Filthy With 'Em

This place

is filthy

with dogwoods

It's seriously becoming a problem here.  They catch my eye, my nose, lift my spirits to unbearable high places.  It is impossible to sit inside, in a bad mood, and see/smell these everywhere.  So if you've had enough of your funk, if you want to get rid of those doldrums, find a place (like here) that is just filthy with blooming dogwoods, and wave goodbye to you attitude.

Linking with WFMW

Dogwoods work for me!
and Tasty Tuesdays

And if those, by some stroke of misfortune, aren't enough to lift you out of the muck, let's think about cake.  Cake Week 2012 is nearly upon us.  We still need some more cake submissions on which to vote!  So here's how you can join in the festivities:

• If you have a blog, feel free to grab a button from over yonder ---> and share the sugar.
• If you have ever liked a cake, even just the look of it, leave a comment about such a cake HERE.
• If you are interested in baking along with me, come Cake Week, let me know.
• If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for Cake Week's giveaways, let me know.

Some sponsors that are already nailed down include Garnish, Have It Sweet, and Delicate Fortress Creations, just to tease you with possibilities.  Every cake that gets submitted has a chance to win!  Current entries are available to be seen HERE.

NOTE:  You do not have to have made the cake you submit.  All you have to do is think, "Gee, I really like this cake" or "Wow, that looks yummy!" or "This cake tastes awesome!".  That's it.  Then post a picture/description/link/recipe in the comments HERE.  

That's all for today's Cake Week push.  I just want you to have your cake & eat it too, is all.  Now get out doors and find some dogwoods to smell!  Spring has chosen to kiss this earth, and it's time we kiss back!  (Honestly, I don't even know what that last sentence means, I just got carried away with the perfume of dogwood blossoms in the air... it's slightly intoxicating.)

Drunk on Spring,

TFW

Capturing the Out-of-doors

I recently stumbled upon this blog post, You Capture, which invites people, every week, to take some photographs that capture a given category.  This week, its You Capture|Outdoors.  So, I got off my duff and went outside and took some pictures.  These flowers are all able to be seen, smelled, and experienced within 5 minutes of walking out my front door.

Honeysuckle: little flowers that produce BIG smell, beautiful and sweet. 

Blackberry Bushes: flowers that eventually fall away and give birth to sweet-tart berries.
Can't wait to see these suckers gone!

Dandelion: pesky flowers that give rise to only more pesky flowers.

Vinca Vine: these little guys pop up helter-skelter amongst some very dense ground cover.

Purple Beast (I don't know the real name): large, purely ornamental flower, climbing up my neighbor's mailbox.

Unknown Pink Thing: Its not especially pretty or flowerful, but it was there and I saw it.
Captured.  Done.

Magnolia Tree: I can't wait for these guys to show up.
So fragrant, large, and southern.
Its like the southern belle of America's flowering trees.

Tulip Poplar: big guys, high up in trees, hard to capture, but fun to find!

This is what I've captured.  This is what is outside my front door.  

These are the little pieces of beauty that surround me.  

What beauty surrounds you today?  

Post some pictures and link to here, or to the You Capture site.  

Or, if you think you're up to it, try to describe the beauty around you in words.  

IF YOU DARE!

Appreciating weeds and wild plants,

TFW

Thistles are Thorny

I've been trying to set my background image for a while now.
Really, probably longer than is necessary.

I'm hoping, posting this photo up where we all can see it, can make it possible.

I took this last summer, while staying for a week at my parents.

I love Pennsylvania.

p.s.- in case anyone cares, those pages up and over there at the right →
actually have content now.
In case you need to know more about me.  I'm sure the suspense is killing you.

p.p.s.- I know its a clover, not a thistle.  But what does a person say about clovers?