My first session outside was with a shovel, in the herb garden.  I have a “chat” walkway.  It basically tiny pieces of limestone.  It makes a nice contrast to the green in the raised boxes, and it drains well.  But, there are several plants that think it’s a better growing medium than what we provide in the boxes.  Feverfew and Lamb’s Ears and thyme all rub their little hands together at the thought of colonizing.

I’ve left a patch of Lamb’s Ear’s and a little thyme, but the rest had to go, so I took the shovel and sliced through to lift up the roots.  I trimmed the old, old sage back, and by then, wanted to go inside for a bit.  I need to take a rigid rake and rake out all the things I left in the walkway.

Yesterday I spent several hours with the string trimmer around the herb garden and the veggie boxes, around the north side of the house, and along the gardens at the front door. This morning I got an early start, pulling weeds and deadheading the daffodils and tulips.  I had the chance to assess what needs to be dug up, moved, replanted, or planted with seeds.  I’m going to work a couple of hours a day, early in the day, and see if I can’t get things whipped into shape.

I hope to clear out two small sections of the garden at the sidewalk.  I have daffodils and iris (and weeds) in an area that is much too wet during the spring that I want to dig up, and transfer.  There’s a couple of other  iris to be divided and two hyacinth to be moved.  That will keep me busy for a week or so. I’ll wait until the iris have finished blooming to move everything.  I hope the weather cooperates!

The central and north central parts of both states are further along in disking and planting than the farms north of I80.  The northern farms are still too wet to support the machinery.  If it doesn’t dry out in the coming week, they won’t be able to plant corn this year.

Condition of the farms is always important to me, but the highlight of the past week has been the pleasure of all the blooming shrubs and trees in the Midwest.  We’ve had a glorious season, and I thank God that I am not allergic to them.  I have never seen so many blooms!

Outside the window of my studio there’s a redbud tree..  As I sat and pieced a quilt top I could see daffodils, the redbud blooms, pear blossoms, birdhouses that we collected for my mother, lilacs and more daffodils!  It was the most beautiful view.  Earlier this month the star magnolia and forsythia vied for our attention, and the tulips were amazing!

We are truly blessed with the beauty that surrounds us!

I’ve had some temperature sensitivity in the teeth on the upper left side of my mouth.  It’s been going on for some time, so I made an appointment.  I arrived at the dentist’s at the tail end of the cough that I complained about earlier, and she sent me home!  Praise God!  But, I didn’t get to leave without rescheduling the appointment.  Today was the big day.

I kept my mind off the visit by rising early and gardening for a couple of hours. By the time I’d had toast and cleaned up, it was time to go.  She took x-rays. cleaned the other teeth, and then proceeded to create a crater the size of the Grand Canyon.  Who knew we had that much space in our heads!!??  That must be where all my missing thoughts and words hide out.

At any rate, my tooth is filled and I’ve been sent home with strict instructions to eat SOFT FOOD for two days.  I really should have thought about that and been better prepared, but it gave me the chance to explore the world of smoothies.  I have lots of fruit at the moment, so for lunch, I made a strawberry-banana smoothie.  This one uses milk, not yogurt, tastes good but could be thicker.  It will be interesting to see the differences frozen strawberries vs. fresh, and milk vs.yogurt make in a smoothie.

If you have a favorite smoothie recipe to share, I’d be happy to have it.

The vegetable sellers had some lovely things to offer.  I bought asparagus, zucchini, and green onions.  I sprang for a bag of baby spinach, too.  There were cherries and raspberries calling to me, but they were pretty pricy.  Maybe next time.

There are at least six good-sized bread booths.  I want one of everything they offer!  We came away with plain French bread, and a loaf of French bread with Parmesan and garlic on top.  We also picked up a loaf of ciabatta.  (Too much bread, but who could resist!)

One of the bread vendors heard me encouraging DH to try the salsa at the booth next to hers.  She told him not to pass it up, the it’s the best salsa she’s ever had.  He went back, tried it, and we brought a container home.  I didn’t buy from the vendor who made the recommendation this time, but you can be sure I’ll shop at her booth in the future.  AND, we might even try their tortilla chips, too.

The flowers were all calling to me.  I’ve never seen such a wonderful display of cut flowers, hanging baskets and garden starts. There was a bouquet of yellow gerbera daisies, white spider mums, something else white, and assorted greens that had my name on it.  But, I managed to walk way without picking it up.  I don’t know how I did that, because flowers really talk to me, and they would have been gorgeous on my kitchen counter.  Perhaps next time….

There were jewelry booths with stones and beads and wonderful settings.  There was a small booth of porcelain serving pieces.  I wanted them ALL.  There was one quiche dish that was calling to me, but it was on the pricey side.  I passed it up, whimpering.  There was a great ceramics booth, and another with scarves and clothing.  I walked by cards, and mouse mats, and seasonings and health items.

The jumble of things was wonderful.  We were there early enough that we could move through the aisles, but it was becoming more difficult through out our visit.  I enjoyed it all.  Next time..I plan to bring home some of the flavored popcorn!  It spoke to me, too. *G*

My stepson brought the cough into the house.  I don’t know for sure if he is who passed it on to Dear Husband, but the odds are good.  DH presented the infection very oddly, and it took almost a week before I forced him to go to the doctor.  By that time he had developed pneumonia.  Luckily, it was just starting, so we were able to treat it at home.

When we returned to the medical center two days later, so that the doc could see DH, he had me go out to the lobby and sign in as a patient.  I had it, too.  I was not a good patient.  I was crabby as hell, and really irritated that my stepson wouldn’t go and get some help for the cough.

Dear Husband and I were on a nebulizer for close to a week, antibiotics, steroid inhalers, and cough suryp. I have a second inhaler to use as this winds down.  And, you know what happens when you are on an antibiotic.  I’m being treated for that little problem now, too.

If you are sick, STAY AWAY FROM ME!  I want to spend the rest of May and June enjoying my gardens and learning to breathe again.

I’ve begun seeing herons and egrets, but not in large numbers.  It seems a few hearty souls arrive early, and the rest wait for warmer weather.  Dear Husband was sitting in the kitchen and told me that I had just missed a heron sailing over the house.  I got to see Mr. and Mrs. Mallard Duck, waddling around the corner of the house, most likely after they had checked out the seed below the bird feeders.  The jays have been shrill, the cardinals yacky, and the red-wing black birds chided me for being in the herb garden when they wanted to eat.

The daffodils were spectacular this year.  And, of course, my camera has been out of commission because we have misplaced the battery charger.  The star magnolia was luminescent!  It was so lovely, and the Lynwood Gold forsythia was a beautiful contrast to it’s creamy white petals.  It looked like it had snowed when the petals dropped.  The peonies are about a foot tall.  Dear Husband has put the support rings out.  I’ll need to give a few of the branches a little guidance to find their way into the rings, tomorrow.

The tulips have been lovely, bridging the gap between the daffodils and the later spring bloomers like the iris.  I realized that the lilies of the valley leaves are carpeting the ground below the birch at the corner of the house.  I’ll check tomorrow to see if there are any blooms yet.  The rose, and hydrangeas are leafing out, the snowbells are in bloom and the hostas are pushing up into the light.

I spent an hour or so in the herb garden.  I pruned back the deadwood on the sage, and then dug up volunteers in the walkway.  I need to go back and rake out the dead plants.  I cleared an area in the center box and planted a chive plant that was getting leggy in the kitchen sink window.  I think after this coming weekend I’ll start moving the geraniums in and out until they have become accustomed to the sun and heat.

We’re falling into our warm weather habits.  Spring has sprung!

Mother was very aware of the quality of light, and I am aware of the change of the angle of light.  I’m going to have to adjust my summer habits so that I can work in the studio very early in the morning, when the best light of the day comes in the east window.

The Ice Follies daffodils have been fabulous this year.  The weather has cooperated for the first time in a number of years to give a longer period of cool temps which those daffodils prefer.  Today I noticed that the Darwin Hybrid tulips were in full bloom and I believe the star magnolia will open tomorrow.

I’m going to cut daffodils for the kitchen counter.  I have so many different types of blooms that I should be able to have a continuous decoration for the next several weeks.

The gold finches have returned!  I saw both a male and a female waiting their turns at the feeder.  It won’t be long before we have crowds of them.  I’ll have to top off the finch feeder with nyger seed.

The chives are up, and I can see green at the base of the mounds of oregano and in the thyme.  The Lamb’s Ears are greening up, and I have day lily and purple cone flower leaves.  It’s time to return St. Francis to the herb garden.

I know that there are people who would find my life dull, but I love the constancy, and knowing what to anticipate.  A few more weeks and the peonies and iris will be decorating the gardens, my favorite time of year.  This is my own little bit of heaven.

We have had continual rain, interspersed with thunderstorms and magnificent amounts of rain over brief times.  We’ve had a little hail, and LOTS of lightening.  This is the type of storm we have needed in shorter spans for the past several years, when, instead, we have had visions of the Mojave.   It’s really too bad that the ground is so saturated now that the rain can only pool and run off.

On the north side of the house there is a raised herb garden.  Originally, it was planned that there would be an area dug out to channel any water from the herb garden and the area to the north, around the west side of the house.  Instead of a wide channel, there is a narrow trench there, which we call the “Trout Farm,” that needs to be widened.  We planned to lay gravel in the bottom of the trench, and anchor black plastic pipes to help with the water run off.  The sump that pumps from the north side of the house is tied into this system.

The Trout Farm needs to be re-christened the “Trout LAKE.”  We have ponds of water standing through out the grove and to the west of the house.  I’m pleased to tell you that our basement is dry.  We have a double submersible sump pump system, so should one burn out, the other will pick up the slack.  Our house is almost at the highest point on our lot, so what water there is doesn’t have the chance to build up force running toward the house.

I’m sitting in the office, and I just noticed that cars are slowing down on the road.  I’ll bet you money that the two retention ponds have not been able to deal with the rain and have risen to meet on the road!  That’s a LOT of rain!  I suspect that we have a lot of neighbors with walk in basements who could go swiming in their own homes right now.

Where ever you are, I hope you are riding out these storms, and are safe and dry!

We get several birds who stop by on their way to more northerly homes for the summer.  It’s time to watch for the yellow-bellied sapsucker, and the evening gross beak.

P.S. Cop Car, I checked, and it’s an Eastern Towhee, not a Spotted Towhee! *G*

People with something to sell seem to love my blog.  People who are practicing English as a second language  (and who NEED that practice), seem to find me fair game. The occasional sex-crazed looney comes by, too.  You all know what it’s like.  I read most of those posts, trying to be fair and not discourage someone who might really be interested, but usually the e-mail address makes me decide to delete the comment.

Friends are welcome here, people looking to pass on a virus or sell something are not.