Early Gift From Mother Nature!

We had our second snow of the season lastnight and awoke to some mighty pretty scenery in our yard. With all the moisture from the snow the Maple leaves are dropping quickly! I had to rush outside and snap a few shots before it was gone.

In other parts of our yard the leaves are still nice and green. The photo on the right is of our forsythia bush...still covered with green leaves. It was absolutely gorgeous. I LOVE THE SNOW!

And to top it all off...a Stellar's Bluejay made quite a racket as it raced from one tree to the next. I've seen TWO....I said TWO...Bluejay's in this area in my whole life. What a lovely gift from God for a Sunday morning...Thank you Father!

Keeping Up With the Jones'. OR The Grass IS Always Greener

I work pretty hard on my yard during the summer. I get a great sense of satisfaction in seeing plants grow and blossom, and the yard turning greener and greener. However, it seems that no matter what I do...my yard does not look as good as my neighbor's yard does (incidentally my neighbor's last name is Jones). The Jones' yard always looks so green, shady and inviting. They have a cute little deck out back covered with baskets of flowers and plants. No deck at my house, although I quickly purchased a few hanging baskets of my own!

I also mow the lawn of another neighbor...a little 96 year old widow who can use a little help with her place in the summer. Once I am in her yard, I can look across the street into my own yard...and dang! It looks pretty good. The lawn is green and well-groomed. Flowers bloom all around the house. It looks pretty inviting--from across the street, that is!

One day I was complimenting John Jones on how great his yard was looking. He just sheepishly grinned and said, "Well it should look good. It's practically killing me keeping up with your yard". I didn't have the heart to tell him I was trying to keep pace with him! Aren't we all the same?