Rosevalley - this is for you!

I am humming "My favorite things" from the Sound of music. The pictures make my heart sing. Thank you. (((hugs)))

morning rose

Hang in there, Rosevalley!

It's for you

 From my garden.

That's so sweet Lucy! Can you post pictures of the " cat family"?

Rosevalley, this scrappy friend reminds me of us. The manzanita lives in the chaparral zone - dry, rocky and inhospitable regiond in along N. America's Pacific coastal region. Its leaves are small, tight and often stand at an angle to the blazing sunlight.

Manzanita is a cousin to your beloved rhododendrons, but has concentrated its flowers into these sweet little bell shapes that are pollinated by hummingbirds here.

Friends in other places will recognize the flower shapes as heath-like or berry-like (cranberry, blueberry, huckleberry).

We've all figured out how to live in poor, dehydrated conditions and still be beautiful in essence.

It's a glorious golden sunset here. Thanks for getting me outside with my camera this afternoon.

Sending you the very essence of beauty, dear Rosevalley!

Rosevalley and friends,

I went back to the forest today, where I disturbed a skunk who only sent a scent warning to slow down, so I did...but not without these photos of the manzanitas - these are the size of small trees, though others may be rangy shrubs or even low-growing ground cover.

Their sinuous limbs, smooth dark red bark and dense wood make them touchable, traceable with fingers and palm. When the iridescent hummingbirds perch on the tiny twigs, they are more beautiful than any human-made ornament.

The way manzanita grow with and around their dead wood reminds me of us, how we incorporate our scars - the cracks where the light gets in.

Coming home by the pond, I startled a black-crowned night heron from beneath the flowering willow. It flew down bank and was resorbed by the gray-dark dead weeds. Brenda was there too.

As were you, dear Rosevalley.

Much love, Stephanie

rose. Good morning thinking of you. Hoping today is not another puke fest for you. Hugs

Hope this will lighten your heart a bit.

Taiwan Magpies

Asian Paradise Flycatcher