Our daily dose of JOY!

26 Aug '07 9:46 am

Jack! I just returned to check my problematic computer, and discovered it was still on on Moosey's!

What a horrible experience!!Having lived mostly in appartment buildings, I have never experienced such a thing!! Just awful!! I am SO sorry!! The same for Jacqueline...

What is a really horrible actual reality for me, though, is that I just learnt on the TV ( which I seldom turn on..), that 53 people have been burnt alive in my country, Greece...This has NEVER happened before in such cases...It is UN-believable!! ALL Governments there -present and prior- have to be presented to Justice!! What an enormous irresponsibility!! What a massive tragedy!! How many times serious people in the past have stated, that a country like ours has to be much better organized against fire destruction...Already Greece has made many steps ahead on its serious earthquake problems, after a lot of tragedies have happened...Maybe now, after SO many innocent people have lost their lives, Greece will be better organized against fire as well...

29 Aug '07 2:10 am

Many thanks to you both, Liza and Jack for your sweet and kind comments on my pictures! I’m into my second year of capturing images and am truly enjoying myself immensely, besides marvelling at nature's awesomeness through the lens! Smile

Dear Jack, I do so love butterflies and dragonflies and hope to see more of them in our garden. I can spend hours on my pc just delighting myself over all the wonderful pictures of these gorgeous creatures posted over the internet! And you said that there are thousands of species?...how amazing! As for rats infesting your area too, hope you find a solution to rid of their presence! Oh, I detest them so! Evil or Very Mad

Dear Gordon, since you’ve enquired how rats can exist at our place?...well, firstly, there are two huge dumpsters located at the 5-storeyed apartments opposite our home, across the road...secondly, kitchen scraps etc. are not properly disposed into garbage bins or blatantly thrown into drains by irresponsible residents and thirdly, there’s a business centre about 5-10 mins. walking distance from our home which includes a lot of restaurants, eateries and food stalls besides shopping mall and Cineplex...so, dear friend you can just picture the scenario...and our garden being so conducive a hiding place at night for these rodents to enjoy their meal without disturbance and leaving bones/remnants in our garden beds! Anyway, the good news is my hubby had recently seen a stray cat or two sheltering under our car during the afternoon heat, so hopefully they’ll leave their scent as deterrent and the rodents will stay out of our frontyard for good! We usually keep our front doors closed for fear of snakes or frogs creeping in, so in a way there’s no chance of these rodents running into our home...eek, I'll definitely faint seeing one inside!

Dear Liza, like others I’m also truly saddened by all the disastrous happenings in your motherland. My sympathy and prayers for you and especially all those affected, where lives are lost, property and livelihood are destroyed. Work of arsonists, it seems to develop forestlands...the usual sorry tale of greed and avarice? It had occurred in our country too, but fortunately we have our tropical rains to help battle it besides our competent fire department. As in our country too, it usually takes a massive tragedy where lives are lost before the authorities will really take effort and pains to prevent another similar tragedy!

29 Aug '07 5:22 pm

Hi, again, Liza;

Now I understand how you could have such a problem with those little creatures. Thanks! Smile

As for the fires in Greece, I concur with the other comments. I heard on the news today that Canada will be sending a small fleet of some very large water bombers there to help. But why it always seems to take so long before such actions are taken is beyond me! By the time they arrive, the fires could well be out! Our largest water bombers are based just a few miles from where I live, and they are HUGE! Let's hope they will do some good upon arrival in Europe!

Cheers!

gordonf

12 Nov '07 3:42 am

Here's sharing some pictures of our garden joy, taken since my last post. Enjoy please! Smile

12 Nov '07 3:51 am

Previous post refuse to accept more than 20 images, I didn't know there's a limit! So continuing here with remaining 3 photos of newly added vines that need identification. Please ID if you know, thanks! Smile

12 Nov '07 4:54 am

Jacqueline!! I just feel SO great watching ALL your latest marvellous creations together!! It is a pure treat for mind-body-spirit!!

That magical beauty, "Duranta Repens", and the "Cattleya Orchid", what enchanting marvels!! Your lovely Maxi's capture is SO cute!

Yes!! ALL your captures are a real treat!! Thank you , dear friend, for sharing them with us!! Very Happy

12 Nov '07 6:52 am

Jacqueline, you are a true artist. Your compositions, and then your framing, are lovely and you present us with such an amazingly intricate portrait of your garden, despite its tiny size. Tomorrow at school I shall download them all (for free Smile

) and study them in more detail.

Your new pink vine seems to me to be Mandevilla - a real beauty, one that I would love to grow here but can't. The one with the variegated leaves looks terribly familiar, I have seen it in our sub-tropical gardens... will think about it!

Lovely to see your work again!

12 Nov '07 1:57 pm

Jacqueline, you have made up for lost time with this latest post of all your beauties, including the ones you created with your knowledge of Photoshop. I am very envious of this, by the way. I have to agree with Jack about the Mandevilla and about the vine with variegated leaves looking very familiar. I think it is because it resembles the leaves of a Rex Begonia that I have. It may be a relative of that genus even though a vine. The vine with yellow flowers is not one I recognize. I will try to do some research on these two mystery vines.

12 Nov '07 4:54 pm

Your portrait of Maxi is so pro! You caught him with the fullest smile possible on a dog. Looks like he has the same fond regard for food that my Sophie has. I also enjoyed the reptile photos. My sister-in-law Nora who grew up in the Phillipines tells me about growing up with geckos roaming the walls to feed on insects that got indoors. I think that would be great. I'd just like to get some to move into my garden even but no luck so far.

The beeetle dishes look scrumptuous. So elegantly arranged. The presentation is first rate. I kid you of course, but when I first looked at the small size of the photo that is what it looked like to me. Nice looking bettle. That multicolored helliconia is unusally shaped, well, at least compared to the couple I've seen. Definitely my color range.

Your 'Salmon' cape honeysuckle looks a little lighter in coloration than mine. That reminds me that I need to get a close up of mine for comparison. Tomorrow should be sunny enough. We've actually been getting a little rain and tonight it is pretty cold, into the 40's F.

Thanks for the tour and a hug for your Maxi!

12 Nov '07 4:57 pm

Jacqueline - Your pictures took my breath away! First, I agree with the others about the Mandevillea - we can grow them here as annuals, but I have yet to see any in a private garden. I have no idea about the other two.

Max is a wonderful dog!! He appears to be so very alert. I'd just like to cuddle him!!

Do you know what kind of bug that is in the collage? It's sure pretty! Your front garden is wonderful - are the small hanging pots holding more orchids? The close-up you took of the yellow one is stunning! They sell ones like that in the grocery stores here, but they always die for me!! Sad

I can't get over how quickly plants mature to blooming size there - six months from a cutting, and it looks like a shrub!! Wow!

All the best,
gordonf

Our daily dose of JOY!

What a dreadful experience!! And...burnt alive...

Rats

New updates

Continuing...New updates

My God!!

Art!

Such Beauty to Take the Breath Away

Lots to admire here today, Jacqueline.

A Sight for Sore Eyes!!