Tiny Kale

Kale near the front door. I should have planted it earlier, because it's still pretty small. There are 2 of them and I think I planted them around Thanksgiving. Next year... think October 1st!!

Christmas Pets... Lucky, Hot Wheels & Jean

Deer, deer, deer. Oh Dear!

This is outside the passenger window on the road that runs behind our house. I used a flash, so all these deer must be more like 40 feet away, not 10 feet. But it felt like they were sitting in the seat next to me. Yesterday Keith and I saw about 30 deer right across the street from this field. Guess it's because we've had such a very mild winter.

Merry Christmas!

Getting ready for Christmas. Not much snow yet, but lots of Christmas spirit!

Warm December Weather!

Sunny day

I've been raking leaves and playing outside. Today is a pretty November day with blue, blue skies and hardly a cloud in sight.

A Visit from Jack Frost

We're supposed to have sun during Thanksgiving Weekend. Yahoo! This morning Jack Frost paid a visit so all of my photos have a little bit of the frosty glow.

Big Beautiful Hibiscus in Bloom!

The weather outside has been really crummy. Wet, cold and damp. So I'm taking some liberty with this blog. This hasn't really been in "the backyard" since mid October when it started getting chilly... but this hibiscus sure does love it where it's nice and warm in the office!

Big Buck in the Backyard

Day before yesterday when I was driving to work, I rounded the corner and almost came face to face (or car to nose) with a BIG BUCK. Luckily, he didn't hit my car, but continued walking along thru the field behind my house. I grabbed my camera and rolled the window down to get a photo of him. Lots 'o antlers!!



It took me this long to get the shot just before he went into the woods surrounding our house. It's just a little woods... probably less than an acre. Hard to believe a guy this big could survive. I know that there are at least 5 other deer that live in there, because we've seen them. The dogs seem to keep them at bay during the day, but I think the deer are starting to understand the whole electric dog fence system because they are getting braver and braver.

First Snow

Last night we had our first snow. Time to put the deck chairs and table away for winter.

Deer Season in the Backyard

I don't recall ever seeing so many deer as I have this fall. Yesterday I saw 3 in the morning, 7 at night... just in my short drive to work and back. They just glance up from time to time... then go back to grazing.

These deer were only about 25 feet from the road and not the least bit intimated by the flash from my camera, or the honking horns of passing by cars, or even shouting strangers yelling at them. In fact, these deer were just about as tame as the cows on the east side of the road.

This photo was taken at dusk from the car window. The deer are standing in the field just behind our house.

I used to like deer, you know, so graceful and calm. That was until a big buck jumped on my hood one December evening and demolished the front quarter panels, grill and hood of my relatively-new car (only 7,000 miles on it), breaking off his antler into the passenger side window.

The guy at the repair shop just told me, "You're just lucky he didn't come thru the windshield, the last car I did, the driver was impaled by the horns." Ever since his comment, I look at deer in a whole new light.

LifeCenter Plus -- the Garden

Beautiful sunshine yesterday morning at LifeCenter.
Here's some of their beautiful garden foliage
sparkling in the sunshine!

Same day, Afternoon sun

This photo was taken on 10/26 Thursday -- same day as the previous photo -- but what a difference some sun and blue sky makes. You can see the grass never got brown this summer of fall.

Peaceful Ohio Backyard in Autumn

It's late to have this many leaves still on the trees. And many are still green. Here's a few photos from the deck in the backyard. The frost on the ground kept me from venturing onto the lawn.

Burst of Sunlight in the Backyard

The sun came out for a few minutes before the dark clouds covered it again. Hey, I'll take whatever sunshine I can get!! It's those little things that make the difference!

Almost "MAG" at Mogadore Reservoir

When I was a kid we used to take long Sunday drives through the countryside throughout Northeast Ohio during the change of the autumn leaves. We would ooh and aah like they were fireworks. My mom had the most enthusasium and would exclaim "Magnificient" so often that we ended up shortening the word to simply "MAG" when there was an especially beautiful tree.

Yesterday when I was driving from Hartville to Hudson after a meeting, I stopped at Mogadore Reservoir to capture some of the fall beauty.

I think it's the combination of yellow, green and firey red that I like best. I love the red trees, but they really look great against the yellow and green.

This morning the rain is pounding down and I'm sure a lot of the leaves are going to fall. I was hoping it would hold off a few more days because we still have a lot of green trees around here, but I was just happy to capture some of it yesterday with the camera.

Watching the leaves change and experiencing the range of colors is one of the best things about living in Northeast Ohio.

Just a Few Flowers Left

Beautiful crisp fall weather! Don't you just love early fall?! As you can see the leaves haven't changed yet. This photo was taken on Sunday morning 10/8/06 about 8 am.

My "lemon drops" hug the ground now. They're really thick and will look GREAT next June:


Only the eyes of the Black Eyed Susans remain:


Can't believe the Climatus is blooming... and check out those buds right behind the flower!


A couple of flowers from the hanging basket:

4 Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Porch

The one on the far right is the "renegade" pumpkin.

Pumpkin Patch on a Friday

Yesterday was the perfect fall Friday. My sister and I went to the country and picked out some pumpkins... including a renegade runaway pumpkin with gravel in his skin.

Somehow I managed to come home without a pack of cornstalks in my car's trunk, but we got the pumpkins! We got a beautiful mum for the front steps that is just gorgeous.

Night sky in the backyard

Cold. Wet. Rainy. Fall is here.

It's rainy and wet and cold today. Poor kitty was out all night. Take a look at these shriveled leaves on the lilac bushes. Brrrr. Lawn is still plenty green though with all this rain!

Ready for Autumn

Looks like we're in for some autumn rain. It's time to trim down the plants and get ready for the coming months. The ivy is trying to take over the side of the house again. Pretty. But it really wrecks the siding!

Sedum - Really Red Now

Beekeeping on a Saturday

I got brave yesterday and got up close to get these photos of beekeeping in action.

Asperagus Ferns

Dainty. Delicate looking. Dew. Berries.
Whispy ferns. Almost magestic. Surreal.

Lawn Lines

August and September weather has been awesome for growing. Even the lawn! I love the way freshly mowed grass smells. Look how GREEN everything is! Hard to believe that fall is around the corner.

Roses of Sharon

Last summer my lavendar roses were gorgeous. Regal, almost.

This summer there are more buds, multiple flowers.

Mini Daisy & Church Cherry

Little daisy flowers are so nice and dainty. Seems like everything is beginning to fade except some purple and white flowers. The cherry tree is outside my church. They look like something you'd see in June, not mid September!