Mosaic Monday: The Gardens of Alcatraz

First of all, in Hurricane Irene news -- we were very lucky here at Little Red House. Although we got over seven inches of rain (some of which came to rest in our cellar) we managed to scrape by without losing power, or losing any trees. Thanks for all your well wishes and prayers! :)

Now, about these photos... you had to know that I couldn't go long without posting a garden, right? There is actually quite a beautiful garden at Alcatraz in San Francisco. The juxtaposition of colorful blooms and forbidding prison buildings makes for a very interesting combination. And of course, since Alcatraz is an island, views of the water are never far away.

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post. The post may be about any subject you wish. The only stipulation is that it include a collage, or mosaic of photos.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline

And a quick reminder: if you would like to join Mosaic Monday but don't know quite where to start, there is a tutorial on mosaic-making on my sidebar. Just scroll down, and click on the small blue mosaic.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful images with all of us at Mosaic Monday!  

1.	Lorrie	25.	Katalin	49.	Crafty Gardener, Canada
2.	Lavender Dreams	26.	Gina, Art and Alfalfa	50.	textiles and textures
3.	A Garden of Threads	27.	My Little Home and Garden	51.	Mother Nature's Show
4.	Rajesh, India	28.	karen, A Scrapbook of Inspiration	52.	Just Capture
5.	Pat@Back Porch Musings	29.	Teacup-in-the-garden	53.	Color Chic
6.	Black Eyed Susans Kitchen	30.	Splenderosa	54.	Nicole
7.	Dab of This and That	31.	Indie, Red House Garden	55.	VT Girl
8.	QMM	32.	Shannara	56.	Eye of the Beholder
9.	The French Hutch ~ Down on the Chattahoochee	33.	Pondside - Applying Pressure	57.	Bailiwick Studio
10.	Heart's Garden	34.	Goodies for a pleasant life	58.	Sheila
11.	Riet, Holland	35.	Très Julie, French colors	59.	Sall's Country Life
12.	Almota Roses	36.	Jackie in Surrey UK	60.	Schotzy, in Virginia
13.	Cathy	37.	Life Images by Jill	61.	Puna
14.	Kim,USA	38.	Synnöve	62.	Beyond The Garden Gate
15.	Snap	39.	Wandering Thought	63.	Top of Hutch Scapes
16.	Pat -- Mille Fiori Favoriti- Give Away	40.	Cute Overload	64.	Ann-weekend travels
17.	Caption	41.	rosie@travel-i-tales	65.	Yael
18.	Beatrix Potter Festival	42.	Sueb Phalaenopsis Orchid	66.	Michelle at Rosebudquilting
19.	Bernie in Australia	43.	Dawn Treader Sweden	67.	Fishtail Cottage
20.	Lavender Cottage	44.	Susan @ Savoring Time in the Kitchen	68.	Mountain Mermaid
21.	Blooming Garden	45.	Rosie, mygardenhaven	69.	AnnA, Sweden
22.	{oc cottage}	46.	necklace	70.	Bohemian Valhalla
23.	Teacup Lane - Disney	47.	Big Girl or Little	71.	Porch Days
24.	Saying Goodbye	48.	Project Bag	72.	greet nederland

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Goodnight, Irene...

Greetings, peeps! I just wanted to touch base with you all before Sunday. Here in New Jersey, we are expecting Hurricane Irene to arrive sometime between tonight and tomorrow morning. There is a distinct possibility that we will lose power and/or internet access at some point. So if you don't see Mosaic Monday here at the usual time on Sunday night, that is the reason.

For all of you in Irene's path, stay safe and dry. I will hope to see you here on Sunday night, but I may not be able to check in till next week... :)

(Oh, and the photo is just another of my 400+ from San Francisco.)

I Left My Heart...

Well, this is certainly a change from all the garden posts this summer...

So, can you guess where I was last week? Yes, that's right. And I definitely left my heart in San Francisco... It was cool, and misty, and totally marvelous!

And wow, it was incredibly windy on the Marin Headlands the day we visited (see photo above). After temperatures in the 90's and 100's in New Jersey, we really enjoyed the typical late summer cool weather in San Francisco.

There was fog every day, although on some days it burned off by the afternoon. But I love fog! It certainly makes for some great photo opportunities. The view of San Francisco's city hall (above) was taken from the top of a building at UC Hasting's Law School. We went to check it out for my daughter, who wants to go to law school after she graduates.

We spent a morning visiting Alcatraz, too. I took hundreds of photos, so that will have to be a post all by itself. I was so inspired by this spare, windswept island, with it's imposing and stark buildings.

Finally, I have to say that the "mellow" California stereotype is well-deserved. :) Actually, these sea lions at Pier 39 on the Embarcadero were not the only mellow creatures we spotted. The very first thing that we all noticed was the fact that California drivers actually stop for you when you are in the crosswalk. I cannot tell you how totally alien this idea was to us. Here in New Jersey, drivers speed up to hit you when you're in the crosswalk.

You think I'm kidding, but I'm not.

So, much more San Francisco photos over the next week. I'm so happy to be back and sharing with you once more. And I just have to take a moment to point out one of life's little ironies -- the day we returned from San Francisco, we had an honest-to-goodness earthquake on the East Coast. How strange is that?

Until we meet again, my friends... :)

Mosaic Monday: August in New Jersey

Welcome to August in New Jersey. Actually, these photos may have been taken at the end of July, but let us not quibble over a few days. This is what August in New Jersey looks like -- the fields are filled with thistle and asters and queen anne's lace. And if you are lucky, your garden is filled with phlox and echinacea.

My garden is actually filled with weeds.

But this lovely garden is about twenty minutes away. It is called Willowwood, and is maintained by the Morris County Parks system. Last year, I posted about it here, and here.

Encompassing over 130 acres, the garden includes fields filled with wildflowers. In the more formal areas, crazy paving paths are overhung with helianthemum and lilies and garden phlox in melting shades of pink and white. Joe Pye weed towers in the back of the beds, while the whole is guarded by sentinels of dark evergreens. Open the black wrought iron gate, and enter a magical garden. :)

Please Note: Next week there will be no Mosaic Monday. I will be taking a week away from the computer, to celebrate my husband's birthday, to get my new business going, and to enjoy the last days of summer with my daughter before she returns to school. Enjoy your week!

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post. The post may be about any subject you wish. The only stipulation is that it include a collage, or mosaic of photos.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline

And a quick reminder: if you would like to join Mosaic Monday but don't know quite where to start, there is a tutorial on mosaic-making on my sidebar. Just scroll down, and click on the small blue mosaic.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful images with all of us at Mosaic Monday!  

1.	Pat ~ Mille Fiori Favoriti	28.	Karen, A Scrapbook of Inspiration	55.	Mountain Mermaid
2.	Bailiwick Studio	29.	Susan @ Savoring Time in the Kitchen	56.	Say Cheese..
3.	ellen b	30.	Goodies for a pleasant life	57.	missing moments
4.	Modern Libraries	31.	QMM	58.	Teacup Lane - Umbrellas
5.	Black Eyed Susans Kitchen	32.	Fishtail Cottage	59.	Mother City Magic
6.	Eileen, MD	33.	Gina, Art and Alfalfa	60.	Cass at That Old House
7.	Bernie in Australia	34.	Porch Days	61.	Travels
8.	Gardening in a Sandbox	35.	Katalin	62.	BunnyKissd =:3*
9.	Pat@Back Porch Musings	36.	A Spot of Tea? @ My Cozy Corner	63.	Project Bag
10.	B.L.O.O.M.	37.	genie~va~usa/Bud’s Hike Update Mosaic	64.	Dawn Treader Sweden
11.	The French Hutch ~ Sunset and Rosses	38.	Lorrie	65.	Yael
12.	I love Paris!	39.	Teacup-in-the-garden	66.	Indie, Red House Garden
13.	Bess@Fixing My Thoughts	40.	Puna	67.	Sueb@My Garden & Me
14.	Lavender Dreams	41.	Pondside - Making the Most of the Season	68.	Kathy
15.	Dab of This and That	42.	Milla	69.	Schotzy, in Virginia
16.	Cathy Keller	43.	Très Julie, Hydrangeas	70.	AnnA, Sweden
17.	Podso	44.	Jackie in Surrey UK	71.	A Montana Life
18.	Jeri	45.	Sueb@My Garden & Me	72.	Berta
19.	Snap @ Twisty Lane	46.	Synnöve	73.	My Little Home and Garden
20.	Just Capture	47.	suzyq - atthefarmhouse	74.	The Pool Party!
21.	Kim,USA	48.	emma - sweden	75.	Benita, Finland
22.	Rajesh, India	49.	Tassels Twigs and Tastebuds	76.	Agni
23.	butterflies are free	50.	Wandering Thought	77.	Patricia
24.	Riet, HollaND	51.	Crafty Gardener, Canada	78.	butterfly blooms
25.	JSelep - Marbles	52.	Vintage Back to School Pictures	79.	Bhupesh
26.	Shirley LeMay	53.	Rosie, mygardenhaven	80.	Carrousel
27.	Painted Chairs	54.	Sall's Country Life	81.	Wandering Thought

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Mosaic Monday: I ♥ Gardens

Well, you have probably figured out by now that I love to go on garden tours... :)

The photos here were taken way back in June, at a local garden tour in a nearby town. I love this shingle-style home, built in 1904. You can see the side view in the photos above. I felt uncomfortable taking a picture of the front, as the owner was on the front porch greeting garden visitors. The side view of the house does give you an idea of what a beautiful house it is, though -- don't you just love those windows?

The garden itself was rather formal, with a brick path leading to a small stone bench encircled by a yew hedge. There were lovely decorative touches throughout, including a pair of blue and white Chinese jars planted with roses, and an elegant fountain just off the side porch.

And do you see what was parked in the driveway?! A vintage baby blue Mustang! How cool is that???

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post. The post may be about any subject you wish. The only stipulation is that it include a collage, or mosaic of photos.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline

And a quick reminder: if you would like to join Mosaic Monday but don't know quite where to start, there is a tutorial on mosaic-making on my sidebar. Just scroll down, and click on the small blue mosaic.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful images with all of us at Mosaic Monday!  

1.	Eileen, Md	27.	Bernie in Australia	53.	Tiziana
2.	ellen b	28.	A Vermont Girl	54.	Agni from Greece
3.	Lavender Dreams	29.	Cherry Chick	55.	Cathy Keller
4.	Crafty Gardener, Canada	30.	A Symphony	56.	amy of four corners design
5.	InaSandbox	31.	a tiny birdcage	57.	snap @ Twisty Lane
6.	A Garden of Threads	32.	QMM	58.	Tassels Twigs and Tastebuds
7.	Dab of This and That	33.	Sheila	59.	Cherry Chick~correct link..gheez
8.	Home is Where the Boat is~	34.	Susan @ Savoring Time in the Kitchen	60.	Sall's Country Life
9.	Vee	35.	Karen, A Scrapbook of Inspiration	61.	Shirley @ The Gardening Life
10.	The French Hutch ~ What's Your Style	36.	Color Chic	62.	Summer, Sea & Some Pink
11.	Pinning and Singing on the Weekend	37.	Riet, Holland	63.	Rosie, mygardenhaven
12.	Shirley LeMay	38.	Kim,USA	64.	Porch Days
13.	Black Eyed Susans Kitchen	39.	Katalin	65.	Patricia
14.	Pat ~ Mille Fiori Favoriti	40.	Porch Days	66.	Treasure Hunting
15.	Ryan's Crawfish Boil	41.	Judy	67.	Roberta
16.	Art @ Home	42.	Teacup-in-the-garden	68.	Ann
17.	Rajesh, India	43.	Life Images by Jill	69.	Yael
18.	Lavender Cottage	44.	That Country Place	70.	AnnA(Sweden)
19.	Pondside - Beach Walk	45.	Tattered Rebel	71.	Great Primitive Shop
20.	One	46.	Karie	72.	Kathy - Taking the memories with you
21.	Butterflies - Beyond The Garden Gate	47.	gifts galore	73.	Ohio's North Shore
22.	Pamela -flowers in blue jar	48.	Maggie @ Normandy Life	74.	Project Bag
23.	Wandering Thought	49.	suzyq - atthefarmhouse	75.	Nature's Wonders
24.	German Pancakes	50.	Goodies for a pleasant life	76.	Très Julie
25.	Diane Writes	51.	Fruits of Our Labor	77.	Jidhu Jose
26.	Gina, Art and Alfalfa	52.	Jackie in Surrey UK

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)