Blossoms we haven't had before

I'm trying a few new plants this year just to learn more and change up the appearance of the landscaping.  Most were started in the greenhouse earlier.  Some winners, some losers.  But it's been interesting.

Mirabilis, or Four O'clock.  The blooms are not open here because it wasn't yet 4:00 when I took the picture.

Cleome - A really interesting blossom.  I've got a dozen or so of these.

Datura - no blossom yet but you can see it's almost there.  It will be white and trumpet shape and large! I had a low germination rate in the greenhouse and then lost most of the ones I eventually planted in the garden.  I can do better next time.

Crinum - This is the first year it's bloomed and it's not completely opened here.

A new zinnia with an unusual color mix.

Cosmos - Suppose to thrive on neglect and I've got two beds outside of the normal watering zone so I'll see how they do.  So far - OK!

Richard North Patterson

Last year a friend suggested that I read a certain novel by Richard North Patterson - don't even remember which one it was but I enjoyed it and have been reading his books ever since.  I now have the last one available from the Winnsboro library.  Last week I inadvertently picked up a James Patterson that was mixed in and enjoyed that.  However it was light reading.  It usually takes about a week to read a RNP (reading mostly in the evenings) but I picked up another James Patterson yesterday when we were in town for lunch.  I'd finished that before bedtime and had taken time out to watch a Rangers game. Don't know yet if that was good or bad.

Another MMM visit!

Last week we again entertained the ladies from Morgan's Mercy Mansion in Winnsboro.  We had a group of fourteen over last October.  Most all of them have moved on now and only one of that group was still there for this visit.  They're all facing a crisis at this point in their lives and are going through a program that, while giving them a safe place to stay,  requires them to live at the center.  They can't leave there unescorted so a chance to come to our place is a welcome change for them.  Glynda makes pizzas and dessert and then they go ride the zip lines.  All of them rode the Treehouse zip line and about half of them rode the new zip line over the pond. We had perfect weather.
  

Daniel helps with maintenance at the center and he's the one that arranged the visits.  He's also the starter for the rides.

Winnsboro has a Spring Fest too!!

It's hard to tell what's happening here . . .

. . . so I included this one!

Bottom of the Blue Bell ice cream cone at A&E!

Sideline activity during the shoot-out re-enactment on the streets of Winnsboro!

Another A&E person

 When you read a novel you expect to come across some explicit language and you accept it when you do.  But it sorta takes on another dimension when you realize that it was written by that nice older lady you were talking to at the adjoining table at Art & Espresso.   Of course she writes other stuff too:

 (A diverse writer of columns, feature stories, short fiction, novels, screenplays and stage plays, Maryann Miller has won numerous awards including being a semi-finalist at the Sundance Institute for her screenplay, A Question Of Honor. Her work has appeared in regional and national publications, and the Rosen Publishing Group in New York has published her non-fiction books for teens, including the award-winning Coping with Weapons and Violence In School and On Your Streets. A romantic suspense One Small Victory is a June 08 release in hardback from Five Star Publishing, and Play It Again, Sam is a July 08 release from Uncial Press as an e-book.)