One Wet Wet Muddy Day

Lots of gardening today. Only about 60 degrees, and raining constantly, so is perfect weather; and tomorrow is low 70s and sunny/cloudy, so good to adjust before more heat. I am still mostly orange and brown even after a very hard scrub in a hot shower, so clearly I haven't lost the delicate art of getting thoroughly dirty. Which is to say by the time I was finished, I had so much soil on me I was sprouting. After all, fancy folk get little rolly chairs and stools to sit on while gardening- while I just plop meself down and dig in!

One of the garden spots I worked on. The open areas are seeds.

As usual, I left any weeds that weren't causing problems

-ie over-running something I planted- 

they are pretty, too, and they keep the soil ecosystem happy.

These are supposed to be, and were in past, pink.....?

Honestly, I like the white, so pretty and sincere. So it is a nice change.

First Hollyhock bloom about to open!!

Second of my rose bushes to bloom-

this one is so amazing, and produces blooms in shades from soft pretty pink:

To deep and intense red. 

She looks like a pink rainbow when she really gets going!

I love not-quite-open dandelions, they look like unfolding rays of sunshine.

Yes Grace, that statement was for you. I was worried you may not have noticed.

I will never understand people with neat gardening gloves- 

what exactly do they use them for? Even after washing, they don't look much better.

I never took these off, and I still have orange hands and brown nails.

After the Storm,

The air is sweeter, and you can see for miles and miles.....Song. Was quite a storm, though, knocked the power out for quite a bit, and then later yesterday evening after it seemed to have cleared. Nothing like sitting or walking around the garden in the evening after a storm.

I love the yellow green everything is just after a big storm.

Fritha pretending to be a sweet little puppy.

Fritha as she looks the rest all of the time.

Post-Sunset sky

Waiting for the Storm and the Rain

I have yet more to plant, but I need soaked soil! So we wait for the predicted week of wet to start.

Wild Flax

So many Hollyhock buds, oh when they start to bloom, what a sight.

Look how they grow, 4.5 weeks now!

First Swim of the Year

'Tis time to say goodbye to the last of the Multiflora roses- to remember them till next year:

Woodland profusion

A rarity! The only double multiflora around- fancy, right?

Atleast 3 petal layers per blossom.

The "Rose Tree" near the end of my drive.

Today I walked down (or up and then down) to a waterfall on on the creek- I did not take my camera because I didn't feel like it, but I did regret not being able to bring Grace a picture of the Sundrops blooming in their big-and-bold bright yellow and orange-sickle profusion.

Late afternoon on a hot day, rushing water, sun shining in the brilliant blue sky. Bright sun meeting dappled shade meeting the deep of the woods, with blooming laurels and witch hazel overhanging the rippling water. Moss and lichen covered rocks, light sparkling crystal on the water, butterflies abounding, birds chattering away and flashing in the trees. And me sitting up to the tippytop of my nose and eyeballs in cold mountain water, gripping the rock against the current. Coming back through the woods with the evening chorus all around, and flowers, particularly strong honeysuckle, perfuming the air heavily, and warm breezes ruffling the trees. I didn't meet another (human) soul the whole afternoon.

I take off my hat to anyone that can name anything better than this. In fact, I dare you. Double dare you.

Quite frankly though, I personally wouldn't even bother to try.

Grass so Pretty and Vital

With consequences. 

Beautiful. And Peaceful. The wildlife this bounty feeds is wonderful, 

such a part of the ecosystem is something so simple as a field of grass in seed.

BUT 

after spending as much time as I could stand out enjoying it, I am forced to run in sneezing my shoulder blades off  (since really they hurt more than my head) and then sneezeandshowerandsniffleandliedownandsneezeandsniffleandwashmyfaceandsneeze

until it finally eases. 

(Eases rhymes with sneezes. Now I will be saying that over and over for the rest of the day. How nice.)

Then I can enjoy tea and a book here. Which is nice too. 

Particularly after all the sneezing. Honestly that makes anything seems lovely.

May 23

Four-Leaved Milkweed, first year I have seen it.

Pink Honeysuckle! PINK pink. Really very pink. 

Looks lovely on the hillside next to the yellow and white honeysuckle.

Also haven't seen pink honeysuckle there before, not sure what kind it is.

Essentially, Redbud pods just rock.

Blue-Eyed Grass.

Mushroom so excited to be out he brought some of the earth with him.

Beetle. Unknown type, but by his shape a type of  Pentatomoidea I guess.

And Today

Was a good day. Busy. Funny though, looking at photographic evidence of a good day does not always back you up. For instance, I spent far too long trying to get good pictures of different products and one piece of art, which means I was terribly frustrated a significant portion of that time- which means I have several series of pictures of nothing like these, where I just started pushing the button over and over and over as some bizarre form of therapy.

I also learned just how dangerous roses can be. I swear, the slice through my thumb is deeper than any of the thorns on that little fellow! And this picture is just after cleaning it up. On the plus side, the Red Queen can rest happy tonight, with her white red roses.

Little Miss Kid is not impressed with my rose scars. She says they never have trouble with them, so it must be a personal problem.

Fritha just wants to know if I am done being so busy and can go on a walk. Like now. Please! Please? Please....?

Hello George

Your postcard made it, as you can see. I think it looks pretty snippy on my wall, a nice addition- it is a great shot, and my wall needed some fire power. So now you can see it again after mailing as you wished.

To answer your questions- the fly catching Phoebe chicks, all five, were eaten by the largest Rat Snake I have ever seen, since Alasdair is no longer here guarding the house perimeters. The chick chicks are almost 3.5 weeks old, and doing well with lots of tiny adult feathers, including their first black neck feathers, but you still can't tell whether either George or Goldilocks is aptly named- i.e. their sex. The kids are likewise almost 2.5 weeks old, and are getting very active and boisterous- Chrysanthemum is finally allowed to be friends with them in the afternoons, when Somerville is in the other fence- which makes the afternoons a happy time for all four of them. The puppy..... see previous post. I think she will take over Alasdair's executive position very well. Including Incidental Somersaults. 

So yes, May is very busy, and now with milking starting up, too. But knitting and waterfalls are very important. Knitting this evening, and already walked up to the waterfall this afternoon, after getting your postcard. There was too much water after all the rain for any but the one by the road, but that one is wonderful enough. It is leafed out enough now you have to enter through a green tunnel, opening onto the rock, surrounded by green with blue above, enough wild roses for an Victorian sap and enough roaring rushing water for everyone else. Today the rock was mostly covered in water, so full was the creek. Still, there were areas calm enough to wade in to get the lower half of my legs quite wet, which was more than good enough considering it was not overly warm today, and the water definitely wasn't either. Which meant my walk back was absolutely fabulous with my incredibly invigorated freezing lower extremities. 

Table

My new table, or rather the old family table, so not actually new. New here, though. It is very large. Very executive or maybe eccentric. I tried Executive first, because clearly I did not have enough to do today. Actually I just got bored between cleaning and the dishes, which is the same thing. Roughly. Except to perhaps to Mom. 

It was not easy getting a shot with the four of us. Mostly since one of us is a Puppy.

 So this is most shots, with the Executive of Avian Affairs and Comedy

and the Vice President looking a bit underwhelmed with said puppy.

So basically I spent a long time this morning getting a terrible photo. Huh. Do not expect a Mad Hatter Version any time soon. Although making Fritha play the dormouse might be quite interesting.....

In memorium: Alasdair, Former Executive of Outdoor Affairs

and Incidental Somersaults

First photo of him, starving puppy outside the )pre-reonvation) backdoor

Last photo, watching the chickies.

I Live Here.

How Chicks Deal with Rain and Mud

A.) Go under Mom as much as possible, and stay so completely hidden in her fluff as to be undetectable. And quite dry. This also means that your sudden re-emergence shocks any passing by into thinking that chickens do in fact have live births.

B.) Sit on top of Mom as much as possible if she is under shelter to avoid getting in the mud. With practice, you will be able to maintain this position even as Mom eats- no small feat, that.