Bloom Day - September 15, 2009

Mother nature dropped a much needed torrent of rain on us in Central Texas a few days ago. Thanks to the BIG drink, my flowers are coming back to life just in time for Bloom day. Wheeee!!

Pride of Barbados:



Salvias:



Hyacinth Bean:



Pigeon Berry:



Yellow Bells:



Firebush:



Brazilian Petunia:



Cuphea and Snow on the Mountain:



Chocolate flower (this ones smells like choclate - yum!):



Texas Bluebells - these are still going strong. Best. Flower. Ever.:



Mexican Bush sage and Rock Rose:



Barometer Bush and Rock Rose:



Butterfly Bush:



Blue Mistflower:



Mountain Sage:




Closer:



Coral Nymph Salvia and Sweet Potato Vine:



Last Oxbloods:



Yellow Rainlily:



Blackfoot Daisy -I thought this one was dead - guess not! Thanks to the rains it has put on new growth:



Obedient Plant:



Plumbago:



Wrights Skullcap - Another one I thought was dead, but it has made a comeback:



Pink Skullcap and Frogruit:



Scarlet Runner Bean - sadly, I only have 2 of the 12 plants left that I planted this spring. The drought murdered the rest:



Thai Bush Beans:



Chili Pequin:



Turks cap:



Shrimp Plant:



Passionflower:



Tropical Sage (a hummingbird favorite):

Animal Friendly Round-UP: Can you help my friend?

Hello everyone! I don't normally post pleas to find homes for animals, but I have a friend who has an animal advocate friend here in Austin that needs to find a home for his animals. This is her request for help below. If anyone can help find a home for these animals, it would be ever-so-appreciated:

Hi Everybody – a friend of mine is in a very difficult situation right now. He’s a rescuer, and animal advocate, and as such has quite a few dogs. However he’s now found himself in the extremely painful and difficult situation of having to give up his dogs either temporarily or permanently due to some extreme personal hardships. He actually has 7 dogs, but two are already covered. That leaves these five.

Please contact me 'karen.west@amd.com' if you can help or have any leads and I can get you in touch with Timothy. Here are his descriptions of his dogs and there are photos attached as well.

BAXTER: His pic is attached. I don't really know what kind of breed he is. Someone told me some kind of Mexican mix. I never have been concerned with my dogs as far as what breed they are; I was just happy to have them in my life. Baxter really gets along well with CELESTE and JOAQUIN and even ROCKY (mentioned below), so if someone has the space, they would be a good match. I have actually tried to find a home for BAXTER before and it has never worked out well, but I think it's because he went somewhere where he was by himself; I think he really needs a buddy. Don't we all !?!? ;)))

TOOTSIE: She is my black lab (looks like JOAQUIN whose photo is attached). She is the sweetest pup around. She is so laid back and never gives me trouble. Take note, other dogs ;))) She probably would do well if she were the only dog or maybe another. She stays so much to herself, it's hard to tell. I think she is about 8-9 years old. Really super girl!

JOAQUIN: My other black lab who is a male, as opposed to TOOTSIE, but does it really matter since they have all been fixed??? ;) His pic is attached. The thing about JOAQUIN is he is very protective of the pack and me, so meeting him here is never a good thing. But when JOAQUIN gets inside your heart, he won't be leaving anytime soon. Trust me on that one!!!

ROCKY: Oh, Rocky, my three-legged Rottweiller/Ridgeback mix. He has a sad story to tell, basically one where his previous family left him in the backyard with a broken leg. Can you believe? Rocky IS big (probably creeping just over 100 pounds), but he falls into the "such a sweetheart" category. And with winter approaching, you would have yourself a wonderful "cuddle, spooning buddy." ;))) I have two pics attached for rocky, labelled as so.

CELESTE: Celeste is my German Shepherd mix. Neighbors had her but she developed this horrible Staph infection that was eating at her bone that they refused to take her to the vet for. I did and paid for it and they in the end wanted me to take her, which I did. She's a bit stubborn and not the smartest dog in the punch, but many have been taken by her kindness and beautiful eyes.

Thanks,
Karen

Baxter:


Rocky:


Rocky again:


Joaquin:


Tim and his Dogs:


Again, if you or someone you know can help, please contact Karen 'karen.west@amd.com' If you can help or have any leads, Karen can get you in touch with Timothy.

Thanks so much for your time everyone! - Lee17

Finally!! Rain!

Finally! After 2 long years of next to no rain, it is POURING today! And it isn't just a quick squall rolling through either. A low has settled over Central Texas and it is dumping the wet stuff - all day long. Woo!!

Yep, I'm taking photos of the rain:



The oxbloods are drowning in it:



This dragonfly has taken shelter in the hanging pot (he blends right in, you have to look close):



The migrating hummingbirds don't seem to mind. This guy has taken over possesion of the back porch feeder. He's dive-bombing any trespassers:



The garden stake is the perfect lookout:

Butterflies and Blooms

Gulf Fritillary:



Gulf Fritillary and Pipevine Swallowtail:



Pipevine Swallowtail:



Buckeye:



Pink Rain Lilies:





Texas Bluebells:

Oxbloods

The Oxbloods are now in full bloom:

Preparing to open:



Open:



SO deep red:



Closer: