summertime...

It is never my favorite season but photographing it helps me to appreciate it more. Please click on photo to get a better look.

I am joining in on my first Mosaic Monday. Thank you, Mary, for hosting.

even Norm is wishing for the monsoons...

The clouds are teasing us but they are getting more frequent and closer. Hopefully, the rains will find us soon.

Edited to add: 4 hours later, it is pouring! Hallelujah! Norm woke from a very sound sleep and started drinking. I've never seen him move so quickly. Hope you can see the raindrops. The temperature has dropped 15 degrees.

breakfast for two...

With our low humidity, sometimes during the summer we can sneak in an early breakfast or late dinner and still be comfortable outside.
When WB finished his brick masterpiece (patio and walk) last November, we realized we would like having a small table for two. We tried using the rim around the fire pit. That worked well until it was cool enough for a fire. There just wasn't enough room between our plates and the fire to be comfortable.
We wanted a table that we could easily move from patio to grass and back again. Because it was November, there weren't a lot of options for patio furniture. We ended up ordering this table. It was exactly what we wanted - easy for me to be able to move around by myself, a little table for two. We started out with a leisurely breakfast or a soup dinner and it was perfect. It wasn't until the first night we brought out full sized dinner plates that we realized how small it really is. Some plates fit, just barely and others, not at all. But for two, it is just perfect.
With such a small table (23" in diameter), there isn't much room for a centerpiece. I used some old salt and pepper shakers as little vases. Our mums bloom here twice a year, usually in April and November. I have no idea (maybe our cool, rainy spring?) why I have mums blooming in July. I am afraid I won't see them again in November when I really want to see them. It looked a little empty so I added some blue plumbago, a real trooper during our hot summers.




Two hummingbirds were dive-bombing me as I was taking these photos. I am guessing there must be a nest close by or perhaps it is a territorial thing.
The sun was coming in and out of the clouds (yes, there were clouds today!) and rising over the trees as I took these. The lighting changes from photo to photo.
I like natural fibers, especially cotton and linen. I also hate to iron. Although I love tablecloths, not ironing beats a gorgeous tablecloth almost every time. I saw these cloths at BB&B. It was being sold as an indoor/outdoor tablecloth which convinced me I would not like them. The second time I saw them, I saw that the package had been opened so I felt it. I decided to try it. I bought the smallest one that would fit one of my tables. It washes beautifully and doesn't shrink. It doesn't need any ironing. It isn't real linen but it is close enough for me.

I hope you too are enjoying some dining outside. Please join Susan and everyone else for more tablescapes.

this is why my camera is always ready to go...

There isn't much that would motivate me to go outside this afternoon. Apparently, a butterfly will do it. Isn't she lovely?







I wanted to fool around with exposures a little bit on this one. She really doesn't care that I am around. The pink lantana is a volunteer. So glad it decided to grow here. The butterflies love it.




















This one may be my favorite, just because I was able to manuever myself to get the background I wanted.

a fond memory of the 4th...

Like most everyone, I have fond memories of many 4ths. There were the barbeques, the sparklers (not allowed here but were in Indiana where I spend a couple of years as a child) and the many firework displays. I am sure our kids remember the year that a snake decided to join our barbeque. WB nonchalantly picked it up with the tongs and threw it over the wall and shouted, "Supersnake!" (No snakes were harmed.) We had the year that a tremendous thunderstorm threatened to ruin the fireworks display. It cleared just in time. Along with their grandparents, the four of us watched, lying on the wet grass with our eyes to the sky.

My favorite memory is that of the year I was fifteen. For some reason, my dad decided this would be a good day to teach me to drive. We set out in his huge Oldsmobile convertible and took to the streets. Today, I would be so uncomfortable driving a car of that size but at the time, it didn't seem so big. I was just happy to be behind the wheel. For the most part, the streets were deserted. I am sure people were enjoying their barbeques. We wandered up and down the curvy streets of the foothills. My dad was a calm teacher. (I am sorry to say when it was my turn to teach my children, I left the lessons to WB.) I wasn't nervous or scared. I felt confident steering that big yellow car in and out of the neighborhoods. There is no exciting story to tell of this day. I don't remember what we talked about. There were no accidents or defining moments. There was no profound lesson learned (except of course, I COULD DRIVE!). It was just one of those quiet, perfect times with my dad. No matter how many years had passed since that day, we would always talk on the 4th about the year he taught me to drive. I miss him...

1 second, f/14, ISO100, 70mm, tripod

a tablescape for the 4th...

It’s hot here. The rabbits are flattened out in the tree wells hoping to find some wet ground. The quail are all bunched together on the grass under the big mesquite tree, trying to find some cool. Daredevil doves are trying to ride the pool cleaner, hoping to get a drink. We just try to stay inside.


No picnicking on the grass on the 4th for us. No backyard barbeques on the patio. Well, we will probably be barbequing but we will definitely be eating inside.
The heat has faded most of my flowers. The roses are trying to hang on but the red ones aren’t happy right now. I decided to cut some crepe myrtle, thinking they would look a bit like a fireworks burst. Not so much… I don’t think I have ever used it inside before but it was the only white I have. I don’t think this will last until Sunday but I can always cut some more. I purposely kept the bouquet simple and a bit sparse. The laciness of the flowers seems to show better that way.



I got these vintage jello molds a few months ago. What actually constitutes vintage these days? It is a little disconcerting to see things in antique stores that I remember my mother having. I wasn’t sure what I would use them for or even why I wanted them. I used a few on my project table to hold little goodies. It wasn’t until after I had taken most of the photos that I thought of using them as candle holders. Does it work?


I love how different everything looks after dark.
Especially, during the blue hour...



For more tablescapes, please join Susan and everyone else at Tablescape Thursday.

neutral palette tablescape...

It seems the hotter it gets, the more I want to have a light palette of colors surrounding me. This is typical of what appeals to me this time of year - tans, white, and just a hint of green. I wasn't happy to see these tulips drooping so soon after purchase but as the day has gone on, I find myself liking them that way. Tulips are irresistible to me, even out of season.





The small plates are a Rae Dunn retail design from years ago. I like the organic feel of these dishes with their uneven edges and bumpy look. I have some other pieces that go with these that will no doubt show up in another tablescape one day.











I am a happy girl if there is a lot of texture on the table.




















I hope you are keeping cool this summer!

Please join Susan and all the other tablescapers at Between Naps on the Porch.