It's a Jungle Out There

It really does feel like Jurassic Park!  Early morning sunrise in the preserve behind the backyard.  This is my wake-up view from the balcony off the bedroom.

The balcony is small, but there's plenty of room for me and the dogs.

It's certainly not glam by any means, with mismatched furniture and faded cushions.

But it's surrounded by greenery with a relaxing view and has become my "meditation station"

Anyway, in the preserve there is a well worn deer path that comes out between our house and the neighbors.

Just about every evening the deer come flying out of the preserve, run between our houses and head over to the lake across the street.  

I'm usually in the house when this happens and see them out the windows, but the other night I happened to be out photographing the Angel Trumpet and caught these three as they zoomed by.

The Angel Trumpet's a bit spindly looking as she's not in the best spot to thrive as well as she should.  It's just too big a job for me to move her at this point.  But, she insists upon blooming like crazy, which is just fine with me.  (yeah, it feels like a she to me)  

Just an odd angle to make it a little more interesting :)

This shot I took with my phone so I wouldn't have to contort myself into any odd positions to get underneath.

Also out front the Firebush is starting to bloom.

Which attracts lots of these Giant Swallowtails and other butterflies.

Like our state butterfly the Zebra Longwing.

I really chopped back the little hibiscus bush by the garage and it responded with tons of these gorgeous yellow blooms.

So bright and cheery.

Speaking of yellow, the Allamanda in the backyard is blooming.

The Plumbago is flowering.

And the Jasmine is blooming...

and climbing the trellis up to the little balcony where it makes sitting on the balcony even more enjoyable.

I love all of the visitors to our yard, even if they eat all the Purslane and other pretties.

This pretty doe says "Have a Happy Day" - that's just what I was thinking!