a rabbit habit

 I think that it's summer!

Borga is loving the fences that allow her to roam freely between the fields.

Until we can get it hired out, Todd keeps mowed paths for easy walking.

I've been roaming there, too.  A small patch of multiflora roses made for a lovely outdoor bouquet!

Early mornings are perfect for rabbit frisking!  They aren't deterred by the new fences.

Barn swallows are nesting in our small barn.  

They are a constant presence outside, swooping overhead or twittering on the fence.

The cicadas love our new fences, too.  They're perfect for clinging and molting!

We're supposed to have over 200 BILLION of these "brood x" cicadas in our county.  Honestly, I've barely noticed them so far.  

Peekaboo!

They make a pleasant background humming that usually dies off by noon.

I've seen plenty of butterflies and bees, and lots of ground spiders, but was really pleased to see this young male garden spider hanging out on a poppy!

This warm weather has finally brought on some plant growth.  My anemones and ranuculus are in full bloom and I love them!  They look like roses until they fully open up.

My Iceland poppies are in full bloom, too.  They make gorgeous bouquets.

Sweet William, which can be annual, biennial, or perennial. is also blooming now.  This is a biennial variety that I don't remember planting last year.

My biennial foxgloves, which bloomed last year and are supposed to be done, are blooming again.  Hooray!

Not much else is happening in the annual flower garden, though, other than some wispy mystery snapdragons that were supposed to be Twinny Peach...

(photo courtesy of Swallowtail Gardens)

...but most assuredly are not.  I got them in a trade, and that's always a gamble.

Still, I like them, and the more you pick, the more they bloom.  That's the wonderful thing about many annuals!

Speaking of blooming, I think that Klaus is doing well here.  He seems to be enjoying himself...

It's been a bit of an adjustment period with Tabitha, but so far, so good.  Right now we're just trying to work with them patiently...and trying to work outside in the cool mornings before the full slam of a 90 degree day comes on...and trying to wait for the perennial bed to burst into bloom.

Oh, and trying patiently to wait for my new lens to come in.  I have a zoom lens for distance, a junky "all purpose" lens that came with my camera, and a wide angle lens.  My favorite, my most crisp and reliable lens that I've had for over a decade (a Canon macro lens) finally gave out (faulty connectors).  I ordered a new one in April, but it's back ordered until late JUNE.  It drives me crazy that many of my pictures are just slightly out of focus because I'm using the wrong lens for the job, but all I can do is wait.

Have a great week!

Last week, frost and flannel pajamas.  Next week, temperatures near 90 degrees.  That's spring in Indiana!  Thankfully, the recent rain and warming temps have been great for my plants.  So many new buds.  I am fascinated by these poppy stalks...aliens!

Hello, gorgeous!  Only one poppy is blooming right now...but these guys are ready to pop!

So much in bloom...

...or getting ready to bloom.

It's not just in the garden where we're seeing cheerful new faces!

We decided that although the pain from losing Bosewichte is still raw, it was better for Tabitha to have a companion.  We found this just-out-of-kittenhood cat at the local animal shelter and named him Klaus.  And he...is...a...lover.

He rears up on his hind legs and reaches out his arms for hugs...I've never seen a cat do that before! He's a major bed snuggler and daytime explorer.  

Tabitha is skeptical, but we're hoping that she comes around soon.  Maybe they'll be conspiring to crowd me out of desk space within a  month!  :)  

Have a great week!

frost bossed

We're two weeks from June, and still wearing our hoodies outside.  Days are cool, and nights are downright cold.  Thirty four degrees when I woke up today, and a frost.

Frost encrusting the mulch...

...and the tender leaves of my seedlings, waiting to go in the ground.

I took this photo from my office window upstairs...you can see the silvery sheen of frost on the grass.

There was even ice in my wheelbarrow!

My seedlings are positively overflowing their containers indoors, waiting to get into the ground.  It's so unseasonably cold that I don't dare put them out yet.

Still, this cool weather is pleasant to work in.  I've got the main cutting garden completely planted, except for a square and a partial row near the middle that I'm saving for warmer weather plants.  Everything is so tiny and stressed from the cold weather, so I have no idea if they will grow...

At least there are some promising signs.  My poppies look amazing and are starting to send up stalks!  I planted hundreds - no joke! - so I'm eager to see how they do in this climate.

My perennial beds, too, have taken off.  They are loving this protracted spring!

Last year's stubby peonies are over 3 feet tall this year and loaded with buds.  I can't wait for this amazing bloom!

My favorite area is probably the new garden that I built in the side yard.  SO GREEN AND LUSH.  Todd worked there today, sinking concrete blocks into the soil to support a cedar arbor bench that we bought last year and never got around to putting up.

My pink climbing rose is budding for the first time this year.  It's covered in thorns, so I carefully tied it to the bench.  I'm planning on planting a white flowering vine on the other side.  I think that it will be so gorgeous!

Hopefully just a couple more weeks of planting and then...ahhhhh!  Meanwhile, I'm enjoying working outside in the frosty mornings...although a little bit of heat would be appreciated...especially by my poor plants.

Have a great week!