Spring....

....although I might just jinx it using the name of the season.

Thatcher and I found these flowers peeking through the leaves and debris in our yard.

Crocuses....

...and snowdrops.  I think.

Thatcher promptly took up rolling in the crocuses, and then tried eating the leaves.  Silly boy.

Maybe more flowers will peek out soon.  The trees are breaking bud, which means that the buds will soon be dropping all over the cars.  Ugh.

And, if you care, we're still on baby watch.  She's due May 1, but who knows what will happen.  I'm ready to roll whenever I get the call.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Snow, Freeze, Thaw, Repeat

That's what the weather's been here for the past few weeks.

So, on Friday it was 40 degrees, and I thought Thatcher would like to go for a nice long walk.  I walked to the bottom of the driveway, which is a half mile long loop around the center of my yard, and he was behind me almost until the end, when he darted off to my right, into our little "forest", as my kids call it.  At that point, my house is to my left, up a hill.  About 100 feet later, I reached our gate, turned around to walk back up, and no Thatcher.  I spent the whole walk calling the little idiot, wondering how I was going to break the news to Patrick that I'd lost his dog while he was at school and Ryan was at work.

And there he was, sitting on the porch when I returned.  Evidently he decided this walking crap wasn't for him, and scampered straight up the hill.  Little idiot.  I sure didn't need to be out strolling around in the cold and wind.

But I did find this pretty view of one of our 100 year old apple trees.  Perfect sky on Sunday, I'd say.

And it's supposed to start over tonight, with 4" to 8" of snow predicted, probably with ice on top.  Ah, well, we've laid in food supplies, so no big deal.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Out My Kitchen Window

To the north, storm clouds gather.  Here, the sun shines bright.

Happy Saturday, everyone!

Sunny and 47

It was sunny and 47 today, so I decided to take a walk around the yard.  Of course, Thatcher came, too, and terrorized all of the squirrels he saw.  But those sneaky little creatures fly up trees, and Thatcher says that's not fair!  So while he never catches any, he continues to believe in his abilities.  And I enjoy my fall color.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

A Little Color

I've been blue today, so I went outside to freeze myself out of it.  Hey, 40 degrees with no coat feels enough like freezing to me.  And I saw the first real color of the season.

This tree was brighter in real life.  But pictures aren't perfect, no matter what we do.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Hanging In There

It's been 5 weeks since I lost my dearly beloved, and it still feels like 5 minutes.  If I didn't have the boys to feed, I'd probably be subsisting on frozen dinners, if I even remembered to eat.  My next door neighbor has been a rock, dropping by with a cup of tea to visit every few days.

Yesterday, we had a fierce thunderstorm roll through - in and out in 20 minutes.  Afterward, I looked out the front door, and was amazed at the myriad shades of green, and sunshine, against the dark sky where the storms were still rolling through to the east of us.

And, who's excited about the PBS Great American Read?  OK, maybe "excited" is a little strong.  But I downloaded the list, and was pleased to see that I've read 30 of the books on it, and have at least 5 more in my house.  I might as well read; the insomnia is going to drive me nuts otherwise.

So, tell me, how many of these books have any of you read?  And are you all enjoying the colors of spring after our rather cold April?

The First Red Tree

When I went out to get my paper the other morning, one of our small maple trees had turned a brilliant red.  It was a beautiful contrast to the other trees, even on an overcast day.

 This one is taken from the other side of the wall with the gate in it.  Maybe my view of a small tree is a little biased.

 Aren't the clouds in this sky nice?  Even better than the color of the trees.

 Yes, I was right.  The maple is a small tree.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Garden Tuesday: The Beginning of Fall

Last Saturday, as I walked to the street to retrieve my local paper and Wall Street Journal., I found to my delight that the cluster of white pines next to the street had shed its needles, covering the ground with one of my favorite things.  I've always loved soft, warm pine needles, and I've been enjoying them all week.

Of course, this is just the beginning of autumn's color change ritual, but it's an often overlooked part. It's been quite cool this week: starting to feel like the cold weather will come....soon.

Happy Garden Tuesday, everyone!

Garden Tuesday: Hydrangea

When we got here, there was one large, beautiful hydrangea in a corner in front of the house.  It has gotten bigger despite our efforts to keep it trimmed and marginally under control...

A few years back, an early snowstorm took down two of our giant arbor vitae near the hydrangea.  We had our tree guy stand them back up; he installed guy wires to hold them in place, and fertilized the tarnation out of them.  They thrived, and so did the hydrangea.

2 weeks ago, this was the hydrangea, having taken on a little bit of a pink tinge....

And this morning, the fertilizer which had migrated from the arbor vitae has done its job, and really added some vivid color to the hydrangea; it's even brighter in person.  I don't know why the camera washed it out.

So, the early fall here is starting out pretty.  We'll have to see how the leaves go (and the colors should be great because it's been a very wet year), and see if we get the "promised" rough winter.

Happy Garden Tuesday, everyone!

It's Eclipse Day!

So, we are nowhere near the total eclipse, but I didn't care.  I ordered the package of genuine eclipse glasses months ago, and we all wandered in and out to watch it.  I even took a couple of great blob pictures with my new, spiffy cell phone (yes, it's sad, but I can no longer say that my phone doesn't take pictures...I still claim it does nothing else).  Of course, the phone wore the eclipse glasses when it took a turn looking at the sky.

It was a little cloudy here, but that's OK. I'm just happy that I got to enjoy it with people I love.  And I'm going to make an eclipse cake tonight to celebrate!

Happy Monday, everyone!

Garden Tuesday

There haven't been many Garden Tuesdays this year.  Oh, sure, we had Blizzard Garden Tuesday, but other than that, I've been pretty slack.

So, when I went down to West Chester for my daughter's baby shower, her husband had two 2' high pillars for me; a couple of guys loaded them into my car to take home.  Let me be clear: only one would fit in the trunk.  They had to drive the front passenger's seat all the way forward to stuff the second one in behind it.  And that's in a Lincoln Town Car.  Good thing I insist on driving those big ol' gas guzzlers, or these suckers would still be sitting around 130 miles south of here.

Anyway, after I figured out that I wanted them on my back porch, and bought bowls to set atop them, Shannon went out and bought flowers to plant in said bowls.  9 weeks later, they're still blooming, and have filled in a lot.

Good thing we have a real gardener in our midst, or my pillars would just look silly!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!  And Happy August.  I hope you're enjoying your summer weather!

Garden Tuesday, on Friday

It's been rainy here for weeks.  Seriously, my weather guy just said last night that it was cloudy and/or raining 24 days in May.  That's just too many.

So, when I saw this sky, I had to take a picture!

Happy Weekending, everyone!

Blizzard Update Number 1

as of 1PM, we have a good 2 feet.  And it's still snowing.

This porch has a roof.  That snow isn't supposed to be there.

 Looks like I'm not opening this door without bringing snow in.

 See those lumps out there?  Those are cars.  Cadillacs and a Chevette, to be precise.

 See the dark smiley looking thing next to the tree?  That's a picnic table.  The table part.

 And I sure as anything am not opening the front door.

 I cleared 4" off the porch at 4AM, and the porch is 4" below the doorsill upon which I stood the yardstick.  You do the math.

The planter in the middle of the courtyard is a lot shorter today.

So that's the snow.  It's supposed to continue for some hours yet.  Good thing I don't need to get out in order to celebrate Pi Day!

Happy Snowy Garden Tuesday, everyone!

Garden Tuesday, A Day Early

So, I'm a day early because I had to show you the first snowfall of the season. This was Saturday night.

 

And this is what I found Sunday.

We had 5" of snow, but, thankfully, the ground was warm enough that it mostly melted.

Happy Thanksgiving week, everyone!  Back to baking!

Garden Tuesday: Leaves Hanging On

Well, despite the fact that there are a bucketload of leaves down, and all of them have migrated to right outside my garage door, some are still hanging on.  I really like this dogwood which just isn't going to give up.

 The burning bushes in our walled garden are losing the battle, but very gracefully.

Shannon and Chris were visiting a couple of weekends back, at the same time Jeff was here.  Of course, talk turned to Thanksgiving.  Part of the conversation:

Chris: In the next few years, there will get to be more of us, and we will need 3 turkeys.  I vote that we deep fry one of them:

Jeff:  Oh, yeah!  I'm with you there.

Dearly Beloved: Guys, that's how people set their porches and houses on fire.

Chris: Oh, don't worry.

Jeff: We'll do it outside.

Chris: I'm an engineer.  I will engineer this project.  It'll be great.

And so begins the Thanksgiving planning.  Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Autumn Colors

The colors here haven't been as vivid as usual, probably because it's been a dry summer.  Still, the hydrangea in front of my house is in fine form, as is the little maple tree behind it.

 And the remains of the street that once ran right through my living room also look really nice in the late afternoon sun.

And, because it's Thorsday, here's a picture of baby Maddie with her puppy, Penny.

Happy Thorsday, everyone!