Mid-September Pond

Rich colors abound in the mid-September pond. It's a soothing spot for respite.

Farmer's Market Flowers for Easter Celebrations

Farmer's Market flowers made all the more special when gifted by the hands of a child.  Even if she's grown ♥ maybe especially when she's grown. 

Oh, Yes! I Love Texas

It's February 8 and the first wildflowers are appearing on the hillside in the backyard...JOY

windflower anemone 

Hey, There! It's Been A While...

You know it's been a while since your last post when you can't remember the password to get into your blog account.

After nearly 17 years in our home, we moved last fall to a home one mile away.  It's a beautiful lot with tons of potential and an older home...read that to mean it's been a lot of work.  There are lots of projects in the works and lots of dreams that will hopefully come to fruition in time.

This cypress vine was a volunteer that hitched a ride in a 4" pot from the nursery this spring.  I found it languishing in the undergrowth as a tiny seedling and moved it to a larger pot in the heat of summer.  It started flowering this week and I was instantly reminded of how much hope can be held in one tiny flower.  This sweet little vine reminds me that this garden will be beautiful.  No, IS beautiful, yes, is beautiful, right now.  The move has made me step back and appreciate the small steps and victories of growing a new garden.

I'm not sure how often I will post here so if you're on Instagram, please find me there @cat_jones_atx.  The ease and instant gratification of Instagram has lured me in and I frequent the app and post updates there regularly.  You'll get glimpses of my new garden and snippets of whatever happens to catch my eye.  I hope to see you there!

Cat

Because You Can Never Have Too Many Black-eyed Susans

These are my happy flowers; they remind me of my momma so I planted gobs of them.  Oh yes, they're in the backyard too.   Happy Friday, friends.

Moody and Broody

Livin' Easy awaiting the arrival of tropical storm Bill.  

Seeking Higher Ground

The Texas spiny lizard is usually quite shy, however, today he posed for a portrait atop an old ladder in the garden. I've never been able to approach one with camera in hand; they typically make a hasty retreat.  I guess he was reluctant to leave higher ground.

On top of a wetter than average spring, we've received over 13" of torrential rain this month.  The backyard is a mosh pit and there are many drowning plants.  Among them: native columbine, Texas betony and lamb's ear.  No surprise that oak leaf hydrangea and river fern are content and taking it all in stride.  There are insect infestations and snails galore. Blood thirsty mosquitoes are swarming.

It's brutal out there.

But, you will not hear me complain.  After experiencing so many years of drought, especially the summer of 2011, I promised myself I would never utter a word of complaint about too much rainfall.  Ever.  I just never expected keeping the promise to be so hard.

Between the Storms

The light is a bit other-worldly in the garden recently. The last remains of oak pollen have been washed away by multiple rain showers and the air is pure and clean, scented with jasmine.  Between the storms are opportunities to catch glimpses of magical light and the imagination lingers on what it might be like to live in a place with reliable and abundant rain.  A place lush and green.  This spring the mind doesn't have to wander far; not any farther than the back door.

Happy Spring, Happy Me

A few random thoughts:  April is the most promising of months.  This spring is so fabulous, I can hardly sleep. I'm completely falling in love with my camera again.  All I can think about is my garden. My back hurts and my nails look horrible.  I'm happy.  I hope you are too.

After the Freeze :: A Study in Tenacity

After the freeze :: a sedum bloom mystifies with its resilience and tenacity.

A cup full of inspiration in a thimble size flower.

Autumn Reflections :: Turnin' From the Past, At Last

Now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turnin' gold
And like the sky my soul is also turnin'
Turnin' from the past, at last and all I've left behind

                                                               Ray Lamontagne

October, Already? Happy Fall ♥

The day I glanced into a seldom used room and noticed that beautiful autumn light...sigh. 

Owl Update: Pass the Cigars and the Kleenex

Today was the first sighting of a baby.  We won't be sure how many are in the box unless fortunate enough to see them leaving the nest.  The last brood we hosted had four young!

Sadly we haven't seen or heard the momma since Sunday evening.  Daily perched on the arbor in clear sight of the box, she vigilantly watched the goings on of the backyard. The poppa continues to sit in the photinia which also gives a clear view of the nest.  At dusk he leaves his roost to feed the young alone.

Momma (photo taken the Friday before she disappeared)

I fear she was prey to a great horned owl. My husband heard their nearby calls Sunday night when he was out in the yard with our dog.  I hope I'm wrong and she is just well hidden but given that I haven't heard her either, I fear the worst.

As my daughter says, they've all got babies with their beaks open and they've all got to eat.  She's right.  Still, I'm heartbroken.

Inside Austin Gardens Tour 2014 - May 3rd!

Austin bloggers were invited for a sneak peek of the annual Inside Austin Gardens Tour last week.  There's not much better than a beautiful spring day, friends, and inspirational gardens!

Sadly, my photographs didn't turn out.  I'm learning a new camera and had a setting out of whack.  No worries though, my touring companions had their cameras in fine tune.

From left to right there is Jenny of Rock Rose, Katina of Gardening in Austin, Caroline of The Shovel-Ready Garden, Robin of Getting Grounded, myself, Lori of The Gardener of Good and Evil (her garden is on tour!), Renee of Renee's New Blog, Vicki of Playin' Outside, Ally of Garden Ally, Pam of Digging, Linda of Patchwork Garden, Bonnie of Kiss of Sun, Suzie of Viva Verde, Diana of Sharing Nature's Garden and Laura of Wills Family Acres.

Aren't we a lively band of gardeners?  These ladies are so much fun and honestly, I never dreamed that blogging would bring me so much friendship.

For those of you close by, we are experiencing true Chamber of Commerce weather in Austin so grab your keys and camera and get out there.  Click through for all the details.  These gardens are true gardener's gardens.  Their passion, skill and determination is evident and you'll walk away with tons of ideas and knowledge. 

Owl Update :: There You are Regal Fella!

There were six days of no owl sightings, no familiar trills in the evening, nothing.  I was sure something horrible had happened.  I fretted and pondered, coming up with all kinds of ill fated scenarios. 

A few days ago while glancing up into the branches of the windmill palm I was rewarded with the sight of the male perched proud and regal.  I love his new digs as I can catch quick glimpses of him as I work around the garden.  He sits high above the garden within clear sight of the box and his mate.   I'm wondering if he changed the location of his perch because the photinia (in my neighbor's yard) bloomed and smelled to high heaven? 

The female has been noticeably absent.  I'm guessing she is now sitting on the eggs.  She emerges for brief moments to gather some fresh air and then she tucks back into the nest. 

From The Owl Pages:

Owls lay between one and thirteen eggs, depending on the species and also on the particular season; for most, however, three or four is the more common number. The eggs are rounded and white; there is little need for cryptic markings given the concealed nature of most nest sites, and the vigor with which they are defended. Incubation of the eggs usually begins when the first one is laid, and lasts, in most species, for around thirty days. During incubation, the eggs are rarely left alone. Female owls, like many other birds, develop a sparsely feathered area on their bellies called a brood patch. The almost bare skin has a higher density of blood vessels than other parts of the skin, providing a direct source of warmth when in contact with the eggs.

Momma owl is going to be putting that brood patch to good use the next couple of days.  We're experiencing a late cold front.  It's raining as I type (yay!) and the north wind is howling.  Lows are expected in the 30's-40's tonight depending on location.  My garden is usually a few degrees colder than the central city.  I'll be covering a few plants just in case. 

There's never a dull moment in a Texas garden.

The Invention of the Handle

Evening closes in gently.

A meandering country road snakes along the river carrying a couple, a long time married.

There are scarlet buckeyes in bloom and ephemeral beauties with slow beating wings nonchalantly gathering nectar...confident of tomorrow's abundance.

We give thanks for the invention of the
handle.  Without it there would be many
things we couldn't hold on to.  As for the
things we can't hold on to anyway, let us
gracefully accept their ungraspable nature
and celebrate all things elusive, fleeting, and
intangible.  They mystify us and make us
receptive to truth and beauty.  We celebrate
and give thanks.
Amen   {The Prayer Tree - Leunig}

An Alternate Point of View :: The Blanco River

I'm Like a Momma with a New Baby

Y'all I can't help myself.  I'm completely smitten with this guy.  I'm transfixed.  Maybe even a bit obsessed.  

He's visible from the kitchen, dining and family room windows.  Upstairs the best view is from my son's room.  Specifically, his bed.  Where I perch.  Constantly.  To take more photos.  

He/she? has taken to sitting at the opening of the box during the day which leads me to think the box must be getting a bit crowded.  With momma and eggs?  I don't know.  Maybe with owlets?  It seems early for that though.  

The eggs take nearly a month to hatch and then the owlets are box bound for approximately another month.  You can be sure I'll keep you posted!  I just pray I'll get to take some photos of the owlets because they are the CUTEST things ever.

On the down side, I haven't spotted many anoles yet this spring.  My garden is usually thriving with their presence...  Having said that, I noticed this the last time we had owls nesting here and their population recovered. 

The folks that live here with me are pretty sure I need an intervention.   I claim there are much worse things I could be doing with my time.  

Do Something Today that Scares You

The sure, solid ground so long taken for granted rumbles, fractures and the context of my world shifts.  Simple pleasures that once brought tranquility and joy become insurmountable; a wall of false security carefully built around the cracked foundation to hold it in place begins to hold me in place, captive, immobile.

Acres have been cleared in our quiet neighborhood and wildlife is scrambling to find new territory.  Coyote sightings have become common place; spotted mid-afternoon, ambling calmly down the sidewalk in the front, stopping to forage on a neighbor's pyracantha, hunting small mammals in the greenbelt behind the house and often heard celebrating their kill in the early morning hours. 

I don't begrudge them their need to survive but if I'm being honest, the possibility of coming upon a pack of them unnerves me.  No, terrifies me. To the point that I've quit walking the trails.  I love the trails.  I've become afraid of the trails.

An unseasonably cold afternoon found me longing for a solitary walk.  I made my way out the back gate and up the trail.

It doesn't seem like much, this simple act of opening the back gate and putting one foot in front of the other but it was a step in obedience. 

A step toward the certainty that the ground will forever be shifting and it will sometimes crack and throw my balance; a step toward seeing the possibility of discovering goodness and light in shifting ground and another toward the tranquility and joy found again in simple pleasures.  
 

Winter :: Rescued Roses :: Blessings

While spring teased only a day ago, today is bitterly cold and a thunderstorm brews to the west, marching steadily this way.  Ice threatens and there is a day more to ponder the beauty that is winter.   Soup simmers on the stove and an early, bashful rose, rescued from the cold, absorbs warm sunlight on the kitchen counter.  Life is beautiful...winter is beautiful.
 

We give thanks for the blessing of winter:

Season to cherish the heart.

To make warmth and quiet for the heart.

To make soups and broths for the heart.

To cook for the heart and read for the
heart.

To curl up softly and nestle with the heart.

To sleep deeply and gently at one with
   the heart.

To dream with the heart.

To spend time with the heart.

A long, long time of peace with the heart.

We give thanks for the blessing of winter:

Season to cherish the heart.

Amen

The Prayer Tree - Leunig