Peonies - The beautiful calm after the storms 2

I said I would put up the peony photos, so here they are.  Such beautifully frilly and delicate flowers are peonies... and they smell so sweet.  It's just too bad I can't put a scratch 'n sniff on the blog. :)  Thank you sweet friend for my lovely flowers.  They really lifted my spirits.  After all of the disaster around, it's nice to be able to focus on such an elegant creation.

Fully bloomed, this peony was easily my favorite.  It's been happy on my breakfast table for over a week now. :-D

The peonies that survived a few days.  I originally had more white, but they didn't last as well as the pink.  Check out the bud at the top.  So cute!

Blooming peony

The red-tipped coloration on the white peonies was so pretty. 

Iris - The beautiful calm after the storms

Last week, several tornadoes came within a couple of miles of my home.  We were without power for days, but our family, home, and friends were all spared.  So many people lost so much.  After the power was restored, a sweet friend of mine gave me some irises from her garden, and I wanted to share a few shots of them.  She also gave me some gorgeous peonies, so I'll have to do another post on them soon.  Flowers are always beautiful, but they mean so much more when they're given with love. :)  Enjoy!

"Wishing Flowers"

My littlest is really into dandelions.  He brings me a few every time he goes outside (if they're in the yellow flower stage), and whenever he finds a "wishing flower" he blows as hard as he can - wishing for lots of ice cream.  His love for these pretty weeds inspired me to make a dandelion post.  I hope you enjoy the photos. :)

Weeds! Weeds! Beautiful weeds?

In with spring comes a variety of weeds shooting up in our backyard.  I decided to get an up close look at some of them and share a few shots with you (before my husband kills them all).  :)  Can you believe even the annoying little weeds are so beautiful?

A first for me on whatever this weed is.  Love the variation in color though!

This weed was WAY cooler than I ever could've imagined once I got up close.

My boys bring me dandelions whenever they come in from playing outside. They're becoming a favorite "flower weed" (as my oldest calls them) of mine. :)  Sweet boys!

For my mom.... who loves the teeny tiny purple flowers on this weed.

Rain drops keep fallin' on my camera

A short break in the rain gave me just enough time to run outside and get some cool shots of the rain-soaked foliage. :)  I hope you like them!

Fun-loving little girl!

This girl is as fun as they come!  She's so full of energy and a real smart cookie.  I had a great time photographing her!  Even better, my littlest man and I really enjoyed hanging out with this sweet little girl and her loving mother.  Nothing beats good time with great friends! :)

 "Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make everyday a holiday and celebrate just living!" -Amanda Bradley

March showers bring beautiful flowers

Rain!  Rain!  Rain!  Spring is here, and we have the allergies to prove it.  Thankfully, we also have some beautiful flowers. :)  I hope you enjoy a few of these photos I've taken lately.

A lovely camellia blooming outside my window

A lone pear tree blossom

Pear tree blossoms ... beautiful :)

A perfect calla lily

Purple statice - beautiful color!

Spring Blooms Early

Well, the groundhog predicted that spring would come early this year.  If you've been outside any in the last week or so, you'd probably say he was right so far.  The weather has been gorgeous.  So, in honor of spring's early arrival, I decided to post a few photos of flowers that I've taken lately.  (Special thanks go to my husband who buys me flowers that I end up killing far too quickly by manipulating them for photographs. :) )

Sometimes even a flawed flower seems so perfect. :)

Winter wonder: Frost

So, I woke up one morning and saw the incredible frost covering everything outside.  I put on my husband's shoes and a sweatshirt and braved the 8 degree weather in my pajamas to get some photos of it.  The frost was so big!  I haven't seen it like this in a long time!  Hope you like the pictures. :)

In case you're wondering, "What in the world is that?!", it's my son's baseball bat.

Even the icicles had frost on them!

Winter wonder: Icicles

Ice: it may be dangerous, but it sure is breathtakingly beautiful... especially as icicles.  I had to share a few of these little wonders that I found at my parents' house.  Enjoy!