Southern Louisiana Lagniappe

Although my husband and I were both born and raised in Northeast Louisiana, we've never spent a lot of time exploring the southern part of the state, especially Southwest Louisiana. Later this week, we will be heading in that direction, and my cameras are charged ... the car's washed and ready to go ... and I can't wait to begin our "off the beaten path" adventure through the land of swamps and bayous and the heart of Cajun country.  I'm also looking forward to visiting some of the beaches along the Louisiana Gulf Coast, which I've read are a shell seeker's paradise. I hope you will join me next time when I share our adventures and the pictures I capture along the way.

Just a Little Lagniappe

Just a few "lagniappe" pictures ...

   

 

Lest We Forget ...

As we look forward to celebrating this last week in July, let us count our blessings and give thanks for this great country of ours.  Let us also remember our servicemen and women scattered all over the world who are fighting to keep it free ... and safe ... and always and forever, America, the Beautiful.

Sweet Summer Rain

We were blessed with a little lagniappe yesterday in the form of a refreshing rainstorm, complete with thunder and lightning.  I was so happy to see the rain that I didn't mind the stormy part, and ventured out on the porch to try to capture some pictures of the rain.  I was disappointed in most of the pictures, but saved this one because you can see the drops hitting the water in our pond, which I think is kind of neat.

We needed the rain, and after the storm moved through, everything looked so pretty and fresh and COOL.  Well, it wasn't COOL, but it was definitely a few degrees cooler than it had been before the rain ... and that was nice.

Here are a few pictures I captured (after the rain went away) of our Crape Myrtles and a Begonia in a hanging basket near our porch ...  

They looked so pretty after their rain bath, as if their petals were sprinkled with diamonds.

I love the fringe of raindrops clinging to the Crape Myrtle blossoms ...

[If you would like to get a closer look, you can click on the pictures to enlarge them]

There's nothing like a summer rain shower to lift your spirits and refresh the world around you.  I hope your world will be blessed with one soon ... if you need it.

Ferns -- A Cool Landscaping Plant

With our mid-summer Mississippi temperatures withering and wilting even the hardiest of our drought and heat resistant flowers, I am enjoying and appreciating my ferns that grow along the path leading from our courtyard to the backyard.

The path may not BE cooler, but the lush GREENness of the ferns at least makes it LOOK cooler.

Asparagus ferns also tolerate the summer heat and add a sense of "coolness" to a patio or porch ...

Ferns are also lovely as part of the landscaping when mixed with other flowers in a natural setting, or beside a creek or pond.  We have several growing around the waterfall and pond area in our courtyard.

 

I captured the next two pictures at Mynelle Gardens in Jackson, Mississippi ...

Doesn't all that GREENness make you feel cooler?

And speaking of "cool" ... my ferns have lasted well into the winter months and have even survived a dusting of snow!

I think next summer I will invest in Asparagus ferns and perhaps Kimberly Queens, instead of wasting my money on "drought and heat tolerant" plants and flowers.  And if I want color, I can always buy colorful planters for the ferns, like the cobalt planter in the picture above.  At least, I know the planters won't wither away, even though I might.

The Pleasure of His Company, Continued

We had the pleasure of keeping our almost-two-year-old grandson Maddox over the weekend, and a good time was had by all.  Such a sweet and simple pleasure of life  ... watching your grandbaby discover new and fun things.

My parents came to play, too, and it took the four of us to keep up with him.  Oh, to have the energy of a two-year-old!  Maddox is "all boy," but is such a sweet and loving baby, too.

I think his favorite activity of the weekend was playing with the water hose.  Even though the water was just a trickle, he had a ball ...  

It didn't take him long to discover that he could get a drink of water from the hose ...

Not very sanitary, but oh, so cute!

 And even more fun was watching him enjoy his first popsicle ...

Notice how wrinkled his little hand is in this next picture ...

Uh-oh!  Part of it broke off ...

No problem ... I'll just lay the other part down for a minute.

    There were also indoor activities that kept him busy, like playing in his tunnel ...

 

And playing with the iPad with his little dog friend, Max ...

Who is always close by ...

 

At the end of the day, our little guy was tired and ready for some quiet time watching TV ...

And his grandparents and great-grandparents were ready ... for BED!