holiday happiness day 10 ~ 12 days of christmas

as many of you know...i am joining my sister, meems @ hoe and shovel in posting from the garden or outside decor...the 12 days of christmas.


we have had our lion's share of rain...flooding in some areas.
the colours of this cabbage for ornamental sake is so vivacious.
with the water droplets on it...stunning.




















the birdbaths are all refreshed with rain.
















not planned but nice none the less is
this photo of nandina berries overlayed on the trees.





this day is also the birthday of our grand.....gwyne...she is a treasure and 10 years old today on the 10th of december, on the 10th day of the 12 days of christmas.

happy day dear gwyne...have a wonderful day.

life in autumn

the heart of autumn must
have broken here,
and
poured it's treasure
out upon the
leaves.

charlotte fiske bates



while the changes in season are trying to come...

our autumn days have been very wet.

which makes everything remain very green and
keeps the container plants oh so happy.

my variegated potato vine just keeps on giving.

the leaves continue to fall...the dry creek...not so dry...still has water in it.

no need to water or fill birdbaths....everything that can...

holds the rain water.

.

ground covers have fared well and filled in nicely.

an orange zinnia stays drenched.

so what do you do when the leaves are falling....

try your hardest to get the one that hasn't fallen yet and

make it your prize.

.

.

.

also...what do you do when it is wet....very wet....you roll up your

jeans and put on your wellies and go investigating.

with all the moisture comes
new and interesting results in nature.

there is plenty of lichen and moss growing on tree branches.

.

this whole trunk is covered with it.

our dogs faithfully follow as the exploring begins.
buster brown and beatrice...watching....waiting....wet.

.

even the leaves are changing differently...

they aren't sure whether to stay green or let the burnish of fall change them.

bonesets are blooming but most are drooping with the weight of rainfall.

these are some of the creatures we saw while out and about.

grass skippers seem to be enjoying the wildflowers.

these beauties(believed to be spicebush swallowtail)

were plentiful but never stopped flitting.

it seemed like there was a butterfly on every thistle stalk.

.

abbey showed me a little magic...how she could make a flower...

from kentucky blue grass seed heads.

i love it...it is purple.

.

this little all~black guy(possibly a darkling beetle)

seemed just fine being damp and in the mix of grasses and goldenrod.

as well as the soldier beetle(pennsylvania leatherwing.)

this little red morning glory is a stand~out against all the green.

the saturation makes every one of the colours look more vibrant.

purple morning glory closed tightly.

japanese honeysuckle

marigolds in this luscious painterly gold and red.

scarlet sage is just rich.

the little lavender petals could not stand up to the constant drizzling.

sometimes the leaves can't make it to the ground...as they are

glued with rain to the branches from which they are trying to escape.

faces of flowers are looking down shielding themselves from the rain droplets.

persian shield has loved the precipitation this year.

the velvet beans grew very large under the wetness.

it has made it hard on some things...more things rotted on the ground...for sure.

this guy...maybe a male riley's tree cricket...

was still looking for nectar even though his

little green body had droplets all over it.

all and all it has been a wonderful fall...every change...with every new

season...brings about reasons to rejuvenate...to renew....to rejoice.