Flower Friday : : Scabiosa

We had some respite from the rain today, although it is scheduled to return tomorrow. I pruned the grevillea that has such large blossoms the rain sodden branches were on the ground. My attempt at making some sort of arrangement from them was not very satisfactory, so I wandered around the garden showing its best colors despite the untimely rain. I was torn between the Coretta Scott King rose with its lovely scent and ladybug visitor*, and the scabiosa. Despite sounding like some sort of dermatological disease, I chose the scabiosa because I had to lie down on the ground to take the picture from a slightly different angle and managed to get up again without injuring myself. I can do this fairly easily, if inelegantly, on a Pilates mat, but the rock and pebble strewn ground is another story.

It has been quite awhile since I have been able to enjoy the sun in the garden so I decided to try for a zen moment. A red tail hawk was circling overhead screeching, while a raven pair raucously defended their nest in an oak tree. This battle resumes every year about this time and goes on most of the summer. 

The little birds carry on at the feeders, unfazed by the overhead chaos. I don't know where they build their nests...we never see them...but they can't be far away. There are several nests, in the eaves right outside the door to the Pilates studio and I watched them busily come and go. Someone suggested using a selfie stick to look into the nest for chicks.

One year we put a bunch of bluebird houses up near our arbor. We thought they were quite upscale, and the bluebirds checked them out, but they didn't move in, they moved on. 

The poppies have migrated from the raised flower beds and seeded themselves all over one of the paths up to the arbor. Picking my way through several clumps of them I admired OilMan's tomato plants. They are now between one and two feet tall and beginning to flower. OilMan, having successfully finished up-potting, hardening off and rooting his plants, seems to have abandoned them to their fate and moved on to other chores. 

Thanks again to Biker Bear for providing this pleasant, undemanding challenge. I'm sure I could get better flower pictures with filters or stacking or layering, and someday I intend to learn how to do some of these things, or at least master the manual settings on the camera, but for now, it has been enough to take advantage of what promises to be a fleeting spring day in the garden.

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