mellow yellow

It's the yellow season in the garden!  I didn't mean to plant so much, but I think it's so cheerful and I just can't help myself. 

Our white poppies are about done...

...and now the red ones are starting.  All re-seeded from last year!

Although nothing from the annual garden is near blooming yet, I've been able to get plenty of flowers from the perennial garden.

An insane amount of daisies this year.  They've tripled their original number and just keep growing and spreading!

It reminds me so much of my favorite photo of great grandma Grace.

A busy time with the animals here.  I noticed Claudia wasn't eating, and that she had flecks of foam on her whiskers.  She let me check her mouth and I realized that she'd lost her incisors on the left side and couldn't masticate the hard kibble that she normally eats.  I pureed wet cat food for her until her mouth healed.  It was a strange week.  She occasionally leaves bird parts on our doorstep, but that week there was just one confused bird that she'd tried to gum...

...but only managed to pull out a few feathers.  She's all better now!

The choglets are eating and growing...

...and we've continued our snake streak with a THIRD black rat snake in as many weeks!  This one was in our storage barn.

He was a lot bigger than the first two! 

We've been seeing a lot of rabbits around, too.

And on these rabbits...

Yes, more ticks, and MORE ticks.

I even found a tick crawling on Frances yesterday, and he's a strictly indoor cat!  We are being very, very diligent about tick checks this year and so far only Todd has had a single tick attached.  Of course, he's been in their territory quite a bit lately.

We've both been outside lately because the weather has been wonderful, and continues to look promising in the forecast.  70s into the second week of June?  I'll take it!  So we're outside as much as possible, and when inside, our indoor animals keep us on our toes.

Here's Barnabas, who decided that a mere screen did not provide enough ventilation, and it cramped his stretch as well.  So, necessity is the mother of invention...

A new hole provides enough of both!  And Frances is responding in a similar way to his no-cats-on-the-table training.

Life is never boring around here.  Have a great week!  

cake and ice...temps

 Birthday week!!

Six-inch four-layer German chocolate cake with chocolate frosting

Todd has been getting over a really terrible cold and had zero energy, but we managed a short walk and a museum trip.  The cake I made had the most delicious pecan/coconut filling that I've ever tasted, and I'm not a fan of pecans.  

As an afterthought, I also made a lemon cream pie with graham-almond crust.  I like lemon and have had a lot of lemon desserts, but this, too, was the best in its class, in my opinion.  We groaned in delight for DAYS!  

A lot of delight outside, too.  Green, green, green!

barn in front of our house

dogwoods are blooming!

shade garden by front driveway

Woodland flowers!

trout lily

jack-in-the-pulpit

The apple blossoms withstood the rain...

...but not the wind.

Lilacs have come and gone, too.

So much growing, though.

both columbines

shasta daisies

part of the side rose garden

Claudia is loving life in warmer temperatures.

She's yet to bring us any pests this year, although I saw her this week with a suspicious feather hanging out of her mouth...

The deer are starting to appear in the daytime, and I hear turkeys gobbling in the early mornings now.

our back field

I'm slowly, slowing working on getting my winter sow garden seedlings planted.  I have a low tolerance for cold, and although Todd loves these 55-degree days, I'm shivering in three layers.  It's windy!!  Somehow it feels even colder than wintertime...for once I'm ready for summer.

Warmer temps coming soon.  Have a great week!

Two weeks ago, Claudia waiting for me in the rose garden.

and I dream I'm an eagle

 More signs of spring!  First, the GREEN.

Cursed Crowfoot

Ceratodon Purpureus

Cinquefoil

Hairy Bittercress

And the most exciting...the first spring ephemeral!!!

Cut-Leaf Toothwort

Lots of trees starting to bud...

Redbud

Green in the garden, with no help from me.

Shasta Daisies

Parsley

And insect life!!

Sawfly

Millipede

Aquatic life...

Gastropods (freshwater snails)

Our porch possum is more active too!

Lots of beautiful birds, including this grackle...

...and even an eagle!  I'm convinced one is nesting in our woods...I saw several flyovers last year but never seemed to have my camera.  This time I had it, but the wrong lens.  Still, his identity could be made.

Wood ducks have returned to our front pond, too.  A nesting pair!

I love doing daily checks for new signs of spring.  Our morning walk is still fairly brown...

...but it won't be long now.  The mantle is decorated with flowers from the yard...

...and soon we'll celebrate the first official day of spring!  Claudia is loving the warmer temperatures.  She's great company when I poke around in the yard.

The indoor cats are loving those rays of sunshine, too!

This is such an exciting time of year.  Last week I started sweet peas indoors...next week I'll fire up the grow lights and start agrostemma, sugar snap peas, radishes, bachelor buttons, and a few other cool-loving annuals!  Big plans for the garden this year.

Have a great week!