maybe tomorrow...

 Busy days with a couple of very spoiled kittens!

They play hard, and they sleep hard.  Really hard.

Even trying to grab your OWN nap will draw a crowd.  Group naps are the best!

They're slowly getting to explore the rest of the house, about thirty minutes per day, during Calliope's morning nap.

Meanwhile, we're easing into early summer.  The early morning living room window view shows how much the trees have leafed out in a single week, from this:

...to this:

In another week or two, we won't be able to see the neighbor's barns at all - just a sea of green.  

I've been picking away at the garden, but without much interest.  It's not really a surprise.  A pattern since childhood: I hyper-focus on a hobby and completely immerse myself in it, sometimes for a year at a time, only to lose interest after spending tons of time and money on supplies and lessons.  The good news is that I always cycle back through my hobbies.  The bad news is that when I'm in a no-interest phase, I have...no interest.  Here we go again:  I have plowed fields, tons of seeds, seedlings bursting out of their containers, and beautiful weather.  And I think:  ugh, maybe tomorrow.  

Poor babies!

At least I have some surprise re-seeders from last year.  Mountain mint is perking up nicely along the fence.  Anise hyssop, beloved by bees and hummingbirds, is also coming in, lush, in last year's patch.

Bupleurum...

...and poppies...

...are thick.  There's a part of me that thinks, "Quick!  Dig up clumps and re-distribute them.  You can have a huge, healthy plot that way!"  And then not-interested me pipes up:  "Ugh, maybe tomorrow."

Yes.

I'm just going to focus on things that I *do* enjoy outside:  Borga romping with Todd...

Claudia's head popping up in a field...

Orioles migrating back through...

Grosbeaks too!

And more things coming up...without any assistance at all from me!

Yes!!

Have a great week!  

...and then there were three

 It's getting warmer and things are popping outside!

Even though the only thing I've done in the garden is plant my anemones, ranuculus, and some poppies, everything is moving forward without my help.  It's gratifying to see the beds fill in with perennials.

There are weeds, too...quite a bit of them.  I'm going to have to tackle them at 15 minutes a day, every single day, to try to keep them in check.  I mean, starting today.  ;)  

Finally, I've gotten to start picking bouquets again!

It's not just outside where new things are sprouting up.  We've got a couple of new additions!

After the absolutely abysmal Tabitha cat introductions last year, I was determined to have a positive change this year.  After some research, I discovered that TWO kittens are best for an adult cat, because they'll play with each other, for the most part, instead of harassing the adult.  The adult is less threatened, too.  So, we talked about it and started looking around to see if there were any bonded pairs available.    Oddly enough, there's a bit of a kitten shortage here!  But I managed to find these two boys.

They're ten weeks old and both as sweet as can be, although slightly feral when they came to us - they'd been living on the streets for their first eight weeks!  I did not enjoy Tabitha's somewhat spicy kittenhood, but these two are full of purrs and cuddles.  We're still working on names (discards:  Orzo and Enzo, Lothar and Linus, Falk and Fisper, Klaus and Canute, Arno and Alistair), although we're leaning toward Arno (pronounced ar-NO) and Klaus.  We've got a ratty-carpeted spare room for them to romp in and kitten beds, towers, and toys.  Our hands are pretty full right now but we are loving watching these two play!💗💘  More updates soon!

Have a great week!

agrostemma gem (-a)

 If you don't pick them, they'll go to seed.  So...

Some flower farmers grow on as little as 1/4 of an acre.  I'm not sure how they are able to harvest enough to sell!  I feel like I planted a lot of flowers, but it seems to be juuuuuuust enough to keep us in household bouquets (so far).  Which is just fine by me!  

The last of the peonies made a gorgeous display that lasted a week.

Whenever one died, I just clipped out the flower and put in another.  I love the mass of blooms!

I've been so focused on the back garden that I've basically ignored the front perennial beds.  Too bad, because they are starting to pop!

It's more quiet in the back.  Claudia sleeps next to me while I plant, almost blending into the mulch.

The pleasures here are best seen from ground level, like the Iceland poppies still going strong...

...and other odds and ends that have been blooming for weeks...an odd patch of sweet william, the last of the "Virginia Sparkle" stock.  

The sweet peas are finally taking off and it was worth the wait!  Started in early February, these guys needed months to form deep roots in cool soil.  Every shade of pale purple, pink, and cream...they are lovely.

I'm also getting wonderful rich color from my pansies.  They are container-grown, solely for bouquets.  They're tiny, but so gorgeous!

Sometimes the beauty is not in the color, but the shape.  I love the unique formation of bupleurum!

Hopefully I'll have some blooms soon!

Agrostemma provides both lovely shape (tall, wispy) and gorgeous color.  See the "stitching" in the bloom?

The "hots" - sun-worshippers like sunflowers, celosia, zinnias, and amaranth - are at least a month away from blooming.  Because of space constraints, I'm interspersing them with the "cools" so that they can start putting in roots.

I'm basically hoeing out weeds and planting the final "hots," pulling out spent sections to make room.  I have no idea if my little space will prosper.  I'm dealing with scads of moles, invasive thistle, and odd poor soil patches that seem to make growing impossible.  I'll just do what I can and hope for the best!

Klaus has proven to be an attention hound.

Two laps are better than one, right?

He's still playing too roughly with Tabitha, though, and requires a lot of attention.  I'm thinking about trying to leash-train him so we can walk off some of that energy.

Otherwise, we're making plans to be outside in a non-working capacity.  Not planting, weeding, mowing, or mulching...we want to get back to hiking, sitting and chatting, grilling out, and just enjoying the views.  

Have a great week!