it a night and get back into the air-conditioning!!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Thank y’all for stopping by to visit.
May your life be filled with lots of little blessings, little chuckles,
and little deeds of kindness (both given and received)!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~