this bouquet.....

....is sitting on the island,

making me smile every time I pass it by.

Thankful that God made flowers.

They are all so different,

so delicate,

and He even put scents in them.

I have decided that I cannot grow anything.

I thought when we moved into this house

that it would soon be featured

in the Southern Living Garden Section.

That was not to be.

The prolific deer of Southbridge

let me know right away that they and they alone

were in charge of my yard and gardens.

What they don't eat, they trample.

They are unrelenting in their pursuit of the succulent 

blooms I pay a fortune for and plant.

This year we delighted in buying four fairly large, 

rather expensive,

crepe myrtles,

not even thinking that they would be fair game for the deer.

Sure enough,

they have decimated the bottom half of all four of them.

I have sprayed deer repellent of all kinds,

which amounts basically to throwing your money away.

They seem to love the smell

and come back for more.

It does nothing to distract the sweet little guys.

They just love our yard!

As deer season gets ready to open,

you are welcome to come sit on our porch.

You can fill your freezer without ever going into the woods.

Anytime from dust till dawn will do!