fence sense

 Warm days, cool mornings, and beautiful fog in the back field.

Todd took advantage of the nice weather by putting together a fence, made up of old farm gates.

We had 1500 feet of fencing put in, but one fence doesn't go all the way down to the water at one end.  Now it does...hooray!  

I've been working outside, too...slowly getting seedlings in the ground.  It's not my favorite gardening activity.  I don't like getting dirty and as I'm gritting my teeth and flicking off ticks, I'm trying to remind myself to be positive.  The sun is shining, there's a soft breeze, and think of the flowers that will grow here!  Amid these contemplations, I've noticed a song sparrow that comes every time I start to dig.  Singing while perched on the garden bench...

...or grubbing for worms, just a few feet away from where I'm working.

I'm reading on the porch swing in the late afternoon now...

...and sometimes the sparrow will perch on the deck rail and regard me curiously.  He's not the only creature I see every day.  We have so many turkey vultures!

They are remarkably efficient.  A full-size deer was hit by a car about a half mile from our house.  We passed it every day on the way to our walking location.  It didn't take long for the turkey vultures to find it...

...and the deer was nearly gone within four days!  Another cool thing that I've started to see on this short trip...bowl and doily spiderwebs.  The spiders themselves are tiny and rarely seen, but their webs are everywhere in the late spring.  You can see how they got their names...their small webs look like bowls suspended over gossamer doilies.  They are best visible in the early morning sun.  By afternoon, they fade into the shadows.  

Of course, I'm also seeing tons of new growth on our daily hikes!

The cats were momentarily interested when I started opening all the windows, but they are still devoted to their daily naps.

Frances

Barnabas, sleeping against the barrier meant to keep him separated from Calliope

Even Calliope has started coming downstairs to spend the day by an open window...

...although she's still pretty skittish.  

Enjoying the temperatures, enjoying the birds, and enjoying more flowers coming up in the garden...

geraniums

lily of the valley

false baptisia and euphorbia

part of front shade garden

...loving the spring!

Have a great week! 

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!

weather blues, tiny shoes, southern views

 New fence goes up...snow comes down.

The precipitation and the low temperatures (a new record for so late in our area) were quite an unpleasant surprise.  I had pessimistically given up hope of salvaging anything, but Todd convinced me to try to cover a few rows.  "Army tents" sprung up in our back garden, and it was quite appropriate, because we were going to war against this weather.

No sooner had we finished...

It was brutal!

Despite temperatures dropping to 29 degrees, and thick, wet snow blanketing everything...we had no casualties.  Even the apple tree blossoms, which completely withered in last year's late freeze, rebounded.  What a relief, but what a lot of work!  Not to mention the work of dragging as many outside containers of seedlings into my grow room.  They were grumpy with the low temps, but everything has perked up again.

After the stress of the sudden storm, it was nice to get away for a day.  We had the requisite pie for Todd's birthday...

...and took a short jaunt to Louisville, Kentucky.

The Falls of the Ohio, starting place of the Lewis and Clark Expedition...

Huge rock outcroppings...

...embedding with plenty of fossils!

A trip to the Conrad-Caldwell House, ten thousand square feet of fanciness.

I loved seeing the leavings of former occupants.  Old credit cards...

...custom-made Louis Vuitton doll shoes...

... and dusty, stained monogrammed linens.

I wonder what they would've thought about us traipsing through their halls and studying their things?

After, a nice walk around Old Louisville and peeks at the manicured gardens.   

Lots of friendly faces!

I was glad to get away, but in a bit of a rush to get back.  This is a really busy time of year.  So many seedlings have to get planted, and quickly.  Plus, weeds are coming up in the established beds.  I have to weed them and lay down a suppressive layer of mulch.  It's a lot of work, but I get little hints of the possibilities.  I was admiring the back/side garden and considering its progression.

April 2019:

April 2020:

April 2021:

All will burst into bloom within 6 weeks, but I'm really enjoying the gorgeous shades of green and various textures!  All I did this year was mulch, and it performs beautifully on its own.  If I get the spring work done, then I can relax.

Have a great week!