“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.”
Psalm 118:22-23 ESV
I don’t travel some of our trails much in the summer because certain spots can be overgrown. Too, there are often trees down that block the path and need removal, not what I want to do while taking a hike on a 95 degree afternoon. But, I made an exception Friday and made my way over to the west end of what Seth and I simply call “the ridge”. As I topped over at the steepest part, this rock, sculpted by the the Master Sculptor, grabbed my attention and the verses above also came to mind!
Purple fountain grass somewhere in the garden is a must every year. There’s something about these various colored plumes, their shape and design among the darker blades, that makes me think about springs of water flowing from the ground…purple fountain is a good name!
I noticed a plant emerging amongst the young zinnias back in the spring, and it didn’t look like a weed so I let it remain. Turns out it was this nice little coreopsis. I’m glad I did not hastily remove it. Another plant I left growing near this one was also a good choice, as it was milkweed.
It is amazing how the small intricate flowers on our beautyberry (last week) will produce such an array of purple berries by September (pictured from last year). I am intrigued by the way the flowers are grouped at points up and down the stems where opposite leaves occur. I sometimes call the fruit in autumn purple donuts, just because of the way they wrap around the stem which goes through a hole in the middle!
The prettiest flower in the garden by far was willing to pose for PJ. Each grand came over to visit and then was taken out to eat to the place of their choosing. Some of our time with EK was spent in our garden, and then she wanted to eat at Olive Garden. (We will have to get Daniel on the program as soon as he is old enough.)
Daughter-in-love found Daniel when she was grocery shopping and grabbed it for me. I had the other three right in front of me in the same cooler but Daniel never appeared. Ah…but now we’ve celebrated all four with a little summer fun!
We’ve been having visits from American goldfinches so I placed a chair in my hiding place to get a good photo. After a very long wait and no birds, another subject dropped by, so I took advantage of having this eastern tiger swallowtail show up. Like 2024, we have not seen an abundance of butterflies in the early days of summer, very few actually. Last year they did turn up in greater numbers as the season progressed.
With plenty of moisture, we have witnessed a good supply of mushrooms and strange looking fungi. I said this reminded me of a spring turkey gobbler with his tail all fanned out. I’m not sure Pam saw such a thing!
We are both glad to have a summer that is cicada noise free. Last year was quite a festival of sound. A year later, almost every broken limb or limbs that I trim/prune has evidence of last season’s cicada damage. And, while the bothersome creatures are supposed to have preferences, it doesn’t seem to me that any species was exempt from the invasion. Every single limb of our big magnolia looked like this, and I trimmed quite a few!
A blooming crepe myrtle is synonymous with summer in the south. This must be a favorite color for many people as it is very popular. I found a long row of equal size and shape beside a car lot, of all places! Reminds me of watermelon, another summer fun thing!
Across the street and next to another large lot was a group of crape (or crepe) myrtles which were all this color. Hard choice to pick a favorite?
While I sat perspiring, still waiting on a goldfinch to show up, hummers kept briefly stopping at their favorite, crocosmia. I was determined, like the earlier butterfly, not to return to the house empty handed, or with a digital void as the case would be!
While checking the blueberries to determine if the one of our bushes had any berries ready for picking, I discovered a bandit lurking about and realized we aren’t the only ones who like this fruit.
The wildlife park where I like to walk is now designated as one of 40 spots in a 9 county area in the Appalachian Foothills as a birding trail. I had not seen this sign before. It was the middle of the afternoon and very hot, so no birds were stirring. But, I wanted to see what might be of interest…
…so I headed down the trail and came across a few things to enjoy, like a view of the lake and a summer sky as seen through these aquatic plants, cattails and button bushes!
Swamp rose mallow was growing all along the water’s edge and blooms were easy to spot. However, looking at the bolls or pods, many blooms are yet to come. The native mallow, like Rose of Sharon and others, is in the cotton family, and definitely reminds me of a cotton plant. I noted that most blooms were closed or partially closed during the heat of the day.
The swamp rose mallow is often called crimson eyed mallow. I found a few partially open and it is easy to see where this name comes from. These blooms are slightly larger than those of its other relatives, like Rose of Sharon, okra, and cotton, but somewhat smaller than…
…the rose mallow that is currently growing back at home in our garden!
Have a blessed week. Maybe you have holiday plans? We keep it simple, hang around home, grill brats and dogs (not the barking kind), and make ice cream. Family should assist us with consumption of the goodies!
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8 ESV
Linking with:
Pieced Pastimes, Between Naps on the Porch, Katherines Corner, Follow The Yellow Brick Home,
Life and Linda
I love crepe myrtle season and the one you found is loaded, for sure! I have a few of the newer single trunk variety and they are doing fine, but there’s something pretty about the older trunks all intertwining that is pretty in the winter. happy Sunday!
Thank you Leslie Anne. We don’t have any of the single trunk crepe myrtles but the older trees with multiple trunks are very pretty and add a lot in the winter too. I like the texture and look of the bark also. Have a great week!
Butch and Pam
Beautiful photos, and I also like to see the beauty in the small details. Cicadas were here in May at an outdoor picnic in Asheville, so loud! But at our place, we have quiet. Your eastern tiger swallowtail photo looks like an award winner.
Thank you Carole. We are glad our brood of cicadas are gone for a while. They are a noisy bunch. Hope you continue to have quiet and have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
What a glorious stroll with you today! I am sitting on my front porch right now, and it is cool. Finally, the heat dome has gone away!
The crepe myrtles are showing off their gorgeous blooms in your area.
The cardinal is quite pretty, but he had better avoid the blueberries.
I have seen very few hummingbirds and butterflies so far this summer. I hope they stop by my pollinator gardens soon. Your hummingbird photo is quite lovely as well as the butterfly.
EK is a beautiful bloom in the garden. How fun for her to come and walk with you in it.
I haven’t seen the Coca-Cola bottles around here, but because of you, I have been looking. I am so happy you have the whole set. What a fun centerpiece!
Thank you for your wonderful scriptures and exquisite pictures.
Have a glorious Sunday!
Thank you Nancy. Slightly cooler here today too and raining at times. We’ve had an above average amount of rain. Someone told us the Coca-Cola bottles had names last summer but I didn’t remember seeing them. Butterflies have been slow to come around this year but we are finally seeing a few. The crepe myrtles have such a wide blooming time, some already blooming for weeks, others not until late July. Have a great week!
Butch and Pam
How fun to find their names on the coke bottles. Especially Wyatt’s name. My granddaughters love the Olive Garden too. We do the same thing they get to pick the restaurant on their birthdays. Have a great new week. Hugs. Kris
Thank you Kris. The grands enjoyed picking the restaurant and getting all the attention on an occasion for their birthday month so we decided to keep it up and go for another round. Maybe we can do it several times each year. Have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
Precious EK is a garden unto herself…with gourmet taste in dining. Just love the bottle collection and will be on the lookout for them in these parts. The cornerstone covered in moss could bear the name
rock of ages…so appropriate. Could not miss the image of the turkey in the mushroom…. But oh the
glorious crepe myrtle photos…by the Master Painter…. All in all, a beautiful tribute to Sabbath
hiking and seeking with Butch, who makes these strolls so rewarding. Blessings of the day.
Thank you Mary. We like “rock of ages”, thanks for that thought. I am making efforts to hike more but having to be careful with a knee that I’m told needs replacing, a hard decision that I’ve thus far delayed. I only drink Coke Zero but I’m thinking a lot more names are available on the real stuff. Have a blessed week!
Butch and Pam
EK is a little beauty. Her dress is perfect, and her hair is getting so thick! Butch, there is a turkey tail mushroom, but I’m not sure if the one you spotted is that. I need to sit and wait for the hummers while my crocosmia is blooming, as I don’t set feeders out. And I’ve only spotted a few butterflies this summer too, hoping for more. We had cicadas in the area this year, but not in our neighborhood at all!
Thanks for the observations, always a Sunday treat I look forward to. Looking forward to celebrating our freedom on the 4th, and every day!
Thank you Rita. Yes, every day should be a celebration of freedom. A turkey tail mushroom…I must research that one. We don’t do the feeders but the crocosmia is the number one thing the hummers come to while it’s in bloom. Those blooms will fade soon here. Unique how the different cicada broods emerge where they do in different years. Have a pleasant week!
Butch and Pam
Beautiful as always Butch and of course EK is exceptional. My purple crepe myrtle is so beautiful right now and it reminds me of the lilacs that will not grow in this tropical climate. With my vivid imagination, when I sniff the blossoms, I KNOW I smell lilac blossoms. LOL. I have not seen the coke bottles you show…perhaps we are too far in the deep south because all I see is sweet tea. LOL. I don’t put feeders out either…(as Rita said) we are advised not to by the folks in the know…plus they are rodent attractors and we certainly don’t want those critters near or in our homes. Years ago I had hummingbird feeders in the mountains of N.M. and they were a delight to watch. Have a great and glorious week and lets hope and pray “the people” will remember who and what our great country was founded on. The Word of God!
Thank you Kari. We do like our sweet tea. We don’t put out hummingbird feeders these days since we have a lot of space to grow flowers. Some friends up on lookout mountain a few miles from us had a bear investigating their feeders and other backyard items yesterday morning and I’m hoping to have one drop by. Pam does not wish to see one and it’s not likely we will. Probably stick with birds and butterflies. Have a great week!
Butch and Pam
I chuckled at the “turkey” fungi
Thank you Gail. I’m going to see if I can identify that particular fungi. Have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
EK is a beautiful little girl in her flowered dress! She has gorgeous hair. How much does she look like Pam at that age? The stroll through the woods was yielded interesting sights and was much cooler for us! The mushroom does look like a turkey fan indeed. I love crepe myrtle trees. We have them lining out driveway from someone planting them years before we moved in. We’re still getting heat, humidity and lots of sporadic rain. Hope you have a good, safe 4th with the family. I know there will be homemade ice cream involved most likely. Enjoy! Clara❤️
Thank you Clara. I see a bit of Pam in EK but the hair color is definitely different. I’m glad that a few readers could sort of visualize a turkey with the mushroom and I learned there is one named after a turkey. I planted crepe myrtles along our drive over 40 years ago. They are old and usually begin to bloom in July. Have a peaceful week!
Butch and Pam
So many beautiful photo captures! I saw a turkey in that mushroom right away~Love your tradition of taking the grands one at a time to eat at a place they choose, they will always remember that!
Thank you Jenna. Rita says there’s a mushroom named for a turkey so I’m going to check that out. We are enjoying taking the grands out and establishing different traditions to keep up as long as we’re able. That’s always the big “if”. Have a blessed week!
Butch and Pam
Hello Butch and Pam! The “cornerstone” you found is spectacular. Mu dentist office is named Cornerstone, and they have that verse over a waterfall in the waiting room. What a sweet tradition to give each grand their own special meal. And that group of coke bottles is a keeper. My little Poppy decided to take off on her own walkabout this week. Luckily, I have a GPS tracker on her and could see where she was. I started into the woods behind our dam and realized how many huge, downed trees there were back there. I think Poppy couldn’t get back through and was trying to get to my voice. She was disoriented too, I could see her moving in circles on the GPS. I was so happy to see her emerge, very overheated and exhausted. She scared me to death, but all is well that ends well. Hope you stay cool and hydrated on your walkabouts this week!
Thank you Roxanne. GPS is a nice thing to have in a lot of ways these days. And who would’ve ever believed when we were growing up that people would really be able to talk to each other all over the world…on their watches. We have a lot more trees down than I realized but I found out when taking to our trails last week. Glad all ended well with you and Poppy. Have a blessed week!
Butch and Pam
Thank you Butch for sharing with us your Sunday adventures with Jesus. If this beautiful creation is fallen, and we know it is, I can’t wait to see the real thing. My husband and I live in Southern Michigan and enjoy outdoor simple pleasures and gardening. Did I miss Daniel’s birth? I knew you were expecting another grandson???
Thank you Vicky. We have been talking about visiting Michigan sometime. Daniel was born February 13. He’s doing well, growing. Outdoor simple pleasures and gardening we can certainly identify with. The new heaven and the new earth just have to be beyond our imagination. Have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
That is an amazing “corner” stone. And pretty with the moss on top. Makes me wonder if someone in the long ago did actually cut that stone. So much to comment on so I’ll say EK is the prettiest flower in your garden. My favorite crepe Myrtle is the dark one and I’m sad to see how much damage was done to the magnolia. The picture of the lake is a favorite as it has the perfect summer sky. Summer to me is a word that I could write a book about. Your walks in the heat of day makes me wonder how you manage that. Have blessed week Richardsons .
Thank you Alice. That stone is a neat rectangle but it is high on a rocky hill and is probably shaped by creation and ultimately the Creator. We agree EK is our prettiest flower and she blooms year round. While our heat can be stifling at times, I actually do fairly well in dealing with it. It’s the cold that hurts much more than it once did. Have a great week!
Butch and Pam
Gorgeous photos and adorable post. EK is so beautiful! Have a lovely week ahead dear friends.
Thank you Maristella. Good to hear from you. EK is always in bloom. We hope you have a great week!
Butch and Pam
You’re right — definitely the prettiest flower in the garden (but the competition was very stiff indeed!). Beautiful blooms all and I’m so glad you shared them with us!
Thank you, Jeanie. Our grands love playing in the garden!
EK is definitely the prettiest flower in the garden, no contest, and there are many beautiful flowers in your gardens. Love the idea of one-on-one time with them for their birthdays – so precious. The rock is amazing and those crepe myrtles are magnificent. Great pics of the butterfly and hummingbird and I do see the turkey in the mushroom too. The rose mallow in the garden is gorgeous. I hope you all have a very wonderful July 4th!
Thank you, Kim! The grands love the opportunity to choose where they want to eat. They love playing in the garden! I hope your week is going well!
Pam
Your granddaughter is a beautiful bloom in your beautiful garden. I’m sure the grandchildren bring much joy to the two of you!
Thank you Mary. The grands are a tremendous source of joy. Hope you have a wonderful Independence Day weekend!
Butch and Pam
A lovely post as always Butch & Pam. We have Crepe Myrtles on our property too. All pink but a village not far away have them in all colours. I didn’t realise just how many colours they came in until we were on a drive out there when they were all blooming, it was breathtaking.
I’m not sure what ‘brats’ are but I’m hoping there not the human kind. 🤔
Blessings, Jennifer
Thank you Jennifer. I didn’t realize you had crepe myrtles. I suppose yours are taking time out for winter. Thankfully brats are not the human kind, just another tasty hot dog treat. Have a great weekend!
Butch and Pam
Ohhhh, I’m very glad to hear that! Lol!
Yes our Crepe Myrtles are all bare at this time of the year.
You all have a great weekend too! 😊
Have we already chatted about the Merlin APP (from Cornell Ornithology Lab) that will identify a bird by its call? Bring up the APP on your phone, it listens to what aviary friends are singing, tweeting, or chirping, and displays on the screen each bird it hears, complete with a snapshot of what the bird looks like. It’s such fun and SO easy!
Look at that lovely granddaughter in her floral dress! Is that an April Cornell design? Such a happy shade of yellow, perfect for those strawberry blonde pigtails!
Thank you Nancy. Pam says EK’s dress is not April Cornell but agrees it definitely has that look. I do have the Merlin App and use it at times. I think it was Roxanne that mentioned something about that app also recently. It is fun and can detect things that I don’t even hear. Have a great Sunday!
Butch and Pam
Such a beautiful post! I enjoyed it all and especially loved the crepe myrtles! God bless you all!