one garden evening late in May

hens and chicks from the neighbor

the oaks are leafing out very slowly

but not the maples

weedy patch of earth taken over by the fairies

strawberries by the raised beds

this oak has leafed

four year old seed from the fridge does sometimes work (lettuce and peas)

self-seeded columbine

prairie smoke

pussy toes

the tree people said the hackberry is "the new elm" ... we like it, but it grows helter-skelter

unearthed a green beetle whilst I looked for big bluestem I thought I'd planted

ginko leaves burst

the girls have to catch the beetle, in their p.j.'s.  (he got away.)

Feeling more like myself, though Jeff and I are still foggy and tired.  (What a strange spring sickness.)  Girls are still bright and healthy, thank goodness.  We're prepping for the start of a busy summer, already booked here and there through mid-July.  Hurrah?  Yes... hurrah;  it will be good.

This past week has been a parade of window and drywall guys coming through for quotes then measurements.  The upstairs porch will be progressing!  (But poor Jeff has a lot of work to do before windows and drywall.)  This is such a funny old house, but we fit well here among the creaking floors and wavy windows. 

(Off soon to new adventures!)

around here, late summer edition.

Around here, here and there, this and that:

~ mornings are quiet and cool
~ there's still time for impulsiveness
~ making sure no one accidentally steps on the bunnies (or decides he would like to pick one up in his mouth) was too much stress for a week and a half.  I'm glad they've left the nest.  Four of them!
~ regarding that:  Jeff needs to mow more often.  (I keep trying to convince him:  dormant grass doesn't need to be mown!)
~ art camp isn't long enough, I could use another week of free mornings
~ the homeschool schedule has been made, and I'm fully aware it will be thrown out the window within a month (or week.)  (or day.)  But the mental prep makes me sane.
~ more sewing!  less internet!
~ skype works all the way around the Earth.  (sometimes.  And the not working was at my end, not in New Zealand!)  What an amazing world!

mountains and desert: mountain flowers (2)

These gorgeous wildflowers - some I recognize, some I don't - grow wild among the pine needles and other flora in my brother's family's large rolling yard.  He's been taking down tree limbs and gathering the branches lately, partly to help with fire control, partly to simply clean up, and the girls (including two neighbor girls, their new friends) had lots of fun with these building materials they don't get at home.

(On the way home, stopping to wander about at a rest stop in the green vastness that is Nebraska, Greta noted:  "They have nice grass here!"  I guess we have been in Colorado and New Mexico awhile.)

this week in the garden (June 1)

After having a lovely time with family (hi Cary!) and waiting out the rain, we went out into the chilly late afternoon and did some garden work.  This has been such a cold and cloudy spring (and still is) for planting, but I was sick of the sad little tomato and pepper starts in their sad tray, so we planted everything out and will hope for the best.  Those sad peppers, not even longer than Gret's finger.  A bunny's going to come by and snap 'em off in a second, but all we can do is try!  (The ground's still so cold, that if and when that does happen, we'll just hit the nursery for more -larger- seedlings and they'll do better than these will anyway.)

~ Didn't get everything in, these are the girls' thyme and marigolds, plus some miscellany.
~ The walk to the side (south) garden, our smaller raspberry patch on the left.  We had bugs/worms in the raspberries last year, so chopped to the ground they went, and Jeff dug out the (unliked) white raspberries at the same time.  No spring berries this year, but also hopefully the berries won't have worms (eh, more protein, I say).
~  Eight sad tomatoes and one nice healthy (from the co-op) cherry tomato plant in one raised bed, then
~ more sad tomatoes, very tiny green peppers, and a nice pumpkin which we'll trail over the edge of the raised bed to the empty spaces adjacent to it, in the other bed.
~  Harebells growing under my mushroom
~  Ash and red oak reflected in the bird bath (which the robins frequent)
~  A sunny area for herbs is near the compost bin;  I didn't know tarragon was a perennial!
~  Finally getting around to taking the remainder of the sidewalk out.  This walk used to go all the way around the south side of the house, and the dirt on one side and grass on the other was taking over.  The walk becomes a pool in the rain, and prevents us having proper drainage from the house, so this is the last bit to go.  I'll be moving all these plants so Jeff can regrade at some point, but I'm looking forward to it, as these beds have always been odd.

Still more garden ideas brewing as Spring moves along to Summer!

friday morning

Before and after our walk to the co-op, in the morning,

~ century old lilac in our yard, with dark blooms I haven't seen elsewhere, finally blooming
~ marking out lines for our newest spring project idea
~ blowing-in-the-wind flax, fairy house drawbridges
~ (it's been too rainy to cut the grass)
~ back at home, 1:1 sparkling water:strawberry lemonade, over ice= treat

We're all so happy to be back in the sun again!  Happy weekend!

early spring, weeks late.

The local gardening people have said we are six weeks behind schedule with regard to plants.  It's been said we are too far behind to grow early season crops, that the weather will be too hot before they're ready.  (I might go poke some pea seeds in anyway, just to see what happens.  Who knows?)

Leaves are just beginning to unfurl on the trees.  The earliest of early Prairie Smoke is showing its buds, the Pussy Toes not far behind.  Many of the trees in our yard sport fairie houses of some sort or another.  The other day the building of tiny wooden swings was of the utmost importance (I pulled out the drill), now they swing in the lilac bushes (which display miniscule purple buds).

This will be a cool weekend, but the days of warm and sun are upon us!