The Last Day of Summer 2017

Hello Everyone!  It is so hard to believe today is the last day of Summer for this year.

In these last couple of weeks we have been busy here in North Florida dodging the hurricanes coming our way.  We were lucky with only hurricane Irma stopping by for a visit. By the time she reached us, she was very weak and did not cause much damage.  There were fallen tree branches, a few trees down and we were without power for two days.  Compared to our South Florida neighbors, Texas and those in the Caribbean we were very lucky.  

Our prayers go out to all who were so adversely impacted by the storms this Summer.  And, also our prayers are with the people of Mexico who now are trying to recover from the major earthquake that hit their area yesterday.  Wow!  Mother Nature can really get angry!

School has begun in our area and so have Garden Club meetings.  One of our members invited our Circle to her home for our first meeting, a tour of her lovely garden and a delicious brunch.  Of course I brought my camera along to try to capture the special moments.

It was an inspiration to see all of the beautiful back patio plants seen in the below photo.

Our hostess Mary Ann lead the tour of her beautiful garden.  

I especially loved the Morning Glories blooming in her garden.

And, the Zinnias were so pretty too.

The below photo shows the pretty plant on the back patio table ... Possibly a Zinnia too!

This was a very tropical looking flower blooming up against the back brick wall ... So pretty!

And in the below photo we see pretty little red peppers.

Another colorful plant growing in the garden.

And, another unusual flower growing in the garden.

And in the below photo we see a very charming Blue Bird home.

The lovely red plant seen in the below photo looks like it 

may be part of the coleus plant family.

In the below photo we see the most common hurricane lily in Florida, also known as red spider lily.

And, another unusual flower.

The fruit seen in the below photo is called Meyer Lemon.

Meyer Lemon trees are a popular citrus tree in our area.

Meyer Lemon fruits have a sweeter, less acidic flavor 

than the more common lemons purchased from the grocery store.

In the below photo we see garden plants lining the back patio.

Below we see some of the tour group learning more about individual plants.

The ladies gathered together for a group photo on the back patio.

After the garden tour our group had their business meeting.  Then we adjourned to enjoy the delicious brunch with covered dish items brought by Daffodil Circle members.

We see breakfast egg muffins, spinach/artichoke dip with kale chips, broccoli casserole, Caesar salad, lemon pound cake, bean and corn salad, cheese and crackers, chocolate cake with cherries and whip cream, ham quiche, fruit salad and coconut cake.

Unusual "bird house" salad fork and spoon.

Lovely centerpiece by hostess Mary Ann.

Thank you for coming along with all of us as we enjoyed this beautiful garden and the last few days of Summer for this year.   In a way I hate to see Summer come to an end, but then Fall has it's own beauty and fresh, dry and cool air coming into the area before too long.

We surely do hope you and yours were not affected by the winds and rains from the Summer hurricanes.

Wishing you a beautiful weekend and many special blessings wherever you may be.