Our Usual August Cooldown

Yesterday and today were beautiful Northern California days with the overcast skies and cool weather that often come around the first or second week of August to give us a wee break from the heat. We were just having mid-90's heat two days ago so I gladly welcomed the cooldown so I could work outside today and get some weeding done that I can't do in full-sun areas when the temps are up. It was also a perfect opportunity to photograph outdoors without harsh shadows.

Here are a just few of my favorite shots...

View from the front door

Drop Dead Red Sunflowers

Camoflage Moth

Newly weeded flower bed (gotta love that!)

My Valentine Balloon Finally Sank

How long is a helium mylar balloon supposed to last?

Is it supposed to continue to float for almost 6 months?

That's how long my Valentine balloon has lasted. It still is hovering over the floor by a little over a foot, but technically it really has sunk.

We've been amazed how long it's lasted. It has floated in the Tiki Room all this time since Valentine's Day. During that time, every time I've come down the stairs in the morning I see it and smile at the reminder of the fun Valentine's Day we had back in February and the cute Valentine's surprises my husband put around the house to make me smile on Valentine's Day morning. That stubborn balloon has made it possible for me to "celebrate" Valentine's Day (a favorite holiday of mine because of the red and pink stuff all around) for almost an entire 6 months! That's been fun for me to experience.

But more importantly, the balloon has been an interesting symbol of why my husband gave it to me in the first place. He gave it to me because he loves me. And the balloon has been unwilling to "die" just as my husband consistently is unwilling to let his love for me wane in the face of the many trials we've faced together during our almost decade of marriage. He, like the stalwart shiny red balloon, has brought a smile to my face daily as he has reminded me of what matters most in life.

And although the Valentine balloon is finally sinking to the ground, my husband remains tall and strong in his obvious devotion to us and our marriage. For that, I love him beyond words.

Why the Right Water Source Is So Important In My Habitat

One of the four main components necessary in order to have a backyard wildlife habitat is a source of water. I always assumed it was for the birds and that a birdbath would suffice. It wasn't until I put in a pond a few years ago that I realized that the water sustains more than just the birds and that a birdbath doesn't really cut it particularly for important insects, like honeybees, that often drown in it while trying to get water.

I designed my pond based on the guidelines I found at the National Wildlife Federation's website on backyard wildlife habitats (it is also where I eventually applied for and received my official certification from the NWF).

NWF's guidelines suggested that somewhere in the pond needed to be protruding rocks for smaller creatures to be able to get to the water or out of the water if they fell in accidentally.

NWF's guidelines also suggested possibly a "beach" area that sloped into the water so the transition was gradual. Again, it was for smaller creatures to be able to access the water without falling in and drowning.

I did both in my pond just for safe measure. I put in an "island" with rocks of all sizes on it, and I also made a flowing water current over river rock that was set on a beach-like area. The water current starts from a waterfall over flat rocks and then passes on both sides of that "island" in a Y to the main deeper section of the pond where the pump is located that sends the water back up to the bio-filter and then out over the flat rocks and back down the river rock again. It's kind of a closed system beach, creek bed and pond all in one.

This evening as I was out feeding the fish before sunset (they're favorite feeding time), I noticed once again why my design and the NWF guidelines are so critical to my habitat. The honeybees were coming down to the water's edge on the big round river rocks at the tip of the Y and getting sips of water as it gurgled by. The bees like to get down in the crevices between the rocks on the island in little groups. It's quite enchanting to watch them. I can get within inches of them, and they've never stung me. They are too busy getting the precious water to be concerned with me.

As I watched them, I knew that they had just finished a busy day of humming from one bee-friendly flower in my garden to the next. They probably lighted on the newly bloomed sunflowers in the front garden at some point today (bees love sunflowers). They also probably sampled the canna lilies too just as the hummingbirds do. And then I'm sure they did the job that I need them to do of pollinating all the blossoms in my fruit and vegetable garden in raised boxes throughout the flower gardens (done to encourage balance in good insect population so I don't have to use pesticides on my produce--this is the year 6 that I haven't had to use ANY).

I had my camera with me this evening, and I photographed the bees as they got their drinks before going back the hive for the night, wherever it may be. And I found myself being thankful that I had made my gardens a wildlife habitat. I found myself grateful that the honeybees have not disappeared from my little part of the world.

Want to see more cute bugs?

Living Life in Technicolor

A friend recently shared with me that previous to a recent spiritual journey of self-discovery her life was just going along and then after finding what she'd been looking for suddenly her "world was in technicolor". I realized that what she had just said encapsulated in a few words what I feel my life has been like as of late.

My life and my world here feels as if it's in technicolor.

Yet, there are times when I get so caught up in the whirl of life that I forget to just take a chance to look around and enjoy what I've been blessed with--the "technicolor".

This week has been like that. Then I received an email from my husband who was working from home in his office right next door to my studio (aren't we the "new millenium couple" emailing each other from adjacent bedrooms?). I'm not sure what prompted him to write the email titled "Why I love our home", but it was just what I needed to get myself grounded again in what really matters.

I won't share the entire email here because some is very personal but there were some sweet phrases that I thought I would share.



Why I love our home...

I love the fact that we don’t have residential neighbors in back. We have lots of little critters that use it as a highway and hunting ground.

I love how quiet our street is. With exception of the occasional motorcycle we don’t have a busy street.

I love where we are situated in relation to everything. We are ideally located.

I love how big the lot is. We have the largest backyard I’ve ever lived in and your gardens are always spectacular [even though the back garden is still a work-in-progress].

I love the color. We have a wonderfully light yellow and white house which invokes cheery and happy feelings for the house in which we live.

I love the cracked driveway. It means that we’re not pretentious.

I love the windows. Kitties love the windows too.

I love the studio. You have designed a great place in which to design, build, manage, and enjoy the art that you do.

I have my own office. I love having my own place where I can work; it’s nice that Dee Dee likes to sleep in her little box next to me too.


I'm so grateful that he took the time to write these things down and share them with me. I needed the perspective. I tend to focus so much on what needs to be done that I often forget to look at what is complete and whole just the way it is.

I tend to do that with the back garden. That's why I decided to share some photos of the gardens even though they are still works-in-progress (aren't all gardens really just that anyway????). They're far from where I eventually want them, but in the meantime I've found ways to have little serene meditation areas that I can enjoy right now like my spot under the plum tree by the pond.

And maybe that's the whole trick to this gardening thing anyway!

Ode to Fancy Paws and Copy Cats

Living with my own little cat colony has taught me a lot about the psychology of the domestic feline. I also think I've discovered the root of the phrase "copy cat". Cats like to immitate each other's behavior. It's true!

Let me illustrate with one little example from the felines here at Rosehaven Cottage...

I've grown up with at least one cat in my home ever since I was six years old and held up my end of a bargain that I would not suck my thumb anymore and in return I would get a cat. Since that time I've always had one around being my furry little friend.


During all that time I didn't have the pleasure of having any of our cats display what we have now dubbed "fancy paws". "Fancy paws" are when one of the cats is laying down with its paws crossed in front of it in a very prissy and proper manner.

When we moved to Rosehaven Cottage, we acquired the first two kitties of Rosehaven--Dexter and Dee Dee. I never saw them cross their paws in fancy-paw fashion for the first 2 years that we had them.

Then when the other kitties were introduced into the household when Dexter and Dee Dee were 2 years old, everything changed. The younger kittens (we still call them "the kittens") didn't take long before their little limbs were longer and lankier. Suzette began to exhibit the fancy-paw behavior. She had picked it up from her mother, I think.

It didn't take long before the other kitties starting doing it. Even Dexter and Dee Dee did it on occasion.

A year or two after that, we brought the old neighborhood tomcat in after he was neutered so he could retire in luxury. Tom Tom hadn't done fancy paws at all in the years that I had known him since we had first moved in and he was already residing in and around our gardens.

But it wasn't very long after he came in the house before I saw Tom Tom laying with fancy paws! He saw Suzette doing it and got the idea from her! Cats are "copy cats". I'm telling you, it's true!

And just today, Lydia (my puffy silver princess) took fancy paws to a whole new level. She had three of her four paws crossed and stacked perfectly on the other (at right is the photographic proof).

I can't wait to see how long it takes for this new trend to catch on!

This Morning's Glory: Ipomoea in Bloom

I walked out onto my front porch this morning to find this lovely and striking surprise. The seedlings were acquired from my friend (a horticulture pro) that had leftovers she'd grown for a nursery. I gladly took some of the climbers anticipating the wonderful color. I never anticipated this color though. The photo is pretty true to the actual vibrance of the flower but still doesn't quite catch it all. Then I went into the back garden and found the small red surprise below. I love garden surprises like this.