The Manger Down the Road

This time of year, as I drive past the sheep farm down the road, I can't help but hum a few Christmas tunes to myself...especially this one!

Bandits and A Winner

 

I cannot thank you all enough for embracing me and sending such warm and caring emails, comments, and even a very special gift (which I will be telling you about in a future post) regarding the loss of my dear friend Dan.  I know he would be so happy that I shared our unusual story of friendship, and I loved hearing about how some of you have had similar experiences in your own lives!  The internet has truly transformed the way we communicate, often portrayed negatively in the media, so it was wonderful to find out that many of you have found love and friendship through this amazing global technology the same way I did!

 

 

The other evening as the sun was setting, Mr. Tide was grilling and shouted for me to come outside.  He said we had some guests, and sure enough up in a wild cherry tree along the back of our property was an oh so cute and furry dinner guest!  He had scampered up our fence and then onto the tree to have a little feast or maybe some dessert!

 

 

 

Then Mr. Tide told me to look a little closer.  Instead of one furry visitor, we had two!  Mr. Tide told me that before I had come out one of the raccoons had run back down the tree to tell his or her friend about the all you can eat cherry buffet in our tree, so the second furry friend had eagerly joined the first.

 

 

 

They were so cute, and reminded me of when I was younger when my brother had rescued a baby raccoon from a camp where he worked each summer.  We had “Bandit” for just a few weeks, while we fed him and helped him grow.  One day we came home to find him up a tree where he was making a horrible noise letting us know he couldn’t find his way back down.  Eventually my brother released Bandit back to the wild and it was a sad day knowing I couldn’t come home each day to play with him and feed him the baby food that he loved, but in time I knew it was for the best and that he would be happier living life with his own kind.  These two raccoons, which I like to think are some of Bandits relatives, had no trouble bouncing around the tree and they were really quite acrobatic and comical to watch as they swung on not so sturdy branches and feasted on the fresh fruit.

 

 

The light was waning, so it was hard to get a good clear shot, but it was as if they didn’t mind posing for the crazy humans so enthralled with watching their sweet little bandito faces!  I hope they come back again sometime!

 

Ok, now it’s time to announce the winner of my End of Summer Giveaway!!  Thank you so much for the tremendous response to my latest Giveaway, and I promise I won’t wait so long to host another one.  I have some ideas already about what I want to give away next, so keep checking back to see what I’ll be offering soon!

 

This time when I entered the number into Random.org I put a 0 as the lowest number and then 152, one number higher than the actual number of comments, to make sure that the generator would include everyone.  I’m not sure that it ignores the lowest or highest number, but I decided to make sure by doing it this way for a change.

 

 

And the winner is…drum roll please…Sue (Someone’s Mom)!!!  Sue has been a longtime follower of my blog and she is a lover of everything beachy so I know she’ll give these items a happy home…congratulations Sue!  Just send me your mailing address Sue and I’ll get your package winging it’s way to your house!

Make Way For Ducklings and a Long Day

Yesterday was a long day, one where you are going from morning til night.  But it was a very good day too!  

It started in the morning with a photo shoot at the most amazing house!  This one may find its way into a book or magazine, so once again I can't take you inside...*sigh*!

The grounds of this property are equally as stunning!

And the homeowner indulged me and took me on a lovely tour of the property after I was done taking pictures of the inside of the house.

As I snapped away, he said things like...we need to work on this bed, or plant something different here, or we have plans for these trees.  But to me it was all perfect!  Even that tiny little bug that you can barely see just to the right of the flower (not the one on the flower), thought it it was perfect just the way it is!

And the resident barn kitty (I think her name was Isabella) was pretty happy with the way things were as well!

It was a beautiful day after all, with low humidity and cool breezes!

Where breezes fill the air with the smell of fresh herbs!

The kind of day that makes a rooster crow early to welcome the day!

And where ferns enjoy the sunshine without sweltering!

Insects can lounge awhile and take it easy on a day like today!

Flowers will shine extra bright on a day like today, as a way of saying thank you for the cooler temps.   

Yes this was a day for flowers to rejoice!

I read a sign outside a nursery on the way back from my photo shoot that read "Flowers are the Earth's way of Laughing" or something along those lines.

I smiled and thought to myself, what a wonder little saying!  I also thought I would remember it word for word...but on a busy day like yesterday, my brain doesn't always hold everything it needs to!

It does remember to stop and enjoy the beauty that surrounds me though, and for that I am very thankful!

I used to read both of my children the book Make Way For Ducklings when they were little.  And yesterday while touring the grounds of the house I had photographed I was treated to these cute little guys and girls!

The most adorable goslings and ducklings!  So cute you wanted to pick them up and cuddle those soft downy feathers of theirs!

I wanted to stay here all day, and look at the sheep, the peacocks, the goats, and all of the wonderful animals around this beautiful property.  But I had a phone interview to do and a post to work on...check back soon for a wonderful interview I did with the editor of Attic Mag, one of my favorite go to blogs when I'm looking for design inspiration!

So although I was very busy yesterday, it was a good kind of busy, the kind that leaves you longing for more wonderfully productive days just like this one!

Oh, and one last thing...check out this very cool idea for creating unique outdoor votive holders from Wendy at Relatively Unique!