The humidity level in the air has been oppressive....
as full as this Balloon Flower bud appears.
Somedays it's like looking through a haze....
photos of the garden can take on a painted quality.
The woods have benefitted from all the moisture.....
...and the deer have found puddles to play in.....
~all photos enlarge~
...much like three of my grandsons back in 2003!
Excess moisture brings down trees....in the present and past.
The flowers need lots of moisture to do their best...
these pink and white ones cast a coolness to the garden....
but the reality is....
the hot firery look of these more closely represents our....
extremely hot and humid days.
The hammock hasn't seen much activity from me....
the heat and humidity keep me away.
....Alivia and her friend visit it with frozen fruit bars though!
The frozen treat keeps her cool with cousin Katie too.
The humidity doesn't keep Alivia off her bike...
or the juvenile Bluebirds from revisiting their nest...
or the Tiger Swallowtails from the Coneflowers....
baby raccoons from a tree...or a fox from roaming free...
...but it does cause a heavy grapevine...
to bring down limbs from the soft-wood tulip tree.
One afternoon....out by the wooden swing....we noticed
turkey vultures were sitting like bookends on the fence posts.
Seeing something small and brown on the ground...
caused concern to rise for the fawns.
It turned out to be a dead chicken....
I guess....either dropped by a hawk or left by a fox.
Usually out by the wooden swing under the walnut tree....
we see more serene scenes.
It seems to be a favorite early morning spot for the fawns.
They also visit the tall grass of the field....
even make their way onto one of the paths.
The birdhouse in the field now stands empty.
The five baby Tree Swallows have left their nest.
There are small wildflowers in the tall grass of the field though...
...along with the Virginia Mountain Mint...
....which is a favorite of the Honeybees!
You can see how busy they are.
I've been just as busy with a Mail Art Workshop....
at our local library....during the Summer Reading Program.
....the theme this year was Experience The World.
There were areas of display for different countries.
This was a lovely display for Japan.
I exchange mail art with friends here, in Australia & the UK....
so that fit right in. I displayed examples of mail received
and demonstrated the making of it. It was a good day!
My garden these days is mostly GREEN.
The tomatoes are slow to ripen....but
cucumbers, green onions and basil are plentiful!
Some of that green appears in most meals!
The tomatoes still have to come from the store....
along with a healthy array of fruits for dessert.
Alivia talks me into dressing up the bananas with
fudge sauce and whipped cream though.
I can't blame her....I love dark chocolate too!
There has been a break in the humidity....
just like the Balloon Flower that opened....
last evening the clouds did too....bringing rain and cooler air.
This is some of my Mail Art I've made this past year....
and happily mailed off to friends near and far.
Just like Blogging.....it's a fun and rewarding thing to do!
So thankful for that.....on Humidity Filled Days!
~♥~ Wanda ~♥~
63 comments:
Your woods look like a beautiful place to spend a heat and humidity filled day. I enjoyed all the photos. You really outdid yourself with all of them - gorgeous.
Wanda, I applaud you for getting out in that humidity to take photographs! My camera lens fogs over and I have to pre-heat the camera (leave it outdoors before I go out) before I can take any pictures.
Your mail art is so colorful! Sharing it at the library must have been fun.
Loved your baby swallows, fawns, and variety of flowers.
Keep cool!
I know I'm weird but I love humidity. Great Summer post!
Last week was humid and hot but a NW wind has chased the humidity away. We did get some rain today - quite unusual in July but very welcome. Love your mail art and the beautiful flower photos.
I always enjoy your pictures but you have something today I have never heard of. How did you get interested in Mail Art? It looks fascinating.
Hi Wanda,
The balloon flower is gorgeous! I saw you had some red b-balms in your collage of bright flowers..I love those too!
I bet the deer are hot too! It's been oppressive here:( I sure hope we get just a little relief here soon. You too :)
I would love to hear more about your mail art..I am fascinated. Is it stationery that you decorate according to where you send it? Or just the envelopes, or both? Please if you could...tell us more:) I've been somewhat medicated from my back issues..so I may be a little slow :)
Love and Blessings, Jerelene
Yes, on those humidity filled or just plain hot days blogging and mail art are my salvation... along with early morning walks with Gertie.
It has been triple digit days here for about 3 months with at least one more to go. We would love to see rain! Your blog is always so beautiful & it is a joy to visit you here.
Your mail art is stunning, I love it! Miss Alivia is growing up so fast, her photos show she is a happy little girl with her friend and family. I loved the fawn video, you must have to stand very still to keep them within your camera range. So love your post, all your flowers, garden, meals and hobbies. Talk soon, big hugs to Alivia.....:-)Hugs
There are so many things to comment on with this post, I'll just choose a few, like those grandkids covered with mud! Made me smile. And the video of the fawns was exceptional. And all the beautiful green things from your garden... oh, I just loved it ALL. Thank you!
Wonderful video of the fawns. And the balloon flower is something new for me. Thanks for sharing!
Another nice post as usual. I don't envy you the humidity, i don't know many people who like it. What amazed me most was that balloon flower. I have never seen anything like it, and I wonder if it is large or small. ?
Dear Wanda, it is all so amazing and so beautiful what you have shown us here today. And the video of the deer. How gracious it is and how curious - and yet shy.
It is such an exciting place you live. And there are vultures too!
I love all your flowers and the busy bees. And your food. I always get so hungry for something delicious when I see your pictures!! But there's nothing in my fridge. The mice wear black mourning crape in there!
Those Japanese things are pretty.
Everything.
What pretty collages you have made with your photos.
Greetings to your garden of Eden.
Grethe
Thank you for sharing ...that video was so cute ...I love fawns....and that banana and fudge sauce looked yummy.
Wonderful photos Wanda! I enjoyed seeing each and everyone of them! Thank you for sharing.l
You definitely have something for everyone in your post. I am so glad you braved the heat to get such amazing shots.
I loved the video of the fawns. They were so curious of you and you were quite close. Thank goodness the vultures weren't after them.
Wanda, You have such a lovely touch for finding beauty. The wildlife, plants, food, your grandchildren, the mail art. You make it look so easy, but I know it is not.
I've never really heard of mail art. Fascinating. I so admire how you go after what makes you happy.
And, please send that rain down here. It is too hot to swim in the lake!
I just love your updates. The flowers, the animals, the food, and especially your family are all so wonderful. Thank you.
Wanda, another fun, lovely, interesting, warm post! :o) I just love seeing those mushrooms, and the wildflowers, and the grandkids...and the FOOD,woo hoo! I'm going to have to look up that mail art, is it something relatively new that is 'taking off' like scrapbooking? We're having a really warm summer too, thank goodness we don't have major humidity here!
Hi Wanda!
Everything looks so magical at your place... the fawns especially!
It HAS been hot and humid, hasn't it!?!
I'm glad to have had this reprieve and I hope it doesn't get that hot again this summer!
I know the temps are even hotter in Austin, where my son Jason now lives, but at least the humidity is only in the 20 and 30% range.
Your food and recipes are AMAZING, Wanda! Those peanut butter cup cookies caught my eye... hmmm if it's cool out again tomorrow, it will be tempting to bake!
I will definitely look into that mail art. The library displays are also wonderful!
*Wishing you more loveliness always,
Maria
A beautiful and busy posting, Wanda, - what a lovely life you lead, with all the wildlife around you and your wonderful creativity. I am most interested in your mail art!
What a delightful collection of photos! I love your collages, especially the fawns in the early morning by the swing. YOur old photo of your grandsons covered in mud is precious--they must have had a wonderful ime! The mail art is new to me but it looks very interesting and lovely. I've so enjoyed visiting with you today!
Your mail art looks as wonderful as your posts on the blog, Wanda. Our summer is notoriously hot and humid, and you seem to have been through the similar
weather. I wrote "similar" as I think probably not so terrible as our weather. We humans feel uncomfortable as high humidity slows down evaporation, the natural way of cooling, while nature is enriched by the moisture as is shown in your photos. Under the energy-saving mode, frozen fruit bars give me a relief, too. I must take care of my stomach.
I love to see deer having fun in your woods, especially fawns with white-spotted pattern. I can't see our fawns in Nara Park on daily basis like you.
Thank you for letting me see the display for Japan and sharing your fascinating world with us. Stay cool, and have happy days ahead.
Yoko
Hi, Wanda!
So many lovely photos to watch, Wanda.
The blue Ballon flower is very beautiful! I also enjoy seeing many buds behind the blue flowers. I always love to see your deer. They sure are now springing, playing around in your wood! Your hammock looks so comfortable. No wonder Alivia likes hammock!! She and her friend on the hammock make me smile.
Thank you for sharing the lovely display for Japan. Especially I have found an interest in it. The dish and rice bowl is very cute. I bought a dish and a rice bowl, a chop stick, a spoon and a tea cup designed by animation“Totoro”for my grand daughter. She uses the dishes when she visits us.
Here in Nara、it has been hot and humid too. I have given up walking around during the daytime. Instead, I enjoy taking an early-morning walk with my camera.
Have a great week!
Tomoko
There is so much going on at your place Wanda! I love the Balloon flowers. I bought one this year, they are so intriguing to me!
I love your Mail Art,It's really beautiful and so good to have something to do inside with the AC. We haven't been outside much with all of this heat but I hope to be by fall!
Love Di ♥
HI WANDA - your nature land is so lovely - I so enjoyed walking with you, as I always do. I love your array of flowers and all the natural growth and wild life that abounds.
Your local library 'mail art' experience is wonderful - great concept. And of course your food items ae all so yummy - if only I could come ad walk and eat and talk and rest with you for a while.
Love Gail
peace.....
Alivia and I are soul mates - ride our bikes, eat some dessert, and swing in the hammock! Your mail art looks so intricate - your time and effort are gifts to your friends. Your garden has so many lovely colors. Do the deer come for a snack or do only butterflies and bees partake? Perhaps the fawns are satisfied with the lush meadow grass. We are eating so much fresh basil now that it's in season - on tomatoes and fresh mozzarella especially. Hope your family is well.
Hi Wanda,
I loved the picture of your grandsons in the mud!! I used to love playing in the mud when I was young (...well I guess I still do!) I love that you are doing the mail art. I haven't done it, but I love writing/sending/receiving hand written notes... I think it is a lost art in our modern times. ooooh- I want that chocolate pie! yum!
stay cool, Wanda.... hope the heat lifts for you soon!
:)
As always your photos and words show me a world that looks like a magical wonderland - so very different to my part of the world. So very beautiful.
I love how much you love life. It shows in all of your photos. Your blog is so wonderful.
I came over from Gail's blog.
I love the balloon flower and the fawns.
A post full of beautiful photographs as always. I'm glad that the deer are managing to find water, the heat and humidity must be hard for birds and animals. I'm glad you've had some relief from it - I don't think I could survive the humidity levels that large parts of the US has been having.
There is something for everyone in this post. Lots of the photos brings back memories too.
The mud-covered kidlets gave me a good laugh. I've never seen a balloon flower before.. it's wonderful. Thanks for your recent visit to my blog.
Hello there,
I've come here via Becky's blog.
What a lovely post: so full of good things. So pretty.
Sorry to hear that the weather is holding you back a little.
Thank you, I've enjoyed my visit.
What a beautiful summer you're having, humidity, heat and all. I'm always so in awe of the wonders of nature that are everyday occurrences for you. Thank you for sharing.
You are surrounded by a natural and wildlife haven/heaven Wanda. And with your lovely family and favorite activities your life seems most rewarding. Thank you for sharing bits of it here for us all!
Beautiful, as always....
Love,
Jackie
Hello sweet Wanda. It has been a while since my last visit. A lot to do and catch up on in the summer. It seems like it never ends. Which is a good thing...I am busy. I am catching up on visiting my friends. Once again my visit was relaxing. I love to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. The weather has been crazy for us as well. Extremely dry and hot. But the desert is so full of color in spite of it. I am always amazed at all the food you prepare. Just amazed....
Accckkk! Humidity. We're in monsoon season here and it is just so oppressive.
Of course you find the beauty in the season.
I just stay inside and whine.
Sigh...
Love the moon flower and your mail art and as always LOVE LOVE LOVE your woods.
Congratulations on a successfull and beautiful display in the library. Our weather has turned too, the cloud is low, sun obscured, air so heavy and moist. Fungi have started to grow in abundance on the lower levels of the moor. Harvesting is early too. Very enjoyable post. X
Very humid in Belgium as well, but instead of hot, it's been cold around here. I'm looking forward to see some sunshine again soon. I so enjoyed this post, as always, your place has so much beauty and you manage to capture it well. Nature and wildlife ... flowers, food and mail art, everything breathes beauty when you touch it!
It's me again to let you know I gave you an an award!
I just found my way here via a suggestion from Lois (Lois's Hands). Your blog is lovely, and you have many beautiful photos to share with us. I hope you'll stop by my blog as well, and look at what I see in Montana!
It's always a joy to visit you, Wanda! I always feel serene after I've been here. Thank you!
Our windows are covered in fog and steam. Tree frogs roam the patio and the wildflowers are abundant. There's good in all. As you so graciously photographed. I love (of course) the photos of the bounty of the season.
Oh I do so love coming to your blog. I especially loved the pictures of your grandkids--the three muddy boys is a great photo to treasure--of course, how can I choose. You do such a great job! Blessings to you!
Everybody seems to know what mail art is but me. ?? I loved the picture of the fox...how CLOSE was it? Alivia is growing up and she is such a sweetie I can tell. Just love the photo of her on her bike!
Seeing all your pictures and your beautiful world, I realize how much I have missed. I just love all the different kinds of flowers that you have all around. Mail Art looks like it would be so much fun, I'd like to learn more about it. I like to do scrapbooking, so this is another creative project that I know I would enjoy.
Hope the family is well.
Take care,Wanda
Enjoy you weekend.
I am once again in awe of all the beauty you share, both through your words and exquisitely composed photographs. I had never heard of Mail Art, but the collage of your work certainly looks beautiful and I'm intrigued to learn more. Perhaps you could share more about it with us?
I'm quite curious about mail art....will have to explore further.
And the humidity - well, let me say you make it prettier with your photography than I have experienced it here in NE Indiana. I am so ready for the weather to change.
I've been side-tracked by time with all three sets of grandchildren lately. Should be back to "normal" next week. Things will certainly be quieter around here. :(
Lovely. I love the tress swallows especially.
Wanda! What a wonderful post. You put so much work into all of these. I always feel like I came by your house for a walk in the woods it's so much fun and relaxing.
Alivia is growing by leaps and bounds...she is so cute and I can tell how much you enjoy her. Your mail art is very cool! But, before I leave you, I have to say...that picture of those boys! I LOVE IT!!!!! I have several of those of those of my Stephen. ;) have a wonderful day.
Xoxo
Wanda some how I missed this post, wondered how you were as you havent posted much, life here is going along relatively smoothly at the moment, it is nice to feel alive again and able to do things so I am very busy doing them!
Love Penny
I like your photos very much thanks for sharing. Thanks also for your visit and comment. It's true : the future is not very promising . I wish the best for our children and grandchildren.
As usual, your post is wonderful. I ried to see the bluebirds as I have never seen one but it was too small for my eyes.
What is mall art? Please go into more detail and tell us more about it.
You are a terrific photographer and also your subjects are so great. Thank you for sharing your artistic ability with us. Your blog is outstanding.
We went to a garden not far from home today and I thought about you and your lovely garden. It was not humid and the temperature down to 83 degrees so it was nice. Your world is so delightful and your photos show it well.
Wanda, my garden has all but gone...summer temperatures have taken their toll.
I come here to get a breath of fresh air....bask in the beauty of your garden.
I miss you.....
Love,
Jackie
I always love strolling your blogposts, Wanda. Your pictures are BEAUTIFUL. Nature is amazingly wonderful in your part of the world and you always manage to capture it perfect.
Have a happy day xx
Hi Wanda! Thank you for your generosity, you are very splendid, I want to know more of your mail art.
God bless you Wanda,
:0)
Your food pictures are so perfect, I am totally lost in them. All the others are equally beautiful. Had a nice time seeing your post. Much love :)
I'm hearing some very pretty music. I see that you enjoy the same kind of music that I, also, enjoy. There are a few songs that Enya has made that I enjoy. Brian Crain is another. I visit your site to view your Images and what you have to say. I also enjoy the music.
Les
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