Saturday, May 2, 2009

Spring Vacation pt 1 "Flowers Galore"

By:Skeeter

I have been out of the Blogging circuit for a while now while enjoying a nice extended Spring Vacation. First we took a quick trip to Tennessee to attend a family dinner celebrating my parents 50th Anniversary. Then back to Georgia for a few days of yard work. Then off to Gulf Shores Alabama to continue with the celebration in the form of a family vacation of sorts. We stayed on the water in this beautiful 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom cabin at the State Park. This was an awesome place to stay and we felt so at home that I did not want to leave there!
We had lots of yummy seafood at some fun places such as LuLu's which is Jimmy Buffets sisters place.
My dad made a new friend while we were waiting for a boat ride. Animals seem to find us no matter where we go. I am not sure if he was looking for the free ice cream they were serving to all awaiting guest for the boat ride or he just knew a good rub when he found one as we opt out of the free ice cream due to a recent meal and full tummy's.
While on the boat ride, we spotted dolphins in the bay. They were very difficult to capture on film and this was the best I could do. Sigh, I think they have been taking lessons from butterflies where the camera is concerned. :-)
Of course we spotted lots of water fowl on the beach. I love the way these little guys scamper along the waters edge.
The weather was not so pleasant during our stay as there was lots of rain and really windy conditions. But we had fun all the same. Mom and I spent some time at the "Pottery Barn" picking out some silk flowers for me to have some future fun.
The Saint spotted an owl in a tree in the middle of the day! I was so excited that I stopped the car and ran to snap a picture of him or her.
Lighting conditions were not the greatest but you can tell it was indeed an owl. I was thrilled as I have never seen an owl such as this in the wild before and just sitting there posing for me too! He soon flew to the ground for what I assume was a meal.
We were home only a few days when I took off on my own for yet another Tennessee visit. That big old mountain was not so scary climbing alone. While home this go round, was for two reasons. One was to meet Lola in person as she was to be at a luncheon that Tina had set up. We already talked about Meeting Lola with a previous posting. While home, I was not just goofing but working a bit as well. I was making some new floral arrangements for my parents house. Remember the time mom and I spent at Pottery Barn, well now you know why.
I picked out the flowers to work with while mom picked up the tab. Ah, my kind of shopping!
I set up my work station in front of the glass house windows while dad entertained me with a marathon of cowboy movies! I love a good cowboy movie and really did enjoy the movies and working, (okay, playing) all at the same time.
I was paid for my efforts in the form of pizza and other fun meals each day. Ah, I will work for Pizza any time!
I had a lot of fun creating new arrangements for my parents and was happy to give them yet one more little anniversary gift from me.
The sun was bright giving me a wonderful working spot by the glass doors.
I even made one arrangement with my dad and our Lady Bug Game in mind. I worked off and on with the flower arranging for 3 days and believe I made around 20 items. It was fun but my fingers had little holes in them from all the wire cutting and wrapping! I drove back to Georgia with Bandages on my fingers.
Two days home were just long enough to wash laundry and tend to some garden chores then we were off to spend Easter in Virginia with the Saints family. The Saints sister gave Mom B these beautiful "Real" tulips for Easter. They looked great on the coffee table with the bunny's. A male Swan (Pete) was building a nest in their backyard. The Swan have nested here for about 4 years now if not longer. Poor Pete lost his mate last year so he has no mate but he was still busy building a nest. I felt so sorry for him as he wants a family so badly but not going to happen no matter how nice a nest he builds. There are no female Swans available on the lake for the poor lonesome guy. Sigh, Nature can be so cruel to witness at times such as this...
We took a stroll in downtown Fredericksburg and found some beautiful spring colors every where we turned!
Tulips, Daffy's and Pansies dominated the front of this house.They were so beautiful that I had to move in for a closer look. The tulips and Daffy's were long gone in my Georgia garden by this time so it was a treat to enjoy some more of the spring pretties.
Red and White Tulips surrounding a tree with a perfect green grass frame. And look how the neighbors maple tree compliments the colors so well.
The Dogwood trees were not quite open as of yet but the double cherry trees were oh so beautiful as were other fruit trees and the abundance of Redbud.
All this area is missing is a bench for me to sit a spell.
The Grape Hyacinth were so lush with color and just popped against a Green backdrop!
I know the picture was not so clear but I was captured by the beauty of these tulips.
Ah, Purple and Gold, my High School colors!
Not to be outdone by the Saints High School colors of Purple and White!
This yard was full of Purple and White and oh so pretty...
Purple, White, Pink and Yellow make for a pretty combination as well.
I like to peek over walls as you never know what you might see. Manicured Ivy happens to be this yards feature.
More beautiful color combinations.
Even the bushes creeping over the wall add to the decor.
A peek over this wall revealed a garden ready for planting with spring tulips bordering.
I was in awe of this beautiful twig planter!
This artificial wreath looked real amongst all the spring pretties in the area.
This was a beautiful canopy of trees to stroll under.
I have seen Redbud all my life,
But I have never seen Whitebud before. Have you?
The same for Lilac. I have seen the pretty pale purple,
But never this deep Purple color before. Have you?
Poor Saint had a little surprise when he walked under one of the trees. Oops, darn bird, couldn't you wait until after he walked past you? Sigh, Mom B to the rescue with tissue in pocket! He is going to get me for posting this one. Tee hee...

This was a wonderful stroll along the old city sidewalks of Fredericksburg, VA and a wonderful way to help Mom B celebrate her birthday as well as Easter weekend! We spotted some things we could not Identify but I will save those for next week with a guessing game...

I sure enjoyed SPRING VACATION part 1, In the Garden...

Stay tuned to tomorrow's post for part 2 of my extended Spring Vacation. I have a story that should be saved for Halloweeen but I cant wait that long to share my fun with you all....

29 comments:

  1. My goodness Skeeter, that is some kind of vacation!! Love your flower arrangements, you certainly have a great eye and talent for putting them together.
    Fredericksburg? You would have gone by where we live!! Sort of. Guess you went up 95. One day you will have to take in Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown.

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  2. Goodness what a time you have had so far. Your floral arrangements are very pretty........sorry about the bird poop. tee hee

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  3. All I can think is WOW !
    I love that beach side cabin and the beach , no matter the weather it is gorgeous !
    All those beautiful places .. and silk flowers have come a long way ! Those arrangements are BEAUTIFUL : ) I feel for you with the fingers though .. OUCH !
    My heart went out to Pete the swan .. they truly mate for life .. so even if there were females present he may not have been able to join with her.
    What a great post !!

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  4. You are a very very busy person. Tell your husband that what happened to him is considered good luck.

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  5. You more than made up for your absence with this wonderful post. I am eager for the sequel.
    Donna

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  6. What a beautiful neighborhood!!! So many wonderful yards. Spring is the best.

    Birds always have the best timing!LOL

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  7. Skeeter - -you have really been traveling! It sounds like you had so many joys. Your creations are beautiful!

    I do feel sorry for poor Pete. Won't someone please import a bride for him?

    The spring gardens you saw on your walk are so lovely. You must have been in an historic district? I love the walls and paths and such.

    Cameron
    (If I miss your next installment, it's because we're heading out on Monday on vacation. If you post tomorrow, I'll still be around to read it or will catch it when I return.)

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  8. Skeeter, What a wonderful time you all had...Fredricksburg is beautiful all decked out in spring. I have a real soft spot for Gulf Shores...we used to visit there in September when all the tourists were long gone, but the weather was still perfect. Thank you for taking us along with you...The next time you are near Nashville will you let me know? I would love to see you. gail

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  9. The Saint and I have something in common--birds always seem to find me, too:)

    Looks like you've had a wonderful vacation, Skeeter! And a busy one at that; your floral arrangements are lovely--I can see why your Mom asked you to do them. Too bad spring flowers don't last forever; I could stroll around gardens with tulips and hyacinths all day. And you've managed to capture the true color of a redbud! I love this tree, but have found getting its color in a photo very difficult. Thanks for sharing!

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  10. Good morning all!

    Skeeter, you did an excellent job of getting it all in here. You are so talented with arranging those flowers. I have mine that you did for me right next to my sofa. I love the red! But my oh my isn't Fredericksburg lovely?? I really like those styles of gardens with the ribbons and ribbons of color-so much! I bet the Saint got a shock when he felt that splat! Take it as good luck like Les says-good thing it didn't land in his hair! And yes, he's going to get you:)

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  11. Oh my. Those flower arrangements are GORGEOUS! I would buy you flowers anytime if you made things like that for me!! Your vacation sounds wonderful, everything except the poor swan. :-(
    Maybe there will be another swan sometime down the road for him??

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  12. What a lovely post Ms. Skeeter. I really enjoyed all the pictures. And a "whitebud??" No, I've never heard of such a variety. But I do remember seeing a deep purple lilac around here somewhere. I think it's just down the road.

    And oh my! bird poop on the Saint's neck is not very becoming, nor would it be on any other part of the body!

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  13. Hi Skeeter, Your flower arranging is absolutly beautiful! I would of fussed for a week on half what you got done.
    Poor Pete, maybe a bride will come his way. I'm sure it hard for him to understand why his mate is not around.
    Lovely spring photos, getting me inspired to plant more here!

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  14. Skeeter, I've heard of white redbuds, cultivar 'Alba' I think it is. Never seen one. Sure is pretty!!

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  15. Good morning everyone! It is going to be a long hard day of splitting wood for the Saint and I today so I am getting on here before my arms are sore from all the work. Here we just turned the heat off a few weeks ago and now stocking the wood shed with wood for next winter, lol…

    Janet, Thank you so much. We did not go up 95 this trip. We decided to go a different route over the mountain. The views were spectacular to say the least. Dogwood and redbuds galore as we climbed the mountain then no color on the mountain top. Then dropping back down, we picked up color once again! I posted on our Family vacation with the Saints parents celebrating their 50th anniversary in Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown sometime back in late OCT or NOV as the trip there was in mid Oct. Go hit on sidebar links of vacations to see the fun we had. I think that was a two part series as well...

    Darla, Thanks, the bird poop happened to us often while living in Europe. Lots of Pigeons over there. They say it is good luck so the Saint has some luck now...

    Joy, Thanks, the beach house was nice and not too expensive when sharing the price with others. :) We had great times sitting on the screen porch during the rains overlooking the water and enjoying Stimulating Conversations. Pete lost his mate last fall and not sure he realizes she is gone for ever. Once he realizes that, he may find another mate only problem is, there are not any on the lake for him as they are all spoken for. This type Swan is not liked in many areas as they are not natural to the area so the lake caretakers will not bring in a new swan for possible mate. Nature must take its course. The fingers healed in a few days and all the fun I had was worth the pain as my mom got new arrangements free of cat hair! Well, for now anyway...

    Les, While in Europe we had lots of pesky pigeons poop on us! Locals had said when a bird poops on you, It is Good Luck! Saints mom is from Europe and when we told her that, she said she had never heard of that one before...

    Donna, you are so kind, part two coming tomorrow...

    Flowergirl, the neighborhood was beautiful. I enjoy strolling along the sidewalks of such beautiful historic homes and gardens. So beautiful and relaxing....

    Cameron, I have been around a lot lately. Lots of events to keep me running. It was all fun but the garden suffered a bit with weeds while I was away. I did manage to get a few small projects done while in between trips. We went a different route this time and spent some time driving in new parts of North Carolina for us. We past a place called Harmony and I was thinking that may be where you posted on the BBQ place a while back. I mentioned it to the Saint and had planned on looking it up once back home again, but then took off on the next adventure. I must look it up on your blog and we really enjoyed this route verses going up busy I-95 so will have to make a note for a meal on the next visit, which I think will be around July timeframe. They cannot bring in a Mate for Pete as he is not a swan natural to the area. There are several of them on this lake but so many they fight a lot and cause lots of heartache for others. So no mate unless a new brood with females is born this year by another couple. Part two will be tomorrow so you may see it before you take off. It is a bit spooky lol. Have fun on your travels, I had fun but now time to stay home a bit as I am so far behind on everything...

    Gail, Fredericksburg is a beautiful place to visit and we plan to go back to explore more with future visits to the Saints family. They are only about 30 minutes away from there so not much of a hassle to get there. I loved Gulf Shores but not the weather while there, Sigh, Even though it was Spring Break, hardly any tourist at all and I loved that aspect of the gulf! I hope to get back there again some day with nicer weather. Not sure when the next TN visit will be but I will let you know ahead of time so maybe we can meet up for lunch or something, that would be nice :)


    Rose, birds founds us both and often while living in Europe. lol The joke with us was, who is going to be the Lucky one today, as they claim bird poop is good luck. But with all the poop we have had on us, surely we would have won the lottery by now. lol. I had fun with the floral arranging. Cant seem to arrange real flowers worth a flip but can play around with silk ones though. It was fun and I do enjoy it as I miss the craft store in Germany. Spring colors are the greatest aren’t they? I only wish they would hang around longer then they do. But we were lucky to enjoy them in GA, then TN then VA as these are all different zones! So I pretty much followed spring a bit north. lol...

    Tina, It was difficult to post so much into one blog. Arg, why do I snap so many pictures? lol. Tomorrows post will be a fun one as well but a bit spooky. lol I do love those historic cities as strolling along you can see so many wonderful things! So much better then driving by in a car as you miss so much. I like to look beyond the front of a house as there is always some fun larking beyond the front. Saint was all calm (as usual) and just said, “I hope what I just felt was a rain drop and not what I think it is”. Then he slowly turned around and his mom found the poop! It was funny and yes, we did make mention that good thing it did not get in his hair. lol but as you said, we heard while in Germany that it is good luck, but as many times as we have been hit, we should be rich with lottery winnings by now! If he let me snap a pic, he knows it will be on the Blog, lol, Luckily, he has a sense of humor...

    Kathleen, thank you so much for the nice words on my arrangements. I have fun with it being all self taught or observing others. I dont have a great imagination where design comes into play but do know what colors work well with others. And I think that color selections are a big part of the beauty. Pete was so sad building his nest. Poor thing, maybe this year a new brood will be born by another pair of Swans and then he may find a mate next spring. Until then, he will be a loner Sigh...

    TC, The whitebud and lilac were interesting finds as were several other unknown items. Tune in next week for a game on such wonders. We were just glad the poop did not land in the hair. Now that would have been a mess a tissue may not solve...

    Dawn,Thanks, I was in the mood to craft and had a 3 day crafting frenzy of sorts. I was able to set up shop and cover ti all with a sheet (to keep moms cats off the stuff) and leave when I needed to and return, remove the sheet and pick up where I left off. It is fun when I am in the mood to create and I was during that time. It was so sad to see Pete hard at work on his nest knowing he will not have a mate this year. We decided that instinct had him build the nest but I am sure he is confused without a mate. Poor birdie. Yep, seeing all the pretty spring colors does inspire one to plant more!

    I AM OFF TO SPLIT FIRE WOOD NOW. FUN FUN JOY JOY... NOT!!!

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  16. Tina, I had never seen one before and did not know there was such a thing! Saints mom was in awe of it also....

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  17. Your flower arrangements are gorgeous!

    Yes, someone does need to import a new bride for Pete. He looks very lonely.

    Fredricksburg is beautiful this time of year! Thanks for sharing your pictures.

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  18. Oh Skeeter what a talent you have for arranging the flowers. They were all magificence!!!

    I feel for Pete and do hope another pops in for him. I say pooh to the lake caretaker. I once saw a squirrel on the raod that had been killed by a car and its mate was sitting by him crying. Made me wanna cry so I also feel for your parents having to watch Pete. When I saw the squirrel, I kept on driving and did not have to see it again.

    Now having a bird do his business on you is really funny and I find it amazing that it has happened to you guys many times as I have never had it happen to me or anyone I knew. WOW!!!!

    Great photos of your great vacations.

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  19. A whirlwind of activities indeed! Love all the photos you took & your arrangements are gorgeous. :)

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  20. That is flowers galore! You did a really nice job on the ones you put together. I had to laugh about working for pizza, I'm the same way :)
    I loved looking at all the spring flowers too! Sounds like a great trip.

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  21. I kinda feel like I've been on a little vacation after reading this post. I went to Gulf Shores for spring break when I was in college. Great memories!

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  22. That state park cabin made me want to vacation there, and it was magical that you got to see an owl in daylight; I hear lots of owls here and occasionally see them flying but I've never spotted one just sitting still.

    Jean's story about the squirrel touches me. It's easy to get so indignant about rodents that you forget they have feelings, too.

    Enjoyed seeing a bit of Fredericksburg, home of one of my long-time favorite authors Barbara Michaels (also Elizabeth Peters).

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  23. Whew, a long hot hard working day in the yard splitting wood today! But the wood shed is now full and ready for winter! Did I just say ready for winter when we just left winter behind us?

    Sweet bay, thank you! I do wish Pete would find a new bride. Maybe next year he will have one. Fredericksburg is so beautiful this time of year and I hope to get back to see the gardens during a different season as well...

    Jean, you sound like my mom with our compliments :) thank you so much. Your squirrel story is so sad. Someone sent a video of a dog that was hit by a car and another dog was dragging it out of the road while cars whizzed by! Just broke my heart and I cannot get that video out of my mind. So sad that no one stopped to help them but it was a busy interstate. Sigh... I do hope that Pete does find a new mate one day. He was so pitiful just sitting on the nest and testing it out and fluffing it each morning. Drip drip go the tears for Pete. One time a bird poop on my while I was outside with the children when working at the Day Care Center! They sure had a laugh from that one. We were pooped on many times while living in Germany. So many pigeons everywhere you go in the larger cities and people feeding them. Kind of like the seagulls at the beach...

    Raquel, Thanks and it sure was a worldwind of a month! So much fun but so much to now catch up on. sigh...

    Catherine, So I am not the only one to work for Pizza! Ha, the Saint thinks I am the only one crazy about pizza but now I can tell him I am not alone. Tee hee. Glad you enjoyed the little stroll of flowers today...

    JGH, I was hoping someone would feel like they had been there with me :-) This was my first trip to Gulf Shores and I hope to make it back there again some day as there was more to do then we were able due to the weather. I did not see the Emerald waters as they were murky due to so much rain. Argggg...

    Pomona Belvedere, That State Park cabin was wonderful to say the least and I did not think too expensive although, it was not high season. I told the Saint that I could be happy living in the cabin as the floor plan was wonderful! We were all shocked to see the owl in the day light hours so no one said a thing when I pulled the car over and got out and started walking towards it for a photo op. They were so patient with me. I too found Jean's story so sad. They are nothing but tree rats at times but they are creatures and I do feel that all creatures have feelings. Have you ever been to visit Fredericksburg since it is home to your favorite author? It is a wonderful place to visit...

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  24. I loved the tour!!
    Thanks for sharing! Sorry about the Saints little dropping(-:
    That happened to me but it was on my head! How embarrassing!!!
    The bouquets are absolutely stunning!
    CiNdEeS' GaRdEn

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  25. Cindee, I am glad you enjoyed the tour! It was a fun time but now back to work around the house. Sigh... I had a bird drop on me while I worked at a Day Care Center and had the kids on the playground! The kids loved that and never let me forget it either. lol...

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  26. Skeeter, just backing up here a bit to try catch up. Loved your tour & the flowers were gorgeous. I know you all have a glorious time.

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  27. Lola, We did have a great time. I am glad you enjoyed the tour with me today!

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  28. Hi Skeeter, loved all the floral shots. With those gorgeous mix of colours!

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  29. Kanak, Thank you so much! I enjoy lots of spring color...

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