Rip Van Winkle Gardens

Here it is, August 16, 2015, and I've finally run out of scheduled posts. Looking through my archives I realized that I never posted my Mother's Day pics. Boy, I have really been slacking on my blog and picture sharing this year. So let's get to it!

We spent a delightful Mother's Day at Rip Van Winkle Gardens in New Iberia, LA. Cafe Jefferson, located on the property, overlooks Lake Peigneur. We chose a table near the water and enjoyed a delicious, sinful meal. The Live Oaks, roaming Peacocks and meticulously manicured grounds made you feel as though you might run into Scarlett O'Hara at any moment. I do declare!

"Seafood Heaven"
Creamy basil sauce with jumbo shrimp, crabmeat chunks and crawfish.
OH. MY. GOODNESS!

White Chocolate Bread Pudding
served with white chocolate and raspberry sauce

In less than three weeks my daughter will be married! Next Monday will be my last scheduled post until I return. Hopefully, I'll have plenty of photos to share of our 10 days in Portland.

The State of Louisiana...Belle

Warm greetings from Cajun Country! I'm as happy as a tick on a fat dog. :) Seriously though, I am incredibly thankful for the prayers God has answered after spending 2 years wandering around in the desert. My daughter and I both agree that this is our year, and we are going to enjoy and savor every moment. Here's the "State of Me" bullet points.

• Helping plan my daughter's wedding, though she's so organized, she doesn't need any help. Still, it's fun talking about it with her.
• Making new friends and reconnecting with old ones. (Many, MANY prayers sent up about this issue, as I tend to close myself off when depressed.)
• Displaying my photography in different venues.
• Participating in workshops and photography classes.
• Starting a small vegetable garden.

And the big one...........drum roll..............................

• Opening a booth at a flea market with my friend, B! 

B came up with our name: Bayou Belles. B has been a godsend. She's full of GREAT ideas and we work extremely well together. We have a logo, a Facebook page and a blog!

My cup runneth over. I am so energized every day with all the things I want to do, and there are not enough hours to get it done.

Okay, enough of this chit-chat.

Glimpse into Bayou Belles' space.

A new shrub for my garden: Indigofera

Indigofera with St. Francis statue in background.

Another new shrub: Angel's Earrings.

Planted next to my angel statue. :)

The heart-shaped leaves behind the bird ornament is called Moonflower.

It is vining quickly around my palm tree. I hope to attract hummingbird moths with it.

Bell peppers! Well, a single bell pepper, but the blooms promise many more!

Cherry tomatoes!!

Cucumbers!!

Female House Finch visiting the new feeder.

Linking with

Thanks, Anni!

Happy Green Day!

Top of the morning to you on this fine St. Patrick's Day!

It's amazing how a sunny, productive day restores the soul. We had a great time birding Saturday morning. The early hours no longer have Double D and me grumbling; we now look forward to what we will see. The day started out a little drizzly, but it was a good hike and lots of great conversations with new friends.

A big hearty breakfast afterwards and I was ready to tackle the yard. I had pulled up the knock-out roses under the kitchen window last week. Those had to be the thorniest rose bushes EVER. In its place I put encore azaleas called Autumn Carnation, and on each end planted a bottle brush plant to attract hummingbirds and butterflies. In the back garden I planted another bottle brush, dahlias, gerbera daisies and lantana. For the front yard we bought a japanese magnolia tree. Thankfully, I think (pray) the harsh winter is behind us.

Dahlia hybrid in the back garden

A dahlia bloom that was broken, so I put it in my mother's bud vase

Is this a chipping sparrow? I'm pretty sure, but sparrows are always a challenge to identify.

A yellow-rumped warbler with the beginnings of his breeding plumage.
That means they are almost ready to leave us. Sad face.

Happy to be working for my former boss this week, and some days here and there until the first week of April. He has been gracious enough to let me flex my hours to check on the barred owlets at Bluebonnet Swamp. They are scheduled to hatch this week! I will try to keep my blogging updated, but as before, it may be a bit sporadic.

Afton Villa

More images from Afton Villa Gardens in St. Francisville, LA.

Many of you asked how the flowers are cared for at this abandoned site.
A caretaker was there watering all the plants. When asked about the property he
excitedly stopped watering to show us an old, faded photo of the original home.
He seemed to genuinely care for the place. Even though I understand Cajun accents fairly well,
this gentle soul had such a strong dialect that I had difficulty making out his words.
I did a lot of nodding and smiling, charmed by his animated ways and enthusiasm for the old place.
We still connected even though I didn't understand a thing he said! :) 

This pitiful calf mooed me over. I felt sorry for her because
she sounded sad. I petted her and scratched her head for a while
and she seemed to enjoy it. Maybe she was looking for her mama.

Cher bébé (Shah beh-bay), as we say around here. :)

I was captivated by this beautiful flower growing through the cracks of the old foundation.
How can you not admire something so strong and beautiful and determined?
Just goes to show that even though this flower doesn't have the perfect conditions in which to grow,
it grows anyway! And beautifully at that!

I'm not sure I will be keeping this layout. It works great for pictures, but the words stretching

all the way across on a smaller monitor do not automatically adjust, which is why I am centering

my text. But it looks kind of stupid with the text this way so I may have to go back
to the way it was before. If someone has a formatting suggestion, I'm all ears!

Participating in

Kate @ Thankful Thursday

Barn Charm! Finally!

Double D and I drove to St. Francisville, LA after church to see the countryside. It was such a beautiful day, I told him that if he wanted to stay inside and watch football that it was fine with me, but I was going somewhere, anywhere, to enjoy this gorgeous weather. I didn't say it in a way to make him feel bad, but he said he'd rather spend the day with me. Cue the "awwws" now. :)

We ended up at Afton Villa Gardens. A quick history: In the mid-1800s David Barrow constructed a grand home for his second wife. It was well cared for until 1963 when a fire destroyed the villa. The remnants are surrounded by lush gardens, with various statues and pillars scattered about.

Imagine my delight when I saw a barn off in the distance! Although I have many other photos to process, the barn took top priority. Tricia, thank you for hosting barn charm. I'm so excited to finally participate!

Processed with a Katie Lloyd texture

One of the remnants of the burned villa

Edit: Just found out about Homestead Barn Hop, so I'm linking there, too!

As you can see, I reformatted my blog. A HUGE thank you goes to Brian King for helping me with questions on sizing my images and other blog issues. The time he took to answer my questions was very generous, kind, and deeply appreciated! Please let me know if you have any problems with the new layout. Thanks!