Monday, August 6, 2012

Lovely August Weekend



Arabia Mountain  and The Monastery on Saturday (they are very close in distance) and then down to my Dad's on the Sunday.  Watching the Olympics and the Atlanta Braves in between...beautiful weekend!
Look at how big this banana tree has grown this summer.  (Can you see that it has just started to rain?) Do you think that is is possible that this tree might have some real bananas on it?)
Yes!  We have some bananas, we have some bananas today! (To paraphrase an old song!)

My brother told me that this huge blossom comes up on the tree and then the fruit comes up from that, see the bananas above the reddish bloom?  I know nothing about bananas except seeing them in stores...I have never seen them growing!



The rain only lasted for about two minutes and then, bright sunshine!  Can you see the rain dripping off of this beautiful okra blossom?  Isn't it wonderful that this turns into okra? Reach for the sky, okra pods!




Hope you enjoy visiting at my Dad's with fields of peas, wide open skies and blossoming trees!


30 comments:

  1. Wow! Who knew that an okra flower could be so pretty? Love your pics today.

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    1. Yes, Nonnie! I love okra blossoms and I was excited to get this shot with the raindrops!
      Thanks for stopping by! :-)

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  2. What lovely photos and how lucky are you - bananas and okra.

    I just love the blue of the monastery picture.

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    1. We are not sure if the bananas will be edible, but we are sure about the okra! My Dad makes the BEST fried okra in the world.
      For the Monastery photo, have I told you that the blue is strictly from the stained glass? The glass around the altar is yellow so it is bathed in a golden light, so very different from the rest of the church. The church itself is made of concrete! (And Richard took those first two photos, the rest are by me!)

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  3. Wonderful! Thank you for sharing all that, Kay!
    I am sure the bananas will be edible - why shouldn't they?
    Mmm... haven't had okra in ages!

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    1. Hey Meike!
      I will let you know about the bananas!
      And my Dad also gave me some pickled okra from his garden, very good to eat with some of his fresh peas and cornbread!

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  4. Some lovely shots there! The wide open spaces are great!

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    1. Thanks for your comment! I told you it is a beautiful world! It is at my Dad's anyway. :-)

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  5. The monastary photograph is wonderful. Such lovelly light.

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    1. Dear Wendy,
      It is always this beautiful and the walls are made of thick concrete so it is peaceful and quiet.

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  6. Wow, that does sound like a lovely weekend! I couldn't help but think looking at the wonderful photos of Arabia Mountain and The Monastery that they are both places where I would feel close to God---places of worship.

    Your dad has such a beautiful and HUGE garden! I'll bet he really enjoys sharing his bounty.

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    1. You have no idea how right you are in that the Monastery and the Mountain are both sacred, holy places.

      And he only had a little garden this year! He does share it and I am happy to be one of those he shares it with!

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  7. WOW! Your Dad's garden is so large ~ so lucky. I sometimes daydream about what I would grow if I had that much space. Loved the banana and okra pics ~ I've never seen either in real life before!

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    1. Hey Audrey!
      Pretty neat, bananas, I had never seen that before, they were at my brother's house. The okra was my Dad's and I love okra flowers! Of course, I love okra too.

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  8. Amazing post Kay, beautiful photos.
    I am really enjoying the Olympics and I'm pleased to say we raised £1,250.00 for both. I am so proud of everyone.
    Hope all is well with you, thanks alot and by the way an amazing photo of the rings!
    Love Suex

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    1. Dear Sue,
      Thanks, and glad you are enjoying the Olympics too, What fun!
      Oh, I am so glad that you were able to raise the money for the Olympics blankets. One of those had my French flag and one of the "L's". I don't know how to put it down on Flikr the ones that I did, I am a bit hopeless sometimes! FANTASIC amount, glad it worked out!
      Glad you liked the photo of the rings with the moon too!
      Love,
      Kay

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  9. Such a beautiful post, Kay, and it sounds like the best weekend!! I can't believe that you have bananas on your banana plant. I might have to have one next year. And we talked about planting some okra next year as well. They are such beautiful plants, plus we love to eat okra.

    And your dad's field is beautiful, as is the blue sky and the crepe myrtle.

    Have a great week!! Love, Silke

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    1. Hey Dear Silke!
      The bananas are really at my brother's, but if they ripen and are good, I am hoping for a least one of them!
      I think I could see you painting that okra flower!

      And guess what, one of the pole-vaulters last night on the Olympics was named "Silke", it was so nice to hear your name pronounced the way it should be, with a "Z" sound. It made me so happy to hear it! :-)
      Hope you have a great week too! xx

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  10. What a collection of beautiful photos! Your dad's garden is stunning. I hadn't realized it was that big. I bet he shares what he grows with many people.

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    1. Thanks, Martha! And yes, he does share his bounty from the garden! Honestly, he cut back this year and did a much smaller garden. During the worst of the drought, he had to water twice a day, in this brutal heat!!

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  11. Wonderful pictures of a fun weekend! Let the bananas get totally ripe on the tree before picking and eating -- i've been told by people who live where they grow that they taste 10x better than the store bought ones when you do that.

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    1. Dear Mimi,
      I can't thank you enough for telling me that. I will tell my brother and sister-in-law. And my OTHER brother grows pineapples from the tops of pineapple! (It takes two years, I think for the plant to produce a pineapple.) We were at his house one summer and he cut the pineapple that he had grown. It was small, but golden and sweet and delicious!! My siblings are brilliant, did you know>

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  12. Wow - your pictures are beautiful! Your dad is lucky!

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    1. Thank you! And I think that his kids might be the lucky ones!! :-)

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  13. What beautiful vistas. I've never seen bananas growing up close either. Thank God the sun is finally beginning to shine in my little part of the world, not hot enough for bananas but it'll do for me!

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    1. I knew the weather would be good for the Olympics!
      :-)
      My brother was lucky to get bananas, I think it might be unusual.

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  14. Beautiful pictures. Before I knew better, I always imagined bananas growing the other way around, handing downwards from the stem.

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    1. Thanks, Tracey. KInda makes you want to make a Banoffee Pie,doesn't it? I had one in England and it was so good!

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  15. Hi Kay. Hadn't been by in awhile, now I've enjoyed three very good posts at once. Good pictures here. My husband and I were in Panama many years ago when he was in the Air Force. We used to get fresh bananas almost every day. They were growing everywhere. - Karen. P.S. Thanks for stopping by my post.

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    1. Hey Suz!
      I bet bananas straight from the tree must be the best!
      Lucky you to have lived in Panama. I love the birds and I am sure you had some beautiful ones there!

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