Wood and Weeds

A few weeks ago The Mister fell (felled?) a 50ft Juniper tree that died in our front yard. It had been poorly for a couple of years, but this winter it was completely gone. It stood right in front of the house; a hazard when hurricane season comes. So he put on his Husqvarna chaps and gassed up the chain saw, which is always a little scary for me. I usually watch all the action while peeking through my fingers as my hands cover my face.

Taking down trees can be tricky business, but The Mister and The Boy have it all down to a science. Once the tree is on the ground, The Boy takes a hand saw and starts cutting off all the branches while The Mister uses the chain saw to trim the trunk in bits. Before long the two of them have it all stacked up in neat piles out by the pit, ready for the end of summer and cooler nights by the fire. I thought they looked so pretty there all stacked up and tidy. I really love the color of the woods: greens, browns, yellows, with little splashes of color here and there. There is never a time when there isn't a flower blooming. Right now the Gardenia is so fragrant, so classically beautiful. Another happy bloom in blossom is the Magnolia. We don't have one in our yard, but I wish we did.

I love taking photos of all the little things in our garden. I've decided I need to save my pennies for a macro lens. I am really enjoying my new camera, but I'm having trouble getting clear pictures of small things, like those delicate white blossoms, and the purple ones too (if you know what those are, I'd love to know.)

The "strawberries" in our front yard are actually weeds. Those little berries never get bigger than a marble and though bright red, they never taste sweet. The neighborhood bunnies love them.

Speaking of woodland creatures. This weekend I was cleaning my office and looked out the window to find two of the teeniest fawns. I swear they must be only days old, because they are just darling. Unfortunately, by the time I turned around to grab my camera, they had run to shelter in the woods and I couldn't find them... next time.