November in My Yard

My Cypress tree is turning rusty-red, one of the few trees to change color around here. We mostly have Pine trees.

"There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it." ~Minnie Aumonier

Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky,

We fell them down and turn them into paper,

That we may record our emptiness.~Kahlil Gibran

The butterflies are still around enjoying the few Zinnias I have left.

I love the color of this Zinnia. It's amazing how many different colors and shapes of flowers come out of that one ten cent package of flower seeds!

"Bread feeds the body, indeed, but flowers feed also the soul." ~The Koran

I bought this bush as a small plant at an herb sale a few years ago. It's called a "Firecracker or Cigar Plant". The scientific name is Cuphea ignea. It grew into this huge bush and produces hundreds of little long, red-orange flowers from March until frost. It stays covered in butterflies and hummingbirds. I highly recommend it. It comes back every year here in Louisiana. We're in a sub-tropical zone, though. If it's cut back and covered with leaves, it will probably survive other zones as well.




This is a close-up of the yellow butterflies that love the "Firecracker" plant---and a close-up of the flower which reminds me of Honeysuckle flowers. This bush is easily propagated, too. I took a few cuttings from branches last Fall and planted them in regular potting soil in a South facing window in my house and they grew like weeds.

The cats are enjoying the sunshine while watching the leaves fall and the lizards scrambling along the window screen.

Poor Cody-dog. Catfish looks like one of Cody's chew toys sitting here in his face. Catfish wants to be a dog so bad it's funny. He ignores the other cats and hangs out with Cody (who's jealous of him and growls at him, but tolerates him).

Wishing you all a wonderful, peaceful weekend.

Blessings,

Marion