Thankful Thursday: Flowers, Bees, and Butterflies :)

I took a residential landscaping class in 2011 that changed my life.  Prior to that class, I had imagined every home landscape as a mini farm, and while I sure enjoyed that, my mom didn't.  I realized that if anyone was going to want to change their home landscape to produce their own food, it had better look gorgeous too.

And that class helped me discover how delightful a flower garden could be.

The first "landscape" I was able to do was in my grandparent's front yard in Wyoming in the summer of 2011.  It looked fantastic.  I was excited to come home and see how large all the flowers had grown.

The water-wise flowers attracted hummingbirds and butterflies.  

14th Thankful Thursday: Critters

There are bees in my beehives again!!! :) :) :)

I became a beekeeper last year (my requested birthday present: two hives + bees+ equipment). Though I wish I could say I was a professional and innately talented, I ended up killing both hives by the end of last winter... *cough*

But now the hives are populated again. Queen Beea II and Queen Betsy II seem to be doing just fine. :)