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A few days ago I wandered around my various gardens with a camera in hand and came up with these images. It actually didn't rain that day, I used a spray bottle to give the plants this dewy look. Enjoy! 

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A wee visitor to our front garden the other day. Hummingbirds are beautiful and fascinating little creatures.

A Sign of the Times

Seen at the garden tour a few days ago. This truck made all the same stops along the tour as we did so I spotted it multiple times throughout the day. I was sorely tempted to post this photo on Independence Day, but I played nice. 😉

2026 Colorado Springs Garden Tour (Part 2)

Here are the rest of my snaps from the garden tour this year. Lots of inspiring plantings!

2026 Colorado Springs Garden Tour (Part 1)

Happy Independence Day to my US readers! Last Sunday I hit up the annual garden tour with my friend JB. Most of the stops this year were in my brother's neighborhood, actually. I didn't take a ton of pictures, although as usual all the gardens were very nice indeed. More to come.

Busy

It's springtime, hooray! This means my garden is happily abuzz with busy bees. Here's one hard at work in our front yard.

June 2026 Theme Day: Sky

Well I took an unannounced break from the blog all of last week. It just sort of happened, I didn't plan to go AWOL! I was on "staycation" and busied myself with all kinds of projects around the house and garden. The weather was rainy for several days on end and that made it difficult to take any pictures, then I was scurrying to catch up on outside projects when the sun finally came out. So basically, I didn't have any pictures to share here. Anyway, I just realized that today is the first day of June, so that means it's Theme Day! This month the theme is sky. I did a little digging in my archives and there were lots of photos that fit the bill, but I thought this one was a standout. It was taken on January 29, 2021, and it sure looks like I was standing in the parking lot of our downtown library to get this awesome view of the Peak.

For more takes on the theme, check out the City Daily Photo portal HERE. Enjoy!

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I was at the water wise demonstration garden up on the mesa a few days ago, and although most of the plants were only starting to emerge from their winter slumber, the cactus were already in full bloom and putting on a nice show.

May 2026 Theme Day: Fruit

I can't believe that April is already in our rearview mirror but here we are, the first of May and that means it's Theme Day for City Daily Photo bloggers again! This month the theme is fruit. Did you know that tomatoes are botanically classified as fruit and not vegetables? We think of fruit as sweet, which tomatoes definitely aren't, but there you have it.

I mentioned last month that this year I'm focusing even more than usual on my favorite hobbies in an effort to save my sanity from all the madness out there, the hobbies in question being reading, sewing and gardening. Last year my vegetable garden was quite disappointing, thanks to climate change, basically. I had many friends around here who experienced the same sad results as I did, so I don't feel too badly about it. But hope springs eternal, that's the lovely thing about gardening -- there's always next year, right? About three weeks ago sowed five or six varieties of tomato and they're all in the cute seedling stage now. It never ceases to amaze me that within a few short months, such tiny seeds result in plants taller than me, laden with... fruit!

For more takes on fruit from CDP bloggers all over the planet, click HERE. Enjoy!

April 2025 Theme Day: Entertainment

Every first of the month, City Daily Photo bloggers participate in Theme Day, and this time the theme is entertainment. Sewing may not seem like a good time to you, but honestly it's probably my favorite hobby at the moment. This is my beloved sewing machine. It's well over 20 years old, but I refuse to replace it even though Pat periodically threatens to buy me a fancy new one.

This year I have decided to really lean into the things that bring me joy, and I've identified them specifically: gardening, reading and sewing. The reason for this is the current administration and the daily chaos that it brings. I need to actively envelop myself in happiness! I don't know about you, but personally speaking the last time this creep was president it was just perpetual, 24 hour stress for four straight years, alarm bells constantly clanging in my head. Doing the things that I love, and spending time with the people that I love -- that's what's keeping me sane right now. The photo below shows my current work in progress: a vintage looking Hawaiian shirt for my beloved Pat. I can't wait to see it on him.

For more interpretations of entertainment by CDP bloggers all over the globe, click HERE. Enjoy!

San Clemente (Part 1)

We spent all of last week in California visiting our good friends Janet and Ethan, their daughter Rachel, and Janet's cousin Arthur. They live in San Clemente, toward the bottom of Orange County. As you can see, it was quite chilly and very rainy. Not exactly what you think of when you conjure up sunny southern California in your mind's eye! It wasn't until our last full day there that the sun came out. The bad weather didn't bother us though; we actually stayed "home" for the most part and didn't do much in the way of sightseeing. Mostly we helped out with projects around their house, which is why you see a picture of a very soggy garden center at the bottom of this post -- I helped them plant an herb and veggie garden in the rain! I love gardening, even if I get soaked. More (sunnier) pictures tomorrow!

Sunday Style!

A few more stylish folks that I spied at the Chelsea Flower Show in May of 2024. Next Sunday I'll finish up my London style series.

Sunday Style!

A few more style standouts at the Chelsea Flower Show from our trip to London in May of 2024.

The Great (Big) Pumpkin

I randomly spotted this behemoth pumpkin while driving to the post office on Saturday afternoon. On the way home I made it a point to stop and take a picture. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity. After all, how often do you see a pumpkin as big as a Volkswagen? I wonder how much this beast weighs! I assume it was grown to such enormous proportions for some sort of competition. What exactly does one do with a pumpkin this size when all is said and done? I'm sure the neighborhood squirrels have a few ideas. 😉

In the Pink

Another semi lost image that's been lurking on my hard drive since October. I can't remember exactly where I took this but I think it may have been on Caramillo Street. I generally don't love this particular shade of Barbie pink, but in nature I think it's lovely.

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Well I don't have anything new to show you today, so here's one of my garden snapshots from last year, taken on October 12th if you can believe it. It looks like it was taken in high summer but the butterflies always seem to show up late in the year around here.

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Today the weather vacillated repeatedly between "too darn hot" and "imminent violent thunderstorm." Either way it kept me inside, so I don't have anything particularly exciting to share with you other than this pretty shot taken in our front garden on August 10th.

Something to Be Happy About!

Colorado Springs' best garden center, The Good Earth, closed down a year or two ago after decades in business, and everyone's been sad about it, including me. I recently learned that a new garden center will soon be opening in its old location. Hooray! It will be called Pura Vida. That tells me that the owners must either be Costa Rican or simply love Costa Rica. It doesn't officially open until next spring, but they're having an open house this Saturday and I plan on going.

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A peek at our lavender garden in midsummer. This was taken about a week ago. As you can see, the bees are enjoying it very much.