Christmas Cactus

My Christmas Cactus are all blooming or in the process of blooming!  I love them all.  My Mom gave a slip from one of hers and I keep starting others now, too.

These Christmas Cactus are very easy to root and grow rapidly.

The color is so vivid.

This one has a very different leaf than the others.  I have had this plant since the early 60's.  Our doctor friend's sister gave me a small one from an enormous one she said she had since the doc was a little boy!  I have had to restart with slips but no matter how much I cut it up, it always comes back.  The blossoms are deep red and are just beginning to show.


  There are some plants that cannot be left to the elements because we do get some freezing temps here in SC in winter.  Right now they are on the back porch but will have to be wrapped or brought in soon.  

The one on the left is the Tai plant from Hawaii that is started from a piece of waxed root.  My hubby bought this for me when we were dating at the NYS Fair.  It is a beautiful plant and though it has met with mishaps, it has always come back.  I love it.  It is now 52 yrs. old.  


The begonia is the one that blew into the lake and turtles were chowing down on it.  But as you can see, it survived and grew nicely.  In the back is my Crown of Thorns plant that my Mom started for me more than 23 yrs. ago.  It is about 3 foot tall with "drops of blood" blossoms as the legend goes.


   I would love to see your plants that you have had for years.  Tip on Christmas Cactus, they need 12 hours of darkness to bloom and that is why I leave them on the back porch as long as I can.  If I do have to bring it in, I put it in the guest bedroom that when unused is dark.
  Thanks for coming as always. And have a very Merry Christmas!

Here we are with Christmas only weeks away and The Bradford Pear Tree is only now in Brilliant color.  I do love it so!  We have had a couple of good frosts but today it is 54 right now and Sunny, A glorious Sunday!

The inside of the house is decorated and very "Christmassy" I just invented a new word and Christ will be in my Christmas greetings forever!!

 This is our little tiny tree on a bench in the den.  The Vintage Wood Stove electric heater I bought on line from good old Wal-mart, is working wonderfully to heat the den (it was a screened in porch when we moved here 6 yrs. ago) and a delight to see as the flames look so real!
Isabella never leaves the room now because it is cozy.  She snoozes there on the rocker.

Such a lovely time of year, is it not?  We love living here in SC, the weather is so great year round but we still have the change of seasons.  In 23 yrs. this Dec 29th, we have seen snow only 4 times with only twice having it stay on the ground.  Here is a picture of seasons past.


Thank you for stopping by this beautiful Sunday.  If you have time, please visit my other blogs listed in the side bar.  And shop my Etsy shop for unique hand made gifts.

Where did they go?

The Swan parents pulled a fast one this morning!  (Through my window world...)They went up on the opposite bank of the little lake and went out of sight.  The 4 juveniles were feeding a little further down and when they turned around and cruised back, their parents were no where to be seen.  So they kept circling around and tried to see where the parents were.  The rise in the landscape was just high enough that they could not see.  This went on for about 45 min. until they finally climbed the bank and went in the same direction.  Swan behavior is so fascinating!  The parents must think it is time to push the juveniles out on their own-ha!

Note the two Mallard ducks to the right.  They are our resident Mallards and hang around with the Swans all the time. 

The squirrels have been playing on the wooden crane and have him all askew.

They also took flight a few times going from one end of the lake to the other but kept coming back until their final departure.


Nature is so wonderful!

Our silly Thanksgiving tradition and Wood Storks

This is our daughter Barbara with hubby yesterday!  Ever since the kids were little, Bill has taken the netting that comes around the turkey and put it on his head to make them laugh!  Yesterday, was no exception.  We celebrated with only our youngest daughter as everyone else was out of town and she couldn't wait to see her Dad wear the net for pictures!  Ha!  Our hero!

Multiple Myeloma has taken a lot from him but not his sense of humor!!  We had a very nice day and were justifiably stuffed with good food.  We were watching our two "granddogs" for our oldest daughter while she is away and here they are with their favorite guy.

It is really hard to see loved ones suffer with an illness and we are thankful for every moment we can still share with this wonderful man.
 The wood Storks hung around the little Lake in back of the house all week and we were so excited to see them.  One day one of the wood storks came with a huge Great Blue Heron.

They both hung out on the other bank in the sun for an hour at least!

Here is the Wood stork preening.

And here is the Blue Heron preening.

They were about 10 feet apart.


To see our fall Robins of this last week, please go to Two Happy blog, thanks!  Hope your holiday was special!

Thank you so much for stopping by and do come again soon.  

My wild heart to yours...

Beautiful Fall Swan Morning!

The wonderful swans have been hanging out in our little lake and we are loving it!  They dunk for the aquatic plant life in the pond and stayed overnight last night.  I went out after dark and there they were just floating serenely on the lake.  When I awoke this morning and opened the blinds in the den, there they all were preening and dunking.  What a wonderful sight.  One young adult still has his brown colors on the wings.

 All of my photos were taken through the den windows.  We are so blessed to see these wonderful graceful Swans and other water fowl right in our own backyard!

What a great time of year!  All the seasons are beautiful but Autumn is my most favorite time of all.  Loving Life, Life is Good!

My Heart to Yours...

God is saying good night...

You all know how much I love sunsets!!  I chase them round the house outside and there is never too many for me, I love every single one! 

It feels like God is saying "Good Night"....

Thank you for this beautiful day Lord!

Reflections of the setting sun November 8th, 2011.

And my beautiful orange and yellow Mum plant comes back every year, trailing right out of the pot with the weight of the blossoms.  So beautiful!

They look as though God painted them and made every petal perfect!

What joy we find in nature with the changing of each season!

And last but not least, here is my begonia that survived blowing into the lake behind the house, eaten up by turtles, rescued and now flourishes!  Nature is so resilient!

My heart to yours...

Sounds and colors of Fall

Don't you just love the Fall?  There is a painting to be born when I look out every window in the house!  Blue, Blue sky with lovely gray branches and orange leaves against it, V's of Canadian Geese flying in both directions and the rustle of leaves under my feet as I rake the yard.  Ahhh, to be a kid again and jumping in the leaves, and smelling their aroma!

And butterflies still come as beautiful as ever!

First Halloween and now it is the Month of Thanksgiving already!

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Below is a great Recipe for left over turkey that I found!

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Rice with Goodies

By: DOREENF

"This dish is a great way to use up leftover turkey. All sorts of goodies - sweet and savory - are tossed together with bacon, turkey and rice to create a wild flavor sensation. Get creative and add your own goodies

Ingredients

• 3 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
• 3 slices bacon
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1/2 cup peas
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 Granny Smith apple - peeled, cored and diced
• 1 cup cooked, chopped turkey meat
• 1 teaspoon chicken soup base
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan bring water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown.
3. Mix the onion, celery, carrot, peas, mushrooms, almonds, raisins and apple into the skillet. Slowly cook and stir over medium heat until tender.
4. Mix in the turkey, chicken soup base, soy sauce, parsley and pepper. Mix in the rice. Serve hot.

Have a most wonderful Day!

My heart to yours...