I've been doing so much needed yardwork the last couple of days, and yardwork in August is not on my list of favorite things to do. It's hot, humid and everything is wilting. I usually wilt myself after just a few minutes.

Alot of flowers are past their blooming season, but my trumpet vine is as orange and vibrant as ever. I have a neighbor who insists its a weed, and deserves to be mowed down. He's even been known to mow down the trumpet vines on the outside of neighbors' fences, whether they want him to or not. If you can buy it in a plant catalog, I'd hardly say it's a weed. All I know is that it attracts the butterflies, and I have a feeling I might see more hummingbirds if it weren't for my jack russell who chases birds all over the place. It also brightens up a corner of my very weathered wooden fence. If my neighbor is correct and it is a weed...well, that's okay too. As a little girl, I would give my mother a bouquet of weeds and she would lovingly water them and place them in a vase or cup for display. Both of my girls have brought me flowering weeds over the years, and I've done the same thing....thanking them, hugging them, and lovingly placing them in a vase. My own girls are too grown to bring me weeds these days, but I hope to have grandchildren bringing me those precious treasures someday in the future.

Maybe the problem is no one has ever given my neighbor a weed bouquet. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder is a true saying....I'm just thankful that I've learned to look for the beauty around me. May my heart never stop melting at a pair of dirty little hands and a dirt covered face bringing me a weed bouquet, and may I always look for the everyday beauty in nature.

Today I am grateful for:

1. Trumpet vines....weed or flower.

2. Bouquets lovingly picked and delivered by dirty smiling faces.

3. The fact that this certain neighbor can't reach MY vine to mow it down.