Thursday's Things.......

We had a very cloudy day yesterday.  I could only capture small windows of that view. We could see clouds all around in every direction.

I have written about the large leaves of the sycamore tree and how they blow all over town in the fall.  The two trees on the left that have the whitish bark are them.  They are just across the street and up the way a short distance.  Now that my two silver maples are gone we get to appreciate all the neighbor's trees. The tree on the right is the one that held a large heavy garage truss after the tornado came through town.  The tornado had dropped it down on the tree and it was caught two thirds up in the tree.  The second one landed on the edge of our property on the sidewalk.  Tree people had to climb up into the sycamore and cut branches to release it while hoping not to drop it onto that house.

The fernleaf peony is always early in the spring.  It blooms before the old fashion peony is even leafed out. I have four other places to remove leaves to see  if they are up, but I will wait until it warms up a little bit more.  The backyard is  protected and warmer here than everywhere else on the property so this one will bloom first.

A bit of sunshine does help me to get focused pictures of the birds.  While out waiting for Button one time I decided that I can figure out how to refill this sock and use it for a longer period of time.  I have about five goldfinches that like eating from it. Juncos use to like eating this kind of seed but I now think they are gone north.

One bird on each side makes it more efficient as a feeder.  If I fill the sock up to the top, one or more birds can be eating too. These goldfinches will go back to the timber areas around here once things get a little warmer and the trees bud out. They find things to eat from the different prairie plants and shrubs too.

Barney stays out of this area of field lilies so I don't have to fence anything off.  The area near the house is fenced right now as he can tromp things down so easily.  The fence you see in the foreground is the one I have on the old fish pond (to become a swamp garden) to keep Button from falling into it.

It is easier to admit that I don't remember what plant this is than to go look it up. I will watch it and when it gets taller my poor brain will revive and retrieve it in name.  I could spend about four hours out there in the yard and still not have everything cleaned up.

This sedum really likes its new home in this cylindrical clay tile. It reminds me of southern Iowa when it would grow out by the well where I pumped our drinking water as a kid.  You know that I will keep shooting photos of its development and I am glad that it is growing so well.

This sedum is also doing well.  I will try to move some of it in a few weeks to a new location or locations. 

We are headed to the Des Moines Botanical Center today.  We both will have cameras in hand and be collecting a lot of images of the place.  The giant dome was built a long time ago and I believe they have added more to their display area.  I am hoping that the visitors, fans, in town from the 8 teams of college boys basketball players are sleeping in today and just party at night.

We want to check out the menu of the new cafe at the center to see if we would like to have lunch there. It is so tropical inside the place with palm trees and blooming flowers everywhere.  The koi ponds are so wonderful and always makes me want to have one again. We haven't been to the center since when I first started blogging back in 2009. We can't travel far or long with our two dogs at home so this will be a good place to visit.  Spring break is coming to a close soon.  I thank all of your for stopping by the blog today.