Robin Sighting and More......

 The seeing of a robin means we have spring. This one showed up at the feeder area but doesn't eat seed there.  Yes it really a thrush bird but tradition has misnamed it a roving. Robins in other parts of the world are smaller than this one.

As the snow was subsiding the male downy was interested in the peanut butter uet. It did stop at the thistle seed sock below and had one seed. 

We had a freeze last night. I can tell the cold weather has already effected the peonies.  I am hoping the next freeze this evening will not damage these.  I know the apple orchard farmers are really concerned about the possible hard freeze tonight.

I have four of these peonies in a row.  I hope to get a good show from these this year. I brought them down from the old place a couple of years ago. Unfortunately the soil there is mostly clay but I don't think they will mind once they get established.  I really don't know what the colors are of them but hope to see them in bloom this time around. 

I   think I did get a focused view of these blooms.  I went out in later afternoon when the light was low.  It is a small tree but it will grow and be more impressive each year. 

Our second grandson turns five today.  He has grown up fast. He is a middle child and I try hard to keep him in view.  He has a sweet little sister who gets a lot of visual time but today Teddy is the star.  Theodore John is his full name. 

He is full of energy and is always happy.  He loves to sing and shares us song with us often. He loves his preschool and will attend kindergarten this fall. His smiles are wonderful. 

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a good day.  No snow anymore right now.  It did melt but tonight more is promised.

Snow Day....Again.

 They predicted it and they got it right. It is past our frost date of April 15 in which we were suppose to plant our vegetable gardens.  My tomato plants are nice and warm in the sun room. 

I was just sitting out there in the chair yesterday soaking in the sun's rays. You can see snow built up on the rooftops and the haze of white in the view. 

The creeping phlox has a snow covering which changed the color of the blooms. We are to get about three hours of this and then it is to s t op. 

It will look like spring again but not today. I remember as a kid when it snowed on May Day so we really aren't having anything unusual for our state.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Red Truck......and More.

 

If the neighbor had his white truck out there I would have cropped it out of the picture. The visiting red truck fits in great and sort of balances the view. Planting all those tulips in the cold and wind two years ago really did pay off now as I have lots of nice flowers  now.  

 Out front the bluebells are beginning to fill in with blooms. There a lot of them that have not opened. I have always liked this old fashion flower.  At our old place it grows like a wild flower.  This one must have been purchased at a nursery and planted there as it is so big. I have a stray one blooming down from it as it has spread. I will move that to another location to get it started  elsewhere.

These multi-petaled tulips are blooming now.In a lower light I can photograph them to show the subtle colors of pink in the white. I guess the internet tells me that they are called double tulips. 

The creeping phlox is starting to be pretty but it isn't blooming all at once. The foliage really isn't that good looking but once the flowers set on it does look great. I may cut it back after it blooms as it gets to be unruly. 

We are having a quiet Sunday and the weather is warming up outside. We both walked the gardens this morning and I was surprised to see the lily of the valley had popped up overnight.  I was concerned that the voles had eaten them. Other plants are showing up as it warms up.  We are going to be eating asparagus soon.  

Thanks for stopping in today.

A Bird's Tail.....

It really is a good photo with balance and design. I missed the bird but I got a great shot of the suet container and the tail. It would be a creative thing to enter into a photo contest.  I suppose the people who ran contests wouldn't see the essence of whole view. 

 

I will show you the female downy eating at the feeder. I see this morning that the whole cake of suet is now gone. 

This is a wait and see   plant for me.  I think it could be the field lilies. I just dont remember planting them. I  don't think they are daylilies. We wil wait and see.

The daylily looks like this. I don't think they are the same kind of plants. In many ways it is too early for some things to be up but I am concerned that the voles lived off of my lily of the valley plants. There is nothing coming up and the ones at the old place are three inches high out of the ground.  I can replant them but I don't know of much that would cause them to die out. It was a strong bed of them that grew under the old deck stairs. 

The tree is just too small to look impressive but it is the best I can do. I know that they can grow fast as I had one at the old place. It matured at a fast pace.  I was at ace hardware this morning to get a pdropane gas exchange.  The steak we were going to cook on the grill didn't happen as the tank was just empty.  The steak did taste good fried in the electric skillet but a grilled flavor is better. I bought lots of things at the hardware including batteries, mole poison, and more suett cakes for the woodpeckers. I also put out the big bucks for a couple of seed socks to attract goldfinches. I hope that it does work. 

We are having a nice day with it being less cold than the past few days. My lawn got mowed on Thursday and I was not happy by the job that they did.  I was glad that the trimming did make me happy. I guess I can't be too picky when I can't mow it myself.  Maybe the second mowing will look better as the grass matures more. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great weekend.

Lavender Blooms....

 

 

It has been a gray day with cool temperatures. People are mowing their yards for the first time and it is the sound of summer.  We worked up at the old place this morning and it was cold outside work. We are glad we don't have to go back up tomorrow.  My hired grass care person rides a machine in which he stands up and guides it at great speed all over the yard. The weekend is coming. Thanks for stopping by today.
 

A Failure in the Kitchen....

 The cold weather is keeping them from opening completely. I keep taking a picture daily to see if there is any difference in them in maturity.

 I am planning to dig more hosta plants at the old place and plant them in my gardens. They do spread and I like to get them free. I dig some and leave a lot of them behind.

 

 

 I failed at making jello last night.  I whipped up a quick batch of my sugar free jello and had added my applesauce to it.  I had extra pineapple from my carry out dinner so I chopped it up and place it into the mix.  This morning I checked it and it was still liquid.  My wife then remembered a book she had read where a guy was telling that fresh pineapple has an enzyme in it which shuts down the jelling of the jello. All other pineapple from the can has been heated just enough to kill that enzyme works.  Anyway, this morning I poured the whole bowlful of liquid jello down the garbage disposal. I started it again hoping to again have my favorite snack. 

Helping my wife to celebrate her birthday today. The gifts were wrapped and then opened this morning. The cake is made and supper is planned. I hope she can have a great day.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Middle Weekday.....

 Forsythia from the old place shows off its bright yellow color. I also broke off a branch from the real pear tree with its white blooms. 

 

The bluebells are looking good in my front yard but they would look better with some heat and sunshine. This is a part that has scattered from the larger main plant in that raised flower garden.

 

Another wild violet grows among a future day lily flower. I can see I need to do some weeding in the area. If I don't have to mow the yard myself that will give me more time and energy to do some hand weeding. 

 

We were predicted to have frost last nigh. I am hoping that it was warmer in the city and it didn't happen. These blooms are still not completely opened. I am so glad I planted this red bud tree. I am suppose to have the yard mowed today by a mowing gang. I will be interested in how good of job they will do. I moved things out of the way and also put mulch around a shrub to define its meager existence.

 

The white version of the Rembrandt tulip is cold and still partially closed. I had forgotten how well the peonies have grown here.  They are sprouting up with many sprouts and are tall already.

I went to pick up my pharmacy order yesterday and it didn't happen.  I think they hadn't called in an order that needed to be refilled for the next year. I like their answer that the doctor had not called back. I know it will be ready for pick up today as I called. I have a birthday cake to bake today and some gift wrapping.  I went shopping for my wife the other day and I just went into the store.  No more internet shopping for me. It is so much easier to wall the floors and find what you want among many choices. I don't think I had been in that store for over a year. 

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great Wednesday.