A few pretties in my yard

Nice to see that finally my begonias and the  plants in front of them(name escapes me), have started to get the really nice large leaves.

I need to clip some to press

these are in front of some boxwood ,  they come back every year so far for 7 years.

Rose -" Love" ------ Single Rose means "Simplicity"

One of the oldest flowers known to man and one of the most popular.
In Persia where they were grown for their perfume oil - petals were used to fill the Sultans mattress
they later became synonymous with the worst excesses of the Roman Empire
Instead of food crops,  peasants were to grow them to satisfy the demands of their ruler.

My tea rose,  the first ones of the season and the last ones when the air is chillier are always the prettiest

I have been trimming this one for several seasons now and it's finally looking like something

I am crossing the stems to make a strong stalk in the center

My friend Carolyn brought me these hostas that grew in her compost pile.  I am sawing them first  to be able to get them apart.   I have planted several and they are thriving beautifully

I like how bright these are,  especially in the morning with my coffee - cheery greeting

I love all peonies,  and especially the red.  The red seem to hold up better and not drop the petals as bad as the white

The red Peony in it's native China where it has been grown since the eighth century it was king of the flowers with it's dark rich color and it's bulbous shape became symbolic of abundance
Named after Paeon ,  a physcian to the Gods who on Mount Olympus obtained the plant from Apollos Mother.
Once  it's planted it likes to be left alone and punishes those who try to move it by not flowering for several years. Once established it produces splendid blooms each year for decades.
Info from my book of" The Language of Flowers"
Its meaning;
Peony - Shame and Bashfulness

one of pretty white peonies.  They did much better this year with their bloom,  I think it's because I removed the mulch from their tender stems.

I move these from time to time and lucky for me they still bloom,  right now they are at the driveway
I am sharing with Friday Flaunt your Flowers  many great posts here to see
                             out door wednesday southern daydreamer

Quick shrimp and pasta

The other night with this head cold and not feeling like cooking to much of anything.  I decided I would make something with my frozen shrimp.
I thawed shrimp under running cold water in a colander. 
A non stick green sauce pan ( won't have another because they scratch very easy) I poured some olive oil  and maybe tablespoon butter  and sautéed some onions, didn't have garlic but definitely would have used it.  When onions were almost translucent I threw in some slice mushrooms - not to many,  about a half a cup

 I put in some chopped French tarragon that I trimmed from my plant (has to be French for me as it's much tastier) about two tablespoons ( I love the flavor).  Next came the shrimp and heated through (I used about a half bag or about 25 shrimp for us) A ripe tomato -  I cut in chunks and just heated enough so it wouldn't cook all the way down.
I purchased some homemade tomato pasta noodles,  only problem is that I didn't notice they were spicey,  as in hot - but not to hot.  I boiled regular pasta noodles also and mixed the two, Steve wanted his that way.

stirred altogether and sprinkled some Parmesan on top. 
I must say it was very tasty.

Steve enjoyed it.

We had salad with onions, lettuce ,  tomato and green olives.
I eat my salad with dinner or after dinner.  Mom always had us eat our salad after dinner.  

Miss Addy eating her spaghetti and totally loving it.  She had regular spaghetti with meat sauce,  way to young for shellfish in her diet .  She wears most of her food.

A city fence

Old town fence in Loudon Va.  

sharing with fridays fences

Boydton Va. (clarkesville va pt 4)

Boydton is the county seat of Mecklenburg County.  200 years old as of 2/3/2012
Alexander Boyd owned the property and designed it. Many of the streets are named for patriotic heroes of the war of 1812.
The town that was incorporated in 1834 became the center of Mecklenburg County government.
An early racehorse breeding region, the race course property was sold to Virginia conference of the United Methodist Episcopal church that built Randolph Macon college which is the oldest chartered Methodist College in the United States.  The south fell on hard times after the civil war and so did the school , the school then moved to Ashland Virginia.  A west wing wall is all that remains.


The Greek Revival style courthouse is influenced by Jeffersonian period construction, with it's pediment  portico of six columns as seen here.

In the heart of Mecklenburg VA is Boydton's location, which is two miles from Kerr lake and dam , locals know this as Buggs Island lake.

It's home to the world famous bass fishermen's tournaments.

Camping ,  boating , skiing and hiking are also very popular here.

 

A better view of the pediment portico and columns. 

 

 

 

The Tavern originally was a one story dwelling, it evolved over the years to what you see here today.  A hotel, boarding house and then in 1922 apartments.

 

 

 

I am always admiring the intricate  woodwork such as it is here on the Tavern

 

Below, were planted along side a structure in town

If these are knockout yellow roses ,  then I want some.  The scent from this shrub was strong.   I have noticed with other knockouts that there isn't much of a scent.

creamy butter color

sign on building below

Very nice old ceiling tiles

 

explaining tavern below

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

view from courthouse to renovation across the street

Some of the information here taken  from -  Boydton.org/history website

sharing with -

Brambleberry Cottage for -Time Travel Thursday

The Tablescaper for  "oh the places I've been"

part three

 part two

part one