Friday, May 4, 2012

Special Things

Both our dogs are Golden Retrievers, but each looks totally different. Kris is light, Valerie is reddish. Both are rescued Goldens from the Retriever Association. Absolutely delightful dogs. I sometimes think rescued dogs make the best pets. In some ways, they seem appreciative of their new found forever homes.
Kris, giving his sad look (or is it a guilty look?) Special effect with Instagram

Valerie, Queen of the House



It really isn't appropriate to call precious pets "things" because they are truly members of the family.

Valerie, left, and Kris take a break in the kitchen. Waiting for dinner!




Two of my favorites things are blooming in the garden

Gardenia "August Beauty." I keep eight potted plants in the sunroom during winter months, so small buds had already begun to form when I brought them outside several weeks ago. I believe I may get a "bumper crop" of blooms this year. Smells so good! Bring it on!

The majestic Southern Magnolia. Here's a bloom just beginning to open. Even a few  perfume the entire garden at dusk. Their thick, creamy white petals feel like velvet to the touch.




Blogger is not cooperating tonight. I had more images to upload, but couldn't make it happen.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!





























































7 comments:

  1. I love the pictures of Kris and Valerie. They are so beautiful.
    My old neighborhood in Seattle was called Magnolia because the sailors looked up at the bluffs and saw all the Madrona trees and thought they were Magnolias. Your Magnolia picture is great. And Camelias - I can almost smell their amazing fragrance from that photo. Like the corsages my older brothers bought for their dates, that sat in the refrigerator the afternoon before the prom. Was there a Camelia based perfume?

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  2. Val and Kris say thanks, Beryl. I got a good result with the Magnolia picture with Instagram; the gardenia, not so much. Camelias don't have any fragrance, which is the only drawback to an otherwise perfect flower. There are several perfumes that smell of gardenias and oddly enough, I don't care for them although I adore the scent of the flower. Neat that you remember the scent of them from the corsages in the refrigerator!

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    1. That's right - I was thinking about Gardenias. As a child, I always got the two confused until I tried to smell them. They both could be bruised easily, but the Camelia didn't smell. My mother would float either of them in a low bowl of water. So peaceful and zen. "Zen" being my mother's description.

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  3. I just wish to comment on your dogs. They are very beautiful, slim, as they should be, and I also like the fact that they have deeper coloring, than so many golden retrievers nowadays ( the ones I see over here ).
    Great, that you have two of them. Running and dashing around, they get " natural exercise ". Retrievers in general, are " easy " dogs. They behave well, they are trustworthy and show their love in every possible way. Aggressiveness is not a part of their nature. Instead, they are maybe over- joyful all the time.
    Morty from Finland sends his hellos to your boys!!!

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    1. Val and Kris appreciate your kind words. And tell Morty hello from his distant cousins in the U.S.

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  4. Great pictures of both Kris and Val and they are BOTH wonderful sweet dogs. They are pretty funny too when they really get to playing hard - I love them both even though they are very different. Your gardenia photo is so pretty I can almost smell it by just viewing it. Nothing like the fragrance of gardenia and magnolia. Just sorry I don't have enough sun for magnolia but do have good luck with the gardenia. Summer time is wonderful!

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    1. They are our babies! I'll second that - summer is wonderful. That is, until it gets 90 degrees and above.

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