The sun is but a morning star. ~ Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Wish every day would begin like this :~)

I'm a morning person awake with the first rays of sunshine everyday. Today is my idea of the perfect day in Western New York or anywhere for that matter.

A cup of hot coffee is my favorite way to greet each new day.

This is a view of my garden from a balcony right outside of my bedroom.

This morning the air is washed fresh from an overnight rain.

Wonderful fragrance of flowers blooming in my garden fill my garden retreat.

Here is the patio my son Barry designed and built five years ago.

One of my favorite place to be is in the backyard.

When we moved into this house eleven years ago this yard was empty.

Everywhere I live, I create recreate a garden retreat to enjoy alone or as a special sanctuary to have meals with my family and friends.

Being a very sensually aware person I need to surround myself with beauty that feeds my soul. Colorful plants and wildlife feed my sight, fragrant flowers in bloom my sense of smell. I love to taste fresh herbs and vegetables in my garden as well as the good feel of barefoot days in the garden.

Water elements are essential in my garden retreat. The sound of bubbling water is a relaxing as well as an open invitation to birds in my garden. I love to have the windows and doors open to enjoy the birds chirping all day.

In the warm weather I love to work outside in this space with my dyes, making paper or burning out velvet to make Devore. My garden retreat becomes my studio space.

Here is a view from the deck I designed that opens into the house.

Just behind my grown up "playhouse" are the compost bins and our pet cemetery.

The boxwood on the right was gift from my friend in May 2005. It is so fragrant that when Barry was home for Memorial Day weekend we planted two more small boxwood's in this expanded garden space behind my lawn swing. This year I have planted my tomatoes, beans, lettuce and peas in among the ornamental gardens.

There has been five inches of rain in our area during the past two weeks. The soil saturated with fresh water and the plants are lush with hydration.

If I could save time in a bottle this would be what you would see ;~)