We took out the last of the summer flowers over the weekend, which marks the official end of my fresh, flower-filled vases and my cheery bedside decor. Don't get me wrong, I love Autumn, but I'm going to miss going outside and picking a fresh bouquet every few days. If only I could figure out a way to bottle up a little bit of that summer sunshine and those gorgeous flowers to enjoy over the upcoming winter months. I did manage to bottle a little bit with this new photo technique I tried today. I've been practicing using the double exposure setting on my camera, and I think I'm getting the hang of it. The above photo was actually one photo of two different things... a little hard to explain, but fun to do. I'll be posting a few more pics like this in the not-so-distant future. Happy Monday.
There is a week, every spring, that I devote 100% to my yard. I prune, plant, dig, trim, and fertilize everything in sight. During this week, things like my blog, house cleaning, shopping, reading, socializing, etc. get put on hold. Needless to say, this has been that week. While I have managed to take a few pictures along the way, pretty much everything else in my life has been put on the back burner. Monday should bring a clean house, a re-stocked refrigerator and a week's worth of new blog posts. Until then.... I could sure use a hot, relaxing bubble bath:)
For this month's health challenge, I'm singing the praises of fresh herbs. Now is the perfect time to get out and plant a few of your favorite herbs in your garden or a container of some kind. Not only are they easy to grow, pretty to look at and aromatic, but they also provide a lot of benefits to your body. Here's a little list of some of the pluses I found in my research this week.
thyme- high in antioxidants
oregano- fights inflammation
peppermint- soothes the colon
parsley- helps prevent cancer
rosemary- boosts brain power
basil- stimulates digestive glands
watercress- aids in healing
sage- improves memory and concentration
Herbs are also beneficial if you are trying to watch your intake of sodium. They add a delicious taste to foods without the use of salt. They are readily available at most grocery stores if you are unable to grow them on your own. But, growing your own will save you tons of money. So, get out and plant a small herb garden today, even if you just start with one or two varieties. Give it a try!
Over the weekend, I pulled out all of my beautiful summer flowers, cut down all of the perennials and prepared the flower beds for winter. It's always hard to let the colors go...especially when they are so vivid from the cooler temperatures of Autumn. Everything looked so clean and crisp (and a little bare) when I put my shovels and rakes away on Saturday night. This morning I woke up for my morning run and saw this cute little pink hydrangea peeking out from beneath its leaves. I don't know how I missed it, but I'm sure glad I did. Something about that sweet little flower warmed my heart, which was really nice since it was FREEZING outside. Winter is definitely just around the corner.
