...almost time to say goodbye

It's almost enough to make one want to stay home!  

Just kidding - who in their right mind would pass 

up the fabulous opportunity to 

go on an African safari.

The old World War I marching song comes to mind ~

"Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag and smile, smile, smile".......

So smiling I am as I continue to stuff every corner of my kit-bag backpack 
and hope that it gets to its destination safely. 
We'll arrive in Johannesburg Saturday and fly out on Sunday to Botswana's awesome 
Abu Elephant Camp - click to see.

Gotta run, my old clocks are ticking away, lots still to do!

Not sure I'll be able to post or comment while gone.........just know I'll miss keeping up and
will be thinking of you.

Berry sweet!

Local strawberries are coming in and they are the sweetest by far.

Berries seem to be available just about any time of year now. Arriving from points far off, surviving cold storage and quick transportation across thousands of miles, you can have your morning bowl of berries fifty two weeks a year. Often they are just not that great - aging and too soft, or hard and tasteless. 

Great sign for sale at SuzAnna's Antiques

I bought this basket of strawberries last week - they were alongside the local blueberries at the grocery store, both from the same farm just a few miles outside the city. They had been picked that morning, probably stacked carefully in a little pickup truck with scraped paint and muddy tires, an old hound dog in the passenger seat catching the breeze through the open window, and driven up the highway, no further than 15 miles or so. They are double delicious, we've thoroughly enjoyed them...........and there are enough left for one more 'bowl of berries' or a strawberry shortcake for dessert.

Would you like to live on a berry farm?

Do you ever go to a farm to 'pick your own' fruits or veggies?

The white garden.................

Leaving the garden at this time of year is really difficult.  

Beauty is everywhere..........but weeds still 

grow and flowers require daily attention. 

The grass needs only a shower, followed by 

warm sunshine, to push skyward, begging 

for a weekly haircut.

This week, prior to leaving we're mowing, 

trimming and deadheading. 

While outside I'm noticing the 

stunning white flowers now blooming. The perfume 

from this Madonna lily (Lilium candidum), an 

Easter pot plant from several years ago 

transplanted to the garden, permeates the

air as I climb the front steps.

In the back garden where there is plenty of shade, 

the white-flowered hosta is in bloom.

Pretty petunias............white with 

yellow centers are my favorite tucked into pot.

 The Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) 

doesn't bloom in my garden. Although I love 

these native flowering trees, prevalent in 

my neighborhood and all over town, they are 

difficult to manage in a small garden, growing 

tall and full and, although evergreen, drop 

messy leaf litter year round.

The blooms are magnificent and the perfume heavy 

and heady. On Friday, my sweet friend Maryann, brought 

me this exquisite bloom from her tree...........

what a lovely gift. Just one of these pure

white flowers perfumed the downstairs 

of the cottage the entire weekend.