I'm Still Alive!

BY SKEETER

Long time no chat from me!

Here is what's happening in my Georgia Garden right now. Spring popping in January? Yes, we have had a really mild winter thus far. And now Spring is trying to arrive. Daffy's, Phlox and Hyacinth are here!

Hellebores are here and the Butterfly Bushes never left us this winter! One crazy winter for sure but as we all know, Winter is not over as of yet. Some below freezing temps at night and days in the 70's make for scary times.

I fear for the Peach Farmers here in Georgia. With this type weather, they can loose their entire crop over night. So what has been going on with Skeeter you may ask? Well, we had house guests over Thanksgiving. We took walks to several of our wonderful county parks such as the one above with the Saint striking a pose.
The Saint attended a Trade Show in Orlando and I accompanied him on this trip. I hit the Outlet Malls for some Christmas shopping as the Saint was occupied with the show. We enjoyed our free evenings at fun places such as Downtown Disney. I was captivated by these beautiful pots of flowers in December! Mickey is watering these beauties...It is fun visiting such places during the holiday season with all the pretty decorations and fresh flowers. And the bonus, this trip was on company travel and hotel and full-up free breakfast. Free is my friend!
We visit Gatorland and had a blast! First of all, The Saint got in for free for being a Veteran! I received a 20% discount for being with a Veteran! We were thrilled from the start. We found this place most interesting with Birds and Alligators seeming to be friends.
We had up close encounters with Alligators, Crocodiles and Birds of many different sizes. We thought we would spend a few hours checking out this place but 5 hours later, we had to drag our self away as we had to depart Florida. The place was clean and basically a nature preserve of a swamp.
I wrangled a Gator...
The Saint skinned it...
And we ate the thing! Ha, not really. We did eat the gator meat and it was pretty good...The park was full of blooms and had a wonderful boardwalk through the natural swamp.
Again, it was awesome to see such beautiful blooms in December!
We took Highway A1A on our journey home. Although we only stopped for a picture or two, we both had our first visit to Daytona Beach!
We had the entire beach to our self as no one is there during the month of December! We actually saw signs advertising hotel rooms for $39.00 a night! We were so tempted to stay the night but our Fur Baby's were home awaiting our arrival. We continue to enjoy our drive along the ocean front until Jacksonville, Florida where we jumped back onto the interstate.
Back to Georgia and the land of cotton. Nope, not snow but cotton still waiting to be picked in early December! Get busy cotton farmers...
A week or so home then off to Tennessee for Christmas. We stopped in Nashville at the Opryland Hotel to stretch our legs a bit after a 5 hour drive. I was captivated by this huge Christmas tree inside the hotel.
The garden's in the hotel are just awesome! And again, a wonderful thing to see such beauty in December.
We found it difficult to believe this hotel was under water with the floods of May 2010. It is such a beautiful place to visit any time of year.
Of course the reason for being in Tennessee, Christmas with my family. Here you see my dad looking over a Shadow-Box I made for him. This was my first go at a Shadowbox and I was happy with the results. I collected items from his "Trane Company" Union Days of the 1960's. Silly me, forgot to snap a picture of it though. Duh.... The newest addition to our family (Jensen) was sleeping soundly with 26 people gabbing away around him. We were in Tennessee for 5 days and was not able to visit everyone we had planned to visit, including Tiger Gardens and Tina. Sigh, but Spring Fling is on the way and we shall make up for that missed time.
Back home to Georgia where we ringed in the New Year with Grilled Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Black eyed Peas with Ham and Cornbread.A bit of rest then, I pulled the paints out of the closet and got busy playing a bit.
This little Pig and Squirrel now have fresh coats of paint to brighten them up a bit. They once sit on their swings in the Crepe Myrtle tree that we lost last fall. Now they are swinging under the Japanese Maple trees in the front porch planters.
I also worked on making my own Valentine decorations. I made a Wreath, 2 Swags and a Garland. They now brighten up the woods in my Display for the season. I shall snap a pic of that at some point.
We are currently dog sitting for the Saints parents while they enjoy some warm temps in Florida. They drove down from Virgina and dropped Minnie off with us. She is a good dog and is enjoying lots of outside time. She loves rolling in our beautiful Green Rye Grass. The cats are not too happy with Minnie intruding on their space but they are doing well thus far. We are taking great strides to keep harmony amongst all. Minnie and I spent several hours in the yard yesterday cleaning out a couple of planters. She is a shy dog in her home surroundings but seems to thrive in our woods setting. She runs through the woods, jumps the creek and has the best time while under our care.

Once Minnie has departed, I shall have a few days to prepare the house for 6 house guests! We shall all take off for our Winter Vacation.

With all going on in our life this winter, I have yet to feel the Winter Blues! That is a good thing as that so depresses me. I have been one busy gal since we last spoke and I continue to be kept from blogging. I am just popping in today to let you all know, I AM STILL ALIVE, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden