~SUNDAY GRATITUDE~

I woke up this morning happy to have another day with my family, feeling very blessed to be alive.
No, I am not sick, (well, not that I know of anyway. :)) but my heart was heavy with the love and gratitude I felt for what I have been given in life.
Grateful for the clouds in the sky. We live in the desert, and so clouds are a gift. Rain? Even better still.
Just look at the lovely sky....Thank you God.

With my heart so full it wanted to burst, I gave thanks for all the fresh fruit I had, right in my own backyard.

Grateful for fruit that has yet to come. (if you look closely, you will see tiny little limes just beginning their lives.)

Grateful for a nectarine tree in bloom and all the bees that follow.

A desert hibiscus in full bloom....

Roses, with their sweet fragrance and beautiful blooms.

In full bloom, an aloe plant, great for burns.

Grateful for a full hummingbird feeder just waiting for life and the joy it brings.

Ah, but most of all, I am grateful for the opportunity to yet again, say THANK YOU LORD for another lazy Sunday.

~~~Ahh, Winter In Arizona~~~

Oh yes, life is rough in AZ in January. These are roses from my garden. I cut them and placed them on my kitchen sil.

My roses bloom best this time of year, because some summer, they get fried. I hope you enjoy.

A Trip To A Cactus Farm And Pink Saturday Too

One day my mom and I decided to take a trip to a 10,000 acre cactus farm in Tucson, AZ. If you are looking for a specific cactus for your garden, a farm is the best place to find everything. Many cacti are protected and those types of plants can only be found at licensed nurseries.

I knew this was going to be fun the minute we pulled into the parking lot. The first thing I saw was this gorgeous plant from Africa. It's ten years old and had a price tag of $400.00 on it. Notice the root system? Not much there, but oh were the blooms beautiful.

Next, we headed for the newest greenhouses to have a look inside.

So much to choose from, so much to see.

You are so cute, what to come home with me? You would add lots of color to my yard!





The temperature was in the 100's the day we visited, so we walked around a little but the sales help drives you around in a golf cart from greenhouse to greenhouse.

There are so many varieties, sizes and types to choose from.

When the cactus are propagated, they are cut on an angle so that the moisture or water does not sit on the flesh and cause rot. The piece that was cut off is left in the open until the fleshy part is dry, then it's planted in a special soil made for growing cactus. Lots of sand, rock  and a rich soil.

I am going to end right here, this is to be continued, but there is only so much one person can take in one blog post!! HA! I have a few more pictures and some lovely Mexican style pots to share, but I will wait and put that post up later this week. I hope you have enjoyed your tour through a cactus farm with me.

Thanks so much sweet Beverly from How Sweet The Sound, for putting this week and every week together for us pinkie bloggers.

If you would like to join Pink Saturday, or have a look at what other bloggers have put together for you, please visit Beverly's blog HERE.

Flowers Of Puerto Viarta For Pink Saturday

I have missed the last couple of Pink Saturday's because I was away on vacation in Puerto Viarta, Mexico. I want to thank all that came by and left me such sweet comments. I had the best time just laying on the beach and soaking up all the local beauty.
I was able to take many pictures of the flowers around me, but sadly missed many. You just can't count on getting pictures when you are riding around in a taxi. HA! Somehow, it just doesn't work out the way you might wish it to.

Because the weather is tropical, there are lots of hibiscus in all colors and vary from smaller blooms to very large blooms. I thought this one would be perfect to show off for today. Love the darker insides.

Stunning.

The way the white of the center radiates outward was fascinating to me.

What's not to love about a double red?

I want a pot like this on my patio. We grow lots of bougainvillea's in the desert, they are perfect for our weather and can with stand the heat of summer.

Pretty blooms and a plant that pretty much grows all year long.

This would make a statement! What an entrance into the yard.

Tropical weather, tropical flowers. When I worked in a florist we used to charge $6.00 for one stem of ginger. Wow.

We could get $25.00 for one stem of Heliconias.

Tropical leaves are a must for a tropical arrangement. Love the colors of this plant. Can you imagine awakening to something so beautiful each and every day?
Happy Pink Saturday everyone. I hope you enjoyed my offering this week. I appreciate you coming along for the ride. If you would like to see more, please visit Beverly from How Sweet The Sound. There you will find the list of Pink participants.
Thanks again sweet Beverly for all you do each week. We know that you work very hard for us. See you next week, be safe and have a lovely weekend.

We Are Blessed.......And Heaven Fills The Air

You can walk outside your back door and pick a fresh tangelo right off the tree!!

Yep, they are just hanging there, waiting for some lucky person to come along and snatch one up...or maybe two.

Just look at the gorgeous color. Wow!! And it tastes just as good as it looks.
If you are not a tangelo kind of gal, how about some ruby red grapefruit??

We had a lot of fruit on the trees this year and it just keeps getting better and better. Lots of new growth too, but no blooms yet.

Lots of sweet yummy goodness growing here.

Citrus can withstand the heat of a desert summer. We are very fortunate in that regard and our reward is being able to go outside and pick some juicy and nutritional fruit.

Oranges, oh yeah, we have those too. These should have been picked by now, but the longer they stay on the tree, the sweeter they get.

If you look closely, you can see little white buds on the tree. I am hoping for lots of fruit this year. This orange tree is a juice orange and not as good for peeling and eating. Great fruit if you love orange juice or like to make a salad dressing using the juice of fruit.

Blooms on my Meyer lemon already, and a little welcome guest. I got ever so lucky when I was able to capture my friend here doing his thing. Ya just gotta love the bees. That gives me an idea, maybe I will create a sign that welcomes these little guys into my yard!

I wish I could share this sweet scent with you, right through the computer, smells like heaven.
If you are not familiar with the way citrus grows, just look at the bottom of this picture and you will see the beginnings of a new baby lemon.......where the green spot is......yep! that's it baby!!

Our friend is keeping busy and earning his keep. The air is filled with spring and I am so blessed. Thank you God above for giving my garden life, and for the fruit it brings.