Friends

lovely bird songs everywhere

bees buzzing by

children’s laughter in the air

as the breeze floats by

dogs barking out in play

while cats nap in the sun

all reminds me

how wonderful friends are

Karen S Smith

Nature edges it's way

along the blocks

filling voids

looking for strongholds

not doubting they are there

reclaiming with joy

the space it needs

to color the world

with beauty

God has given

Nature to be

by Karen S Smith

Swan

swan glided

swirls stream behind

peace abounds

children swing high

colors fill the park

by Karen Smith

Life By a Bayou

Tiger Lilies

I have always loved tiger lilies these are a past mother's day gift and when I moved I planted them in with a potted plant that I was moving.  Then I forgot well for years a plant that look like a lily kept growing but well no flowers so I was not certain it was a lily or a weed that grew like a lily.  So surprise today I turn the corner in my garden and there it was.  Now I can move it, when the fall comes. http://www.theflowerexpert.com

The End Of a Garden

My tomatoes are finished so I have pulled them from the garden and added them to the new compost pile.  In Louisiana you have two growing seasons for tomatoes so I added some old dry milk product to work into the soil and will start getting the spot ready.  I am planning on moving the garden spot out to make the bed bigger and grow more but I am happy as I got more tomatoes this year then the last two years. 
So the end of a garden is just the beginning.  Here is a video from Self Sufficient Me.  It is long but you get a feel how to prepare a bed with mulching and what weeds to pull what you can pull and leave in to mulch.  He is going to use a wood mulch the top soil.
Now mine is going to be planted again soon and has a shorter winter over so I will be using some mulch material that will break down fast,

Hidden Pearls

Pearls are hidden

from lack of speech

to truths need spoken

but fear has bound

Poem of sorts by Karen Smith

Life by a Bayou

Crepe Myrtle The Tree of The South

My Crepe Myrtle tree is blooming this year.  The year is two years old and froze this winter during are hard 3 1/2 day freeze.  I lost half of it and just had a 6 inch stick in the ground.  This tree is a beautiful part of the south and you see them everywhere.  I have noticed grow through almost anything so I left it alone.  To my great surprise it grew very fast.
The crepe myrtle is an attractive tree with it's leaves turning nice colors in the fall and the trucks of the tree are both unusual and pretty.  I found this link to a Southern Living article on the tree:  www.southernliving.com. 
This tree came from www.arborday.org .  I had made a donation and received 10 trees.  We planted them and then recorded their growth for a homeschool science project.   One thing is true if you visit the south you will see that the crepe myrtle is the tree of the south.