Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to MARCH!!!! My header picture this month is a photo I took of the pretty Crocus blooms in our yard... The Crocuses and Daffodils are the first signs of spring here in Tennessee. I am definitely ready for SPRING...

Monday, June 27, 2016

IRISES in our Yard 2016


During April and May,  we had some of the most beautiful IRISES blooming in our yard.   (My records show that we had 28 different varieties bloom this spring.)  AND-- I haven't even taken time to show some of them to you... Shame on me!!!!!

Oh Well---today,  I will share some of them with you... Hope you enjoy seeing all of these beauties...  Be sure to click on them for enlargements!  The picture above shows some of the Irises in our Road Bed.   We have Irises in several places around the yard --so it's hard to get a picture showing them all.


FLOOR SHOW IRIS (taken-4/21/16)



AUTUMN BUGLER IRISES (taken 4/24/16)



HELL'S FIRE IRIS (taken 4/21/16)



GARDEN GRACE IRISES (taken 4/21/16)



HALLOWEEN HALO IRIS (taken 4/25/16)



HONEY GLAZED IRISES (taken 4/25/16)



ORANGE HARVEST IRIS (taken 4/28/16) ---one of my favorites



CLARENCE IRISES (taken 4/25/16)



WALTZ ACROSS TEXAS IRISES (taken 5/3/16)



MOTHER EARTH IRIS (taken 5/9/16)



LOVE the SUN IRIS  (taken 5/10/16)



CABLE CAR IRIS  (taken 5/9/16)



BOUNTIFUL HARVEST IRIS (taken 4/30/16)  --another favorite of mine!!
Well---that is enough for today... Sorry I didn't get these posted sooner... Now I have lilies,  roses and more day lilies to post,  along with more trips we have taken.... I just need more hours in my day!!!!!  Jeeshhhh---and I'm supposed to be retired with time on my hands... HA HA...

Do you have a favorite today????  They are all beautiful though I'm sure!!!!

Have a wonderful day/week ahead... It's almost JULY... Mercy Me!

Hugs,
Betsy

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Day Lilies Galore in our Yard, 2016---and a Blog-Aversary!

Hello Blog and Facebook Friends/Family!   I am posting TODAY for a specific reason.  I want to show you all of our many, many Day Lilies which are blooming now ---BUT I also want to tell you that  TEN YEARS AGO TODAY (June 15, 2006),  I started Blogging for the first time.  I began on a site called LightBlog (which is now gone).  In 2009,  I switched to Blogger...  The rest is history. 

Friends come and go --but I have met so many fantastic lifetime friends through both Blogging and Facebook.  SO-----what do you want to do today--to help me celebrate my BLOG-ANNIVERSARY????  Shall we go out to dinner? NAH---let's have some coffee and just sit and enjoy all of the flowers in the yard! Okay????? 

Our Day Lilies this year are really putting on a show!!!   I could share post after post after post showing you our pictures, since we have so many varieties and colors.  I think I have taken several pictures of about 47 different varieties SO FAR --with more to bloom....  Wish you were here to see our Day Lilies!!!!!!

Today --I will share pictures I took on 6/14  of just a few of our many Day Lilies... Hope you enjoy seeing them---and hopefully,  in this group,  you will find one of your favorite colors,  since we have so many different colors and varieties.  You can click on the pictures to see them larger!!!  Sit back and enjoy! 


WINEBERRY CANDY DAY LILIES



BAHAMA BUTTERSCOTCH DAY LILY



BRIGHT SUNSET and CAROLYN CRISWELL (yellow)  DAY LILIES  (taken in the BRIGHT SUNSHINE)



PANDORA'S BOX DAY LILIES



Another picture showing the DAY LILY BEDS



INDIAN GIVER DAY LILY



BUTTERED POPCORN DAY LILIES



CUSTARD CANDY DAY LILIES



WARRIOR PRINCE DAY LILIES



CAMERON QUARTZ  DAY LILY



DAD ADAMS' DAY LILIES  (our FIRST Day Lilies, planted years ago from George's sweet Daddy)



PAPER BUTTERFLY DAY LILIES



FRANKLY SCARLET DAY LILY



PLUM PERFECT DAY LILIES



CONDILLA DAY LILY  (this one is a 'double')



One of our DAY LILY BEDS
Well---I hope you enjoyed all of these pictures... As I said above,  all of my pictures were taken yesterday,  6/14/16.   These blooms are constantly changing... We are now going outside with our cameras TWICE a day instead of once.  Amazing the constant changes!!!!!!  Wish you were here....

Do you have a favorite (or favorites) from today's group?   I love them all--but Buttered Popcorn always calls my name since I love YELLOW,  and this one always stands up above the rest!!!!  I also love Condilla,  the double yellow one...  You?????

Enjoy some coffee --or a cold one---for ME today on my Blog-Aversary..... Blogging has always been one of my favorite things to participate in!!!!!  Thanks to all of YOU for sticking with me through these many years!!!!!  Check out George's great post today showing pictures from our early morning walks.  Click HERE.

Hugs,

Monday, June 6, 2016

Early Morning Walks on the Golf Course Cart Path

SUNRISE:  4/13/16  (Not many leaves on the trees yet!!)
What would it take to get you UP out of bed  about 4:45 a.m. each morning?  WELL---a few years ago,  I would have said that NOTHING could make me get up that early.  (I had always been a night owl --and enjoyed sleeping a 'little' later in the mornings.)  BUT-- once George and I decided to put a priority on exercise (walking is OUR choice),  everything changed!!!!

We got our FITBITS last May (2015) ---and have been faithful to that program (along with My Fitness Pal) since...  We have walked the streets in our area and also on some of the provided trails.  BUT--since we live on a golf course (Druid Hills),  it became our favorite place to walk.  We could walk nine holes which is about 2 miles on the golf course.  But we are limited as to when we can walk there.  The rules state that there can be no walkers anytime there are golfers on the course. SO--that basically limited our walking  to late in the evenings (almost dark) OR very early in the mornings (first light).

Last Summer---we chose to walk in the evenings...  When winter came, the golf course was closed sometimes (depending upon the weather).  SO---we walked at various times during the day.  THEN---when March came,  we decided to get up early and take our walks in the early morning... I'll admit that it was hard (still is, when we are tired) to get up that early ---but since we do it most every day now,  it is becoming more routine for us.  AND--any older person trying to stay healthy will tell you that ROUTINE is good and keeping the same schedule is good for us.

I never thought I'd say this but it's true:  "When I get up and take my morning walk early,  it makes the entire day go much much better"..... When I miss walking one morning,  I find myself much more sluggish all day long!  Crazy, huh????  BUT--for me morning works.

I carry my iPhone each morning on our walks ---and we try to get pictures when possible.  We try to time our walks so that we can see the sunrise.  SO---I went through my pictures from April and May ---and have chosen 16 to share with you today.   I'll put the date with them so that you can compare one day to the next.  Amazing how different things can look depending upon the clouds,  the weather,  etc...




SUNRISE:  4/14/16--  (Every morning is different!!!)



Pink Sky in the Morning:  4/15/16



SUNRISE:  4/20/16  (compare this picture to the one below taken on 5/28/16; sun is moving toward the left and rising EARLIER each morning)



Early Morning:  4/20/16   (Love the puffy clouds)



SUNRISE:  4/24/16--- (See the fog/mist in the distance?)



SUNRISE:  4/25/16  (more leaves on the trees!!!)



EARLY morning SKY:  5/4/16   (back to walking after a trip)



MIST on the Pond:  5/4/16   (There's always more beauty besides the sky!)



Early morning SUN hitting the Trees along the golf course fairway:  5/4/16



SUNRISE:  5/24/16  (Back from another trip;   Love seeing the sunbeams!!)



SUNRISE:  5/27/16 



SUNRISE:  5/28/16  (Compare this picture to one taken on 4/20 above.  Sun keeps on moving to the left..  It will start moving back about June 20.)



SUNRISE:  5/30/16---  (We get some great pictures when there are clouds in the sky!!!)



SUNRISE:  5/31/16   (Oh What a Beautiful Morning!!!)



Two Crazy-in-love, TALL people enjoying LIFE!! ha ha
Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them and sharing them.. Does this make you want to get up early???????

Hope you are enjoying JUNE so far!!!  We certainly are!

Hugs,