Love, Joy and Peas: May 2014

Friday, May 30, 2014

Raindrop Drenched Rose, Cosmos, Honeysuckle and Dianthus Flower Photos

Happy floral Friday! This week brought a lot of rain to my Maryland garden. I took these photos yesterday, after a heavy rain.

I thought the roses looked even more beautiful than usual with their raindrop dressing.

The cosmos flower was so wet with rain that I had to tip it upwards to get a photo.

Honeysuckle may not bloom for long but I love its sweet scent.

Some of the raindrops on this dianthus were perfectly round so I had to include this photo even though last week's post featured two dianthus photos.

I hope you enjoyed "this week in my Maryland Garden" and look forward to bringing you more photos next week. May God bless and keep you, dear friends!

Related posts:
Raindrops on roses, azaleas and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/10/raindrops-on-roses-azalea-camellia.html
Raindrops on pretty flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/08/raindrops-on-pretty-flowers-for-floral.html
Beautiful azalea flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/04/beautiful-azalea-close-up-photos.html
Spring floral Friday: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/05/dahlias-ranunculus-azaleas-lilacs-and.html
Leaf and raindrop photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/04/happy-earth-day-leaf-and-randrop-photos.html

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Cute Sunning Turtles for Wild Wednesday

These cute turtles were basking in the sun on a cool day at the National Zoo.

The kids in the crowd loved it when this turtle turned its head to look at us.

The turtles didn't stick to the beach but also loved lying on logs.

When this grass grows it should make a nice turtle camouflage.

Hope you enjoyed today's turtle post! May God bless and keep you, dear friends!

Related posts:
Turtle shaped malachite: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/01/gems-and-minerals-from-national-museum.html
Cute little cheetah cubs: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/07/cute-cheetah-cubs-and-wild-wednesdays.html
Cute little lion cubs: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/05/little-lion-cubs-for-wild-wednesday.html
Fishing cat kittens: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/09/fishing-cat-kitten-photos.html
Lion log hog: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/02/lion-log-hog.html

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Yellow, Blue, Purple and White Irises from My Garden

Here's the special iris flower photo post I promised in yesterday's Floral Friday feature. The yellow irises are my favorite (both because of their color and sweet scent) but I like all of our irises.

I think of these as blue irises but my visitors have proclaimed them both purple and violet.

We have just a few of these neat multicolored irises. We have a few that have the reversed colors (primarily purple-blue with hints of white and yellow) but their brief bloom time passed without a photo this year.

The white irises are the first to bloom in my Maryland garden. This picture was taken on May 9th but the rest were taken this week.

Hope you enjoyed this little photo tour of my irises. What is your favorite color iris?

Praise God, the creator of all that lives, including beautiful flowers. May He bless and keep you, dear friends!

Related posts:
Spring flowers (includes irises): http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/03/fresh-spring-flowers-this-week-in-my.html
Blue iris flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/04/first-blue-irises-of-2012.html
Aquatic Irises: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/05/flowers-at-kenilworth-aquatic-gardens.html

Friday, May 23, 2014

Mandevilla, Roses, Dianthus and Petunias: This Week in My Maryland Garden

Happy floral Friday everyone! I love spring. This week in my Maryland garden all kinds of beautiful flowers are blooming. I might do a special post of iris photos so I picked the best of my non iris bloomers of the week to share with you today. Above is my very first mandevilla plant.

I love this bicolor dianthus and even have a little caterpillar vase full of them by my computer.

These red petunias with white stripes make me smile.

Our roses have started blooming. The yellow ones smell wonderful and are some of my favorites.

These small pink dianthus plants survived our unusually cold winter. They're supposed to be annuals but I was happy to see them come back this spring.

May God bless and keep you dear friends!

Which photo do you like best? What is blooming in your area?

Related posts:
Columbines and irises: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/05/columbines-widows-tears-irises-more.html
Zinnias, roses, echinacea: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/07/zinnias-roses-joe-pye-weed-day-lilies.html
Strawberries and cream roses, chrysanthemum: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/10/autumn-maryland-garden-flower-photos.html
Fair flowers, including roses: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/09/fair-flower-photos-for-floral-friday.html
Daffodil, hellebore, primrose: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/03/pink-yellow-and-white-blooms-this-week.html

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Farewell Thayden Farrington, Great Man of God

Image source: Thayden's obituary

With a heavy heart, I bid an earthly farewell to a great man of God, father of some of the nicest young ladies on the planet and my brother in Christ, Thayden Farrington. Like Job from the Bible, Thayden remained strong in his walk with God, even after experiencing great personal loss and extreme health challenges. He truly lived the Christian life.

While those who love him grieve his passing, we know that he is with our Savior in heaven, free from the wicked pain of severely metastasized cancer and experiencing joy beyond our human imaginings. My mom pictures him "dancing with Jesus."

His viewing is tonight and while I won't be able to attend physically, I'll be there in spirit, praying for his family and all those grieving his passing. I wrote these two haiku poems in his honor.

Thayden Farrington

a great man of God and friend

We know you're with Christ.

Our hearts mourn for you.

Your passing is the world's loss.

We'll miss you, Thayden!

May God comfort and bless all those who mourn Thayden's passing and may He bless you too.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Little Lion Cubs for Wild Wednesday

This weekend I was totally blessed by watching two of the National Zoo's super cute lion babies playing in their outside habitat. They had calm moments, like the lounging lion cub above, and wild moments on their own, together and with their mom and aunt. Their aunt had a litter of four more cubs and rumor has it that those cubs will be on view around Father's day.

I loved these adorable little lion cubs at first sight when they dashed into the yard full of energy.

You can see how small the cubs are compared to their mama lion.

The lion cubs aren't as stealthy as they think they are (their mom seemed to know where they were at all times) but they are definitely fun to watch.

Even something simple like chewing on a log is incredibly cute (consider the paw to head size ratio - adorable)!

May God bless the lions, their keepers and may He bless you too, dear friend!

Related posts:
Baby tigers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/11/sunlit-tiger-cub-cuteness-photos.html
Cheetah cubs: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/07/more-cute-cheetah-cub-photos.html
Fishing cat kittens: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/09/fishing-cat-kitten-photos.html
Tiger cubs play in snow: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/02/baby-tigers-playing-in-snow-photos.html
Andean bear cubs playing: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/08/andean-bear-cubs-playing-and-eating.html

Friday, May 16, 2014

Dahlias, Ranunculus, Azaleas, Lilacs and Bleeding Hearts: This Week in My Maryland Garden

Happy Friday, dear friends! Back by popular request is my weekly "This Week in My Maryland Garden" feature. I hope you enjoy these photos fresh from our spring yard.

The dahlia and ranunculus plants should keep producing flowers throughout the summer and possibly into fall.

The azalea flowers are a fleeting beauty. Although I've seen some at the National Arboretum bloom in the fall, ours only bloom for a few weeks in the spring. But they are beautiful when in bloom.

The lilacs are in full bloom this week and smell wonderful. Two of our lilac bushes are rebloomers so as long as we remove the old flowers we should get additional flowers throughout the summer.

The pretty hot pink and white bleeding hearts, like the azaleas, are beautiful but only bloom in spring. Unlike the azalea foliage, which stays green for most of the year, these old fashioned bleeding hearts have foliage that turns yellow and then dies back.

Those are the highlights in our Maryland garden this week! Be sure to come back next Friday for more garden photos. May God bless and keep you!

What's blooming in your garden now? What are your favorite flowers to grow and/or see?

Related posts:
Happy spring garden photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/03/happy-spring-floral-photos-this-week-in.html
Rainy day flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/05/rainy-day-flowers-this-week-in-my.html
Azaleas, ghost ferns, tulips and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/04/azaleas-lilacs-ghost-ferns-tulips-and.html
Raindrops on roses, camellias and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/10/raindrops-on-roses-azalea-camellia.html

Friday, May 9, 2014

Happy Mother's Day - Three Haiku Poems

Purple/Pink Zinnia by Phyllis Wheeler

Happiest Mother's Day wishes, dear friends! I hope you enjoy these little haiku poems I wrote in honor of mothers everywhere.

I praise God for the great mothers in my life, my own beloved Mom, Mother-in-law, Grandmother, Grandma, Great Grandmas, Sisters in Law and Sisters of the Heart. They show love and grace in so many ways and I love them dearly. I miss those who've gone on to be with the Lord but they have left their wonderful legacy of love on my heart and in my life and I am thankful for the time I did have with them.

Mother's Day Haiku I

A mother's love is

our strongest earthly bond and

no one loves us more.

Mother's Day Haiku II

God, please bless my Mom

even more abundantly

than she has blessed me.

Mother's Day Haiku III

Thank you, dear mother,

for all your sacrifices

and boundless, deep love.