The Weekend in Pictures

I could get used to three day weekends. Really, really used to them! Here's a glimpse of some of the things I saw and did this weekend.



We had friends over for dinner Saturday night. They brought us these gorgeous eggs. Now I want to keep chickens even more. Dwight is opposed, but I'll win him over whenever we move to our dream home in the country. We had a few of them for breakfast the next morning. Delicious!



Just before breakfast, though, we made a quick trip to Lowe's to pick up annuals. We hoped to get mulch, but they were out. Oops. We got just one flat of annuals this year, and I also picked up some herbs - Greek oregano, spicy globe basil, and sweet mint. Gotta have my fresh mojitos this summer!



Dwight grabbed a large container of catmint. Have to think of the kitties, too!



Dwight mentioned that he saw some poison ivy in a flower bed at the front of our yard, so I grabbed the poison ivy killer and searched it out. Wasn't hard to find; there was a ton of it, all in this bed filled with snowdrops (still going strong, even this late in the season).



I had a run in with poison ivy last year, and I didn't want a repeat. It wasn't bad, just a bit on my right wrist and forearm - but it was enough. KILL THE IVY!



Our yard is very shady. Like, ridiculously so. It makes growing a variety of plants a challenge, to say the least. However, it does make our back yard look like a park, so I sort of fall in love with it this time each year. I mean, come on. How can I not appreciate THIS?





I have to admit, we can grow the crap out of hostas, ferns, and bleeding hearts, so that's something.



The hydrangeas and rhododendrons  seem to like it, too, despite getting seriously zapped this winter. The snow up to the keester and super frigid temps meant losing one decorative tree, and our hydrangeas and roses to the ground. Stupid winter. Pfft.



Our tree peony only had two blooms on it this year, and I almost missed them! Fortunately, I did manage to get a photo before the petals fell.



Aside from lots of yard work, I also did some artsy stuff. I worked on (and finished) a 12" x 12" panting of a parrot tulip (finished photo yet to come).




And I started a new thing - paper beads. Kind of digging them!





p.s. All photos were taken with my iPod Touch. I'm kind of in love with that thing. Don't tell Dwight.

On second thought, it's OK. I'm pretty sure he knows. He has one too, and I think he's got a crush on his, so we have mutual understanding.

It's Spring! Sort of.

I really hate to complain about the weather, but COME ON. I think we can all agree that this "spring" has been a bit of a let down. I suppose that once it finally warms up and stays warm I'll be all that much more appreciative. That's the silver lining I keep telling myself.

In the mean time, the flowers and trees are doing their best to make a go of it. The daffodils have been threatening to open for days, but they're still not quite ready.



And what a difference a year makes, eh? Here's that same area on March 23, 2012.



Granted, last year was an anomaly in the opposite extreme - ridiculously warm very early then a destructive freeze. I'll take a slow going spring over that any day.

Just look at the comparisons from this year to last (4/14/13 vs 3/23/12).

2013


2012


2013


2012



We have quite a bit of clean up to do as well.





It'll be beautiful once again... eventually!

(like this - from 5/20/11)

So this just happened

Looked out the kitchen window and saw this guy going to town on the newly refilled bird feeder. Don't tell me squirrels aren't at least a little bit clever.



And acrobatic.

p.s. Using my new-to-me 60mm Micro f/2.8 lens. Loving how sharp it is.

"In The Garden" Art Show

My very first art show! Well, as an adult.

I did have some pieces in student shows while in high school, full disclosure.  But that was like a million years ago, so I'm claiming this as my first REAL show. Yes, it was a small one, but I was BRAVE and entered two paintings. One was selected for the juried show. I didn't ever think I would win any of the prizes, I just want to take the plunge and give it shot, you know? (And, no, I didn't win a prize or ribbon, but I don't care - I'm just so glad I did it!)

After all, I DID proclaim Be Brave as my motto, so I'd better step up to the plate. It was disappointing that Dwight's painting was not selected, especially after seeing some of the paintings that were. But all art is subjective, and just two judges did the selecting. It seemed pretty clear they leaned towards watercolors. Granted, there were a LOT of watercolor pieces in the show, so that probably had something to do with it!

The gardens were beautiful! The main area was circular divided into four wedges, each labeled with a season. In the center was a small pond, complete with lilies, goldfish and croaking frogs.

My parents came along and were so proud - awww. *blush*

Aren't they cute?

They had a two-story deck thing so we went up there and I got some shots of the grounds. I love the little buildings! Both the one on the left and the greenhouse on the right (you can sort of make it out in the third photo below) had paintings on display. Mine was in the greenhouse. It was perfect. I loved it in there. I wanted to dig up the entire greenhouse and take the whole thing home with me!

The outer ring of the circle was paved with regular paving blocks along with bricks bearing every day of the year. 

There were vertical post markers at the start of each month. I'm not sure if it was supposed to be a giant sundial or what, but it was very clever and absolutely beautiful. I was so impressed with all of the gardens there. 

Pansies and violas - my favorites!

I didn't think to take photos of the winning pieces until a bit later, so I managed to skip right over the "Best in Show" as it was in the first booth. Meant to go back, but spaced it (it was a lovely panoramic watercolor {surprise!} of a farm).  Here are the other winners and a couple of the honorable mentions.

1st Place

Mine next to the 2nd place winner - it was an amazing photo-realistic 

acrylic absolutely deserving of a prize!

3rd Place

A couple of the honorable mentions

Here's to more shows and lots of fun making the pieces I'll enter next time!

What a Difference Four Years Can Make

Like so many things in life, time has a way of sneaking up on you and making changes right under your nose. Your kids (or nieces) go from little babies to young ladies in the blink of an eye. And in my case, the plants that at first looked swallowed up by the size of the bed now spill over into the yard, overfill the once seemingly large empty space, and transform it into a lush sanctuary.

At the beginning, four years might have sounded like a long way off, but it happened in the blink of an eye, or so it would seem. Plants were added, moved, divided. Furniture was stolen (really) and a pergola was added. A wall was removed and a hot tub added. So many little changes, bit by bit, all adding up to big changes.

Take a look.


First of all, not every change has been for the better. This bed has been overrun by a particularly virulent ground cover. It needs to die.


But most of it has been really good.


The tulips in this bed always get eaten by something. We're pretty sure it's deer. They chew off the young leaves and SOMEtimes they miss the flower head so that we get a few flowers. They leave the daffodils alone, though. It the current pic, they're long done for the season. By the way, the hostas around this bed all came from splitting up just two larger hostas. We can't grow what we'd like in our yard because of the shade, but we can grow the HECK out of hostas!


Isn't this something? The tulips still bloom like the before pic, but now the day lilies are huge. They started out as TINY single bulbs and have multiplied steadily each year. It's quite a sight!






This is the furniture that was stolen. We're guessing they took it to sell as scrap. But now this corner of the house and yard is incredible. All of the plants have grown up to create a really beautiful space. You know those goofy self-portraits I took? I was on the deck. Oh, and my About Me pic is set there, too.









We're pretty darn thrilled with how the yard has grown over the years.