6/30/2009
7/4/2009
7/17/2009
Daddy quail sitting atop a pile of gravel, well at least I think it should be Daddy, watching out for predators, while his family search for food.
I have noticed two quail families which seek the protection of the blackberry bushes near our house. This family, and one other with much younger chicks. I have attempted to take photos of the smaller chicks, but they are very shy, and move faster than I can get the camera ready to take their picture.
The poor wee thing was injured, so my honey put on his vet's hat, and went to work.
Upon returning to the hotel after one of my strolls down this pretty trail, I came across a butterfly garden.
This charming little building was at one side of the garden.
An information board showing the many different species of butterflies which visit the garden.
It was nice to walk the narrow mulched paths around all the plants, looking for butterflies.
There were many plants I could name, and just as many I could not.
Looks a lot like a hardy geranium.
So pretty.
A lovely poppy.
Another of mother natures works of art.
This is an unusual love story involving an 89-year-old woman and her beloved Chariot. The two have been together for decades and traveled more than 540,000 miles across this nation's highways and side streets. 
What a lot to take in, especially for some one who has never been to an outdoor market where they sell practically everything you can think of. There was meat, fish, food, flower, pastry, garden art, cheese, jewelry and many, many other different kind of booths set up, to tempt the shoppers.
The bags of snacks in this booth were many and varied. Nuts of all kinds, both natural and covered in different flavors, trail mixes, crackers of all kinds and other things I did not know what was in the labeled bags as I do not read or speak the local language.
Many of the locals ride their bicycles to market day, and take their purchases home in a little basket attached to the handle bars of the bicycle, as this lady is doing.
The flowers were absolutely gorgeous, and to a gardener such as myself, just so much eye candy.
The choice of flowers was almost over whelming, 
Roses, so many different colors.
And if you want, a touch of the tropics for your home.
For the cheese lovers, and I am one of them, the selection of these very tasty cheeses was outstanding.
All kinds of breads, rolls, pastry, and other goodies. I was sorely tempted to buy a loaf of crusty bread and a large slice of cheese to munch on as I wandered the market, but thought that was overkill, and instead went to a booth which sold all kinds of freshly baked pastries, doughnuts and fritters. I chose a very large deep fried apple slice which had the most flaky light batter coating, I have ever tasted.
The fruit and vegetables were so neatly arranged. For the most part, it appeared the vendors took great pride in the way their booths looked.
This is the squad I was on. A fun bunch of guys.
We were anticipating very hot dry conditions, which would have made for a very long, hot uncomfortable day. Lucky for us, the day was overcast and it did not rain until about half way through the match, and even then the showers were off and on again.
The side walls of this old building are curved. 
It is fun to sit at one of the cafes and people watch.
I was surprised to notice how a building had been built right up against the church. Well at least that is what it looks like.
Here is another view. The architecture of the building does not appear to be the same as the church, this is why I think they are two separate structures.
Look how narrow the buildings are.
The date on the front of the building says 1659
I hope you enjoyed your stroll around a few of the streets of Amsterdam.
Our first glimpse of one of Hollands many, many canals.
A view of the train station in Amsterdam.
Our hotel for the first night in Amsterdam.
The room we had in the Golden Tulip, although small was very comfortable and nicely decorated.
These two pictures are actually of the room we stayed in on the two nights before we left to return home. The room we stayed in upon arrival in Amsterdam, was the same layout, but was decorated in a pretty shade of blue. You can see how long and narrow the room is, and instead of a queen size bed, there were two, longer than usual twin beds pushed together.
From our room window we could look down and across at the interesting old houses across the narrow street.
If you click on the picture you will see on the front of the brick facade of the building on the right, a hoisting beam with a hook on the underside. This was, and still is, the way furniture or any large objects were winched up from the street below, in through the door below the beam, and on into the house. They had to use this method as most times the doors into the houses were very narrow, due to in the past, houses were taxed on the size of the doors they had, and also the stairs in these old homes are very narrow and steep. 
From one of the hotel's hallway windows we had a great view of the old houses and buildings.
Notice how there is no room at all between one house and the next. Every little bit of extra space was used. We could look down on some nice little rooftop patios people had created.
I could not get enough of looking out the window at all the old houses, and thinking, if only the walls of those old buildings could talk, what fascinating stories I would hear.
We will be staying in another in the chain of Golden Tulips in Winterswijk. Looks nice doesn't it?
This is the area I tackled. We had some old Junipers and a Pine tree removed from along here. Right close to the bottom of the step is a stump which we cannot remove as the roots have grown beneath the steps and if we were to pull the stump out, the steps would probably be damaged, and we do not want to replace the steps at this time. Instead I have decided to plant around the stump.
After dragging the two large logs out of the way, and dumping in a couple of wheelbarrow loads of amended topsoil, I planted some succulents a friend gave me and some I had in a pot in and around the stump. I am hoping, as the stump weathers and the succulents grow larger, this will become a somewhat attractive little garden.
Behind the stump I placed two columbines, one a pretty pink and the other purple, and on the right a Thrift with showy white flowers.
To the right of the Thrift, is a trellis with fragrant sweet peas planted in front. 
Have you ever had a feeling someone is watching you? this was the case as I was busily planting around the stump. I looked behind and there sat this cute little guy watching me. I bet he was trying to think of a way to go over, or get under the chicken wire I have around the garden, so he can feast on my new plants.
I have a fondness for Snapdragons which were found in both my Grandmother's and Mother's gardens. My brothers and I would pick the flowers from the stems and squeeze them so the 'mouths of the Dragons' would open up. I am sure any kids who have been around these flowers, have played with them in the same way.
Perhaps in the future these will also be removed from this garden. The rose on the right is a particularly tough customer, as it has chosen to sprout under the eaves of the carport where is does not receive any rain, only water from my irrigation system in the summer months. We will see how long it lasts *grin*
Gladys (Glady) C Kelly
On Tuesday evening, my honey opened our front door and I heard him say something about bird houses. As I looked out the door to ask what he was talking about, I saw the four bird houses neatly lined up along the edge of the top step. We were both very puzzled as to where they came from, neither of us had heard anyone knock on the door. The only person I thought would leave this nice gift, would be my gardening friend, and partner in crime, Lorie. I called their home and when her husband answered, I asked if anyone at their house knew anything about four bird houses left on our front porch. He denied knowing about them, but finally admitted, yes, his wife had left them there. She thought they would go with all the others which hang along the front of the carport.
I truly have the greatest friends. Thanks Lorie.
What an awesome sight from our deck.
These days, the only way I can keep my schedule straight, is to keep a calendar, updated with my work and vacation schedule.
I have two cameras and with one of them came, MGI Photo Suite. It has been so long since we downloaded the program that I don't even remember which camera it came with. Anyhow, I decided it was about time to figure out all I can do with it. There are shapes, frames, collages, photo albums and a quite few other things you can amuse yourself with. I have the first version, and there is a second you can buy, which does a whole lot more, but I figure this one will suit me just fine.
These are some of them which bloomed last year. 
