Monday, May 11, 2026

sours on flowers

After a few frosty mornings...


...I think winter is finally over!  Everything is so green.



Peonies are starting to pop!




Because of a pretty rainy stretch...


...my ferns are going crazy.  



I love spring!!




Todd had a cyst removed last week.  He's been recovering with a little help from Pepita...


Celebratory "body cavity" cupcakes!  The middle is raspberry jam...I swear.


The cats have been their usual helpful selves...

"Gonna take out the trash any time soon??"

"Oh, you wanted to stretch your back?  Let me help."

"I'm done folding!"

"Why are you photographing NASA stuff when I'm soooo much more photogenic?"

"You missed it!  Ryan broke up with Marissa AGAIN."

I can't believe that June will be here in a few weeks.  I've barely been outside with my camera this spring.  It's been cooler and wetter, and life is just busier in general. 

One thing I haven't done, even though it's nearly mid-May, is plant out my annual garden.  In years past, I had seedlings ready to go into the ground by now.



This year, I bought the seeds and soil, cleared the garden debris, and...nothing.  In part there's a physical aspect.  I developed Morton's Neuroma in my right foot, which is a pinched tendon/nerve between two toes.  Some days it hurts to walk/be on my feet for too long.  I also have arthritis in my lower back that has been more painful this spring.  It's more easily aggravated and the thought of the lifting/bending required to do just get the boxes seeded has been daunting.  The main job, however,  is crawling around on the tick-infested ground, stabbing the spring weeds out of the hundreds of 4" pre-cut seedling holes.  You can get an idea of how many there are in this photo.  It's hot, dirty, grueling work and I dread it every year.  Because we've had a long, wet spring, the weeds are now 6-12" high, with deep roots.

A more inspired year

But this isn't a case of the mind is willing but the body is weak.  I'm just not interested in doing it this year.  As I have done my whole life, I throw myself wholeheartedly into a hobby and it consumes me for months or even a year or two.  Then I completely lose interest and focus on something else.  I always cycle back through my hobbies again but sometimes it takes a decade to reignite that passion.  And this year...I don't care about it.  I'm not interested in the propagation process.  I'm not interested in a colorful garden.  I'm not even interested in picking future bouquets.  I'm either 100% in or 100% out...and this year, my interest might even be in the negative.  ;)  Worse case scenario, we will string-trim the weeds down to surface level and just cover the whole lot up with landscape fabric.  Save the seeds and hope that the interest returns next year.  We'll see what happens!  




Tuesday, April 28, 2026

eye of newt

Once again, I've fallen behind.  It's been so busy here, and then we had company for a week.  No matter what, however, certain things had to get done, like spraying our apple tree for fungus...

...and trimming off the dead bits.


(It was gloriously in bloom!  This year, we will have apples!!)


Birthdays had to be celebrated.


Pups had to be fawned over.



Cats couldn't be left out!




It's been so beautiful outside...crisp weather, some warm days, and lots of walks.  

beaver activity!

Eastern box turtle


millipede

Eastern newt

And closer to home, too!

possum

European starling

So pretty.





Hopefully things will slow down in the next week or two...but it's almost time to start seeding annuals for summer.  We'll see how it goes!  Spring is always such a whirlwind!  

Wednesday, April 8, 2026

cage match

Ack!  I am behind schedule on everything right now, but wanted to make an effort to put out something this week.  

April Fools!  This pizza...


...is actually a big cookie, with frosting "sauce" (I ran out of red food coloring so it wasn't super convincing) and frozen/grated white chocolate for the cheese.  It was delicious!

Todd was also surprised by Nicolas Cage in our car back-up camera...


...courtesy of a small photo taped in front of the lens.  :)

Easter!  I made a really tasty carrot cake with a really easy frosting method.  Squiggles I can do.


Spring ephemerals!  They are going crazy right now.  Todd and I  have been so busy that I'm not even sure we'll get in our spring ephemeral hike this year, but I've seen so many on our regular trails...

yellow trout lily

virginia bluebells

celadine poppy

dwarf larkspur

dutchmans breeches

prairie trillium

And when the mayapples get tall...


Morels come out!


I gathered some and fried them up for supper this week.

Oh, redbuds are here and almost gone!


Ferns...



Trees...

spicebush 

norway maple

Bushes...

burning bush

Everywhere we go...


...we see life returning to the forest.  And some unwanted life, despite our cold winter...


Ticks have been insane this spring.  Even though Pepita is on a flea/tick preventative, she has had multiple ticks, and brought multiple ticks into the house.  Todd has found two ticks crawling on his body this week too.  Now we rub her down every single time she returns from being outside, with extra checks during the day.  So far so good!


Everyone is enjoying the sunshine.



We're going to have a lot more of it soon...we're running full-tilt into late spring...somehow!  Lots to do before the spring ends.  More soon!