Clematis.......and other things.

A composition of bud and leaves that shows the promise of a pretty bloom.  The cold and rain along with the strong winds did not help out the situation.

The bloom that was already open has suffered a lot from the weather. Maybe the warm weather of the future will help to give out a better set of blooms.

The columbine is showing off it's great color against the bark of my ash tree. I notice that the plant really is hardy through strong winds and cool temperatures.

I had remarked yesterday that I would not mow my yard because it was too cold.  I changed my mind and mowed with two layers of long sleeved shirts and the top one had a parka hood in which I used to stay warm.  I had to mow =low as I was trimming down the grass from a taller height.  I had let it go so long that I had trimmed it last week at the mower's tallest setting. I dropped it two notches down this time and just walked slower.  Yes, I was cold but I did warm up from the exercise.

While out there I collected damaged plants and brought them inside.  The yellow tulip was hit by the mower while the white one was taken down by the wind.  I have two colors of weigela that had branches laying on the ground so I brought samples of them inside.  I also had the wind take out a stalk of the cemetery iris as I found it laying on the ground.

I snapped a shot of a fuzzy dog who doesn't like his owners working in the gallery.  He sits and watches and sometimes scratches at my legs to ask to be picked up and to be held.  When his patience runs out and he can't get us to stop working, he will curl up in the rocking chair in the room and take a nap.  I love sharing the bad floor tile in the back that needs to be replaced.  That should be a summer project of putting down a new floor in the gallery.

The green leafed burning bush is putting out little flowers that will become berries.  The berries are loved by the birds but not until late summer when the turn red along with the leaves of the bush.

It is another cold day in Iowa but promised to improve with warmer weather all week.  We will be overcast most of the day and maybe a light rain will come by noon time.  Fortunately the rain is staying south and east of us and we will be touched by the top edge of it.

Thanks for stopping by my post today.

Thursday's Things

Yellow sulfur butterfly that is busy feeding on the allium.

A beautiful rose is hidden inside this bud.  The rose is doing so well this year that there are five large buds on the bush.  It is a special rose from my parents home and it really is going to do well up here in our part of the state.

The fernleaf peony is suffering under our 89 F. degree heat today.  They are going to be gone soon.

The bridal wreath spirea is really filling out into full bloom today.  Our warm weather really turned it into a show specimen plant.  These plants are ones that I  transplanted from and older shrub that was on the property 36 years ago.

I have this short dutch iris that has one bloom.  It really has not done well as this is the first time I have seen in bloom in a number of years.  It likes to bloom early and we normally have snow or too cold of temperatures.

I will finish off the blog with a trio of tulips.  They are at their last days now and this photo was taken a week ago.

Special Education duty today, taking notes in various classes for the students. I may get moved to a regular classroom in the afternoon when the golf coach leaves for a tournament.

Thanks for stopping by my post today.

Another Cold Day..........

The cold is taking it's toll on the last of the tulips.  It was just too chilly for me to finish mowing the orchard.  I thought wearing a winter coat and stocking cap was pushing it for the season.  I don't think grass grows much in cold weather.

During this cool off the fernleaf peonies are blooming.  It would be nice if they were in the warmth but maybe they will last longer.  I have four of them in bloom and one that is a new start with out a bud on it.

Thanks for stopping by my post.

The Frst Iris to Bloom........

This old fashioned iris is from the property in Osceola.  It really isn't a family iris other than my parents had it planted against the garage for thirty years.  Who knows where they found the starts but probably from some neighbor.

As you can see in the background is a dandelion in bloom and also there is a view of a peony bush that was transplanted there last fall.

The weathered tulip will be dropping it's petals very soon.  The 60 mph wind has dislodged a lot of the petals of the tulips.

Aronia berry bush is going to put out some fruit.  I will give the berries when ripe to the neighbor lady to add to her other bushes' fruit that she has growing.

The lilac season is almost finished.  I did get my yard partially mowed last evening.  I had to set the mower deck on the highest setting. I was cold with my parka hood pulled up to keep warm. The grass is very uneven so there were places where I was not mowing anything.

 I have two lots so it takes me a couple of days to push a mower around the property.  I did have a lot of sticks to pick up as I did different sections.  My old mower started one more time after I cleaned the spark plug and put gas in the carburetor.  It started right away with out too much complaining.  I have to admit that I only had gasoline that was intended for the chainsaw.  It has some oil additive in it and the old mower seemed to like the extra oil.  I will purchase gas before I finish mowing the orchard area.

I am following a nice young man around with him to his classes today.  We have a full schedule today and by the end of the day I will be well versed in Health, English, American History, Science and Math.  He is doing a visual presentation today as to how to make chocolate chip cookies.  His mother taped it on her phone (sideways) last night and the video is being shown.  There will be cookies to eat after the video.

Thanks for stopping by my post.

More Early Blooms........

The viburnum is another of the shrubs that blooming early.  The little flowers in the center are not open yet but when it warms up again it won't be long.

I brought in wood phlox many years ago and planted them along the west side of the house.  They don't do very well there but I do get some blooms from them.

The last tulip to bloom is this one.  It is a small bloom. With the wind I had to hang onto it with one hand while snapping it with the other hand.

It is Monday and it seems to be a diverse day of being various staff positions.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Bunches of Blooms......

I am sure that it was cold and windy the day that I planted these tulips.  I must have dug a large hole and tossed them in around the outside edge of it.  Then I must have filled it in and rushed back into the house.  Most years I buy the tulips that I run across in late fall and then force myself outside to plant them in winter weather.

My neighbor gave me one of her aronia berry bushes when she purchase some for her property. I believe she was concerned that her five plants wouldn't survive and maybe my one would.  She actually has all but one surviving.  This is the first year for  mine to bloom.

  The plants remind her of her past life as an part American Indian  living near the Pine Ridge Indian reservation.  She admits now that they really don't taste so good but they do mix in with other types of berries to make good jam.

The wild violets that grow all over my property have enjoyed a long spring.  The freeze did bother them a little but they are still in bloom.

I am an aid today following a nice young man around to his different classes.  I may get plugged into a last period class when a coach leaves for a track meet.

It is Friday and the rains are disrupting our plans for the weekend.  I know we can live with rain but sometimes we fell less spontaneous when the weather is not great.

Thanks for stopping by my post. 

Easter Sunday Flowers....

Easter is about renewal of faith and the flowers bringing forth their fresh bright colors shows us a new life in the created world.

Have a great Sunday and thanks for stopping by my post.

The Garden Colors..........

Our weather has become cool which means the tulips will last a lot longer.  I have had years were ice storms would take them out in a couple of days.

Thanks for stopping by my post today.

The blooms keep coming........

The color and the smell is wonderful in my yard right now.  I sometimes have allergic reactions to these things or a form of asthma.  Each spring it is different for me health wise.  I guess the mowing of the yard is the most damaging to my lungs but that too is varied from year to  year.

I am in the art room again today.  Students were frustrated that their teacher left before the end of the year so they were a little bit testy with me.  So far today they are being a lot better and will survive the change.  I told them that the teacher replacement is coming in a few days so they need to get use to change one more time.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Monday's Mentions..............

Just checking in on a busy day.  I am a transition art teacher for a teacher that left and a new art teacher that has been hired.  I will be in the old art room for about three days before I go back to being sub and tech again.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Sunday's Stuff.......

My pink redbud tree is showing off against the blue sky.  It is hard to photograph these branches close up as the full tree with flowers is so stunning.

The rain caused this flowering bush to fill out with blooms.  Sometimes with flowers, the rain can ruin them, but the moisture really caused the blooms to open.  This is my unidentified shrub that was given to me thirty years ago.

With all the pastel colors on the previous photos, I will end with this peach beauty.  I have only three or four of these and they pop up out in the middle of the orchard area.  I don't know what I was thinking when I  planted them there.

I have a lot of new iris plants coming up now that will eventually bloom for the first time.  I transplanted successfully five peony bushes from my wife's old home on the farm.  They are pushing through quite well.  I also planted the rose bush from my wife's home place that I rescued from a rubble pile. It was still in the bucket in the basement and it was still alive.  I have never seen this rose bloom and it is an old fashion one.

Thanks for st stopping by my post today.  I trust you Sunday will be a restful one.

Saturday's Stuff.......

These guys are so tough they deserve to live for a while before I take them out.  They are actually growing in a crack between my concrete patio and steps.

My tulip row looks really great right now and the peony bushes that are lined up against them are shooting up.  Soon the foliage of the tulips will be buried from the peonies.

In most of my photos you can see leaves in the background as I have waited to clear my different garden area.  As cold as it is getting at night it seems to be a good idea to not remove them right now.
It is getting close to being rhubarb season as you can see this new plant that I rescued from my fence line.  It seems to be liking it's new location.

I will finish off my post today with this bunch of tulips.  As you can see that the ones in the foreground are a different variety.  The yellow and orange ones will probably be gone by the time the ones in front get to be opened.

I framed pictures again today and I will share some of my skills later on in the week. It hasn't been a restful day for me but it is a relief to get so much of my work caught up.

Thanks for stopping by my post today.

Friday's flowers........

We had a nice rain last night and it was needed.  A little thunder and lighting to scare the dogs but it was all over with by the time for us to all go to bed.  I am going to mow this weekend as it is going to be impossible to do so if I wait any longer.  We are to be hot Saturday and Sunday and then the next spring rains will start up for Monday and Tuesday.

Thanks for stopping by my post today.  I is Friday and I am ready for to be done and finished.