Yard Lagniappe

I took advantage of some clouds giving us a break from the relentless heat yesterday afternoon, and walked around my yard with my camera. I was hoping to see some butterflies, but there were none to be found.

I did manage to find a few things I found interesting, though — such as these berries on our Japanese Yews.

Isn't it amazing how the light blue seed pods emerge from their purple "cocoons."

And speaking of "emerging seed pods," the Bay Magnolia in our courtyard is loaded with beautiful red pods that are literally bursting with seeds.

The Scaevola Bombay plants in my urns are doing well and lived up to their promise of being resistant to "extreme heat, humidity, and drought conditions."

This little rock has been nestled inside the larger rock for as long as we've had our pond and waterfall in the courtyard.

I'm not sure how it got there, but for some reason I find it endearing.

This little Japanese Maple leaf resting on a bird feeder caught my eye, too ...

Ornamental Grass

I bought this Asparagus Fern last Spring, and it has thrived in the summer heat.

I love the delicate little flowers and berries hidden amongst its tangled fronds ...

Our Chaste Tree is blooming for the last time this summer and the bees are loving it ...

I don't know much about bees, but I don't think these look like "regular" bumblebees. You can click on the pictures to get a closer look, if you'd like.

And that concludes my "walk/photo shoot around the yard," but that's not the end of the story.

While I was taking the pictures, I noticed all kinds of yard work that needed to be done, so I spent a couple of hours trimming and weeding and "fluffing" pine straw in the flower beds. There's nothing more satisfying to me than working in my yard. Even though it didn't take me long to get hot and sweaty and grubby, I loved it and was so pleased with the results of my hard work.

It always amazes me how much difference just an hour or two of yard work can make — not only in the way the yard looks, but also the way it makes me feel — and I never fail to wish I had taken "before" pictures to make me really appreciate what I accomplished.