Pretty Spring Days

In the hustle and bustle of life it is fun for me to take a moment, get my camera and try to capture some of the amazing beauty around us.  These beautiful Spring days give us many opportunities to enjoy so much that Mother Nature has given us.

Springtime gives us an opportunity to have colorful flowers blooming in our garden areas.  In the below photo we see Knockout Roses in the foreground, Petunias in the planters and the climbing rose Cecil Brunner in the background.

Many years ago, we found the patio furniture seen in the below photo up in Moultrie, Georgia at the Moultrie Manufacturing Company.   It is called Old South outdoor furniture.  This furniture is at least 25 years old, so I was curious to see if the company was still in business.    Sure enough, after checking with Mr. Google, we see they are still very much in business.  They have many more beautiful items other than outdoor furniture.   If you are curious about the company you can click on the site below.

http://www.moultriemanufacturing.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/index.html

Petunias are so colorfully bright and beautiful.

I thought these little Knockout Rose buds were so pretty.

We see the Katrina Rose almost in full bloom in the below photo.  This is such a delightful climbing rose and is so very easy to grow without much care.  Just a little rose fertilizer and water, and that is all that is necessary.  

Close up view of the Katrina Rose blossoms.

On the back porch we happened to notice a good bit of pine straw droppings on the porch floor.  We looked up and noticed that some hard working little mother bird had made this perfectly beautiful nest.  She chose this lovely location for her little baby bird family. 

Can you imagine one little bird bringing pine straw, one little piece at a time, and creating this  beautiful little home for her family.  I find that to be totally amazing!  ...  And, no one taught her how to do that.

In the below photo we see this lovely Gertrude Jekyll Rose, which is a David Austin English Rose.   And, this rose has the most heavenly Old Rose fragrance.

The Snowballs were pretty this year.

Couldn't resist snapping a photo of this pretty rose bud.

Another English Rose growing in the garden, but I don't know the name of this one.

And, I have shared this backyard Katrina Rose seen in the bottom photo before.  But, could not resist snapping another photo of this pretty little rose which seems to be in full bloom.

A close-up photo of the Katrina Rose.

Another front yard rose, but do not know the name of this one.
I just had to snap this photo shortly after a rain shower.

Another climbing rose out on the front fence.  Do not know the name of this Old Rose.

They call this flower in the below photo a rose, but it does not have the traditional rose look.

A pretty rose bud collection.

This pretty little vine growing on a rock in the back yard garden caught my eye.

One of my favorite roses is this lovely French rose called "Eden" which is seen in the below photo.

This rose is considered a climber,  but it does not climb very far.

Isn't that a pretty rose?

Some roses in the side yard.

The green of Springtime.

It is fun sitting looking out the kitchen window on a pretty Spring day.

Yes, it has been a beautiful Spring here in the South.  As you can see I cannot resist trying to capture some of that Springtime beauty with my camera.

Thank you for stopping by for a visit and walking around in the garden with me.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend and enjoying a beautiful Springtime too wherever you may be.

A Super Yummy Meatloaf Recipe

A meatloaf recipe crossed my path a few days ago.  I can't remember where I saw the recipe to give credit where credit is due ... It may possibly have been on Facebook or somewhere else on the Internet.  I vaguely remember unsuccessfully trying to copy that recipe, so I wrote it down.  This is a little different than the original recipe, since I added some more ingredients that I thought would make it even better.

This recipe will be printed below so you can copy/paste if you too would like to try it out.

In the below photo we see the meatloaf almost ready to go into the oven.

One of the ingredients called for in this recipe is "1/2 cup of stuffing."  The recipe is not specific as to what kind of dressing,  so I used one of my favorites, which we see in the below photo.

Once all the ingredients were put together and the meatloaf was shaped and ready to go into the oven, I added the catsup/brown sugar mixture to the top of the meatloaf as seen below.

Super Yummy Meatloaf Recipe

1 ½ lb. ground beef (I used lean ground beef)

½ cup stuffing

1 egg

1 small can tomato sauce

1 whole small onion, chopped

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper (not in original recipe – add to your taste … I added several sprinkles.

1/3 cup catsup

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Mix stuffing, egg, tomato sauce, onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper together very well.

Add ground beef to mixture.  I put on disposable plastic gloves and mixed the ingredients together with my hands until totally mixed.

Shape into a meatloaf shape or even make two small loaves. 

Add catsup/brown sugar mixture to top of meatloaf.

Bake 350 degrees for one hour.

My husband loved this meatloaf and said it was better than steak.  I'm not so sure about that, but it really was very good.

If you decide to try this recipe I hope you enjoy.  Have a blessed weekend wherever you may be.

A Walk To The Pet Cemetery

Many years ago my husband and I attended a meeting which was being held at the Adare Manor Castle Hotel and Golf Resort in Limerick, Ireland.  This amazing Manor House dates back to 1832 and was built by the Dunraven Family of Ireland.

This beautiful 5-Star-Hotel is located 25 minutes away from the Limerick Airport.  Adare Manor provided an ideal home base for exploring some of Ireland's most notable visitor attractions.  From there we visited The Cliffs of Moher, which was an hour and a half drive.  Bunratty Castle is a 20 minute drive.  The Blarney Castle where the "Blarney Stone" is located is about an hour and a half drive.  

While visiting these Irish attractions we were blessed to drive through some of the most beautiful and memorable Irish countryside.

The lovely Adare Manor seen in the below photo has 365 stained glass windows and 52 chimneys.  The rooms of the hotel are some of the most beautifully decorated rooms we have ever seen.

While there we were happy to sign up for the tour of the Adare Manor gardens and grounds. As hard as it is to believe, this tour turned out to be one of our favorite memories of Ireland.  We walked through some beautiful gardens during this tour.    As we approached a lovely shaded area under a very large tree,  we saw the most adorable little "Pet Cemetery."   Included was a tiny little curved-top-headstone for their tiny little parakeet bird.  And there were many other pet headstones as well.  

Adare Manor Castle Hotel and Golf Resort

Limerick, Ireland

Photo from the Internet

We never forgot that adorable little pet cemetery and the memories of beautiful Ireland.  As the years rolled by, when we lost our first pet,  we remembered that Irish cemetery across the sea and we wanted to have a place to remember our pets.

The other evening I had my camera with me while I walked around the yard to capture some of the blossoms and new greenery of Springtime.   

Walking just past the house, turning to the left you can go 

down the hill and through the woods to the pet cemetery.

Or, you can go past the house and continue through the rose arbor on down the path.

This path also leads down to the pet cemetery.

Along this path we see rows of Boxwoods.  Many years ago my husband grew each one of these plants from small little cuttings he placed in tin cans.  So we know it definitely is possible to grow Boxwoods from cuttings.

This path, if you continue on makes a loop around the property.

Turning off the path and walking through the woods I spotted this pretty little wildflower.

And we see some Rain Lilies along the way.

Yes, these little flowers are true to their name ... The pretty blossoms open after a rain shower.

Just past the Rain Lilies we see the "pet cemetery" down in the woods.

The below photo shows the very first pet placed in our "pet cemetery."  

He was our dear "Corky" who was a very loving Irish Setter.  1979-1988.

Then we lost our dear little "Willie."   He was the most adorable little black Cocker Spaniel.  Of all things, he was jumping through the woods one day and jumped right on a rattlesnake.  The vet did his best to revive little Willie, but was not successful.  Willie 1987-1999.

Then there was Sammie our sweet little cat.

And very recently we lost our "Nelson."  His real name was Willie Nelson, but we called him Nelson.

Yes, this is Nelson following me as I would take my walks around the yard.  One day we found him in the yard and he looked like he was sleeping, but he had gone on to heaven.  There did not seem to be any reason why.

And I recently found another photo of sweet Nelson posing for the camera.

And then there was Oscar ...  He and Nelson were good friends and kept each other company.  Oscar found us one day and never left us.  He always seemed so happy to have found a good home and he especially loved my husband.  He too was found outside in the yard as if he was asleep, but he too had gone to heaven.  And, again, we could not figure out why.

Oscar, one of the sweetest animals ever.

Then there was Annie.  Dear Annie belonged to our grandsons Dillon and Chase.  They had her through all of their teenage growing up days and they loved her dearly.  We will never forget Annie.

Below is a photo of Annie as she sat smiling for the camera.

And in the below photo we see another photo of Annie.  Grandson Lawson was using Annie for a pillow and as you can see, she does not mind at all.

How nice it is to have the dear memories of these wonderful pets.

Through the years some of the grandsons even buried their goldfish here in the pet cemetery.

Thanks for coming along for a walk on this lovely evening as we walk back through memory lane.

Wishing you a wonderful and blessed weekend wherever you may be.