Spring Flowers

 The bluebells were always so magical to  see when I was a kid on the farm. Now I have them in a larger area in the front yard. I also started some in the backyard but they are slow to get established. 

 

 I always admired the creeping phlox but it does take over all of the areas as it spreads. I pulled out a  lot of it last fall but there is still some for everyone to enjoy.

 

 My fern leafed peony has buds with red showing. This plant is getting established now. I had to move it because of a fence being built. I have one other stray start of it with only one stem.

 

 My regular peonies are shooting up quickly and they have leafed out too. They won't bloom for quite a few weeks as there are no buds on them for blooms.

 

 

 The hail and heavy rains took off a lot of the red bud flowers. I still have a few on the limbs that  trying to bloom but the is blanket of flowers is sad to see. We have had hail every day that it has rained. This afternoon it hailed a lot more. We have tornado warnings again this evening. It is Iowa. 

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Much to Share

 

While out on the deck we saw a very large black bird land in our maple tree. It was twice the size of a grackle or black bird. I had to look it up. It is a crow and not a raven. I read up on all the differences and the beak tells us it is a crow. Articles shared how they flock in the thousands during the winter in the large cities of Ames, which is north of us, and in Des Moines, south of us seven miles. 

 My robin's nest outside of my downstairs patio door is a mess. I think if the bird isn't in the nest  the next couple of days it will be gone. I have plenty of places in the rafters that they usually build their nests. 

 The frequent rains have been great for the tulips. The hail did not damage them. This variety is one of my favorites.

 The wite and red one of this variety is also striking to see. I had one other kind of the variety and it just went away. 

 The hail didn't bother this variety but my plan colored red ones lost petals from the storm.

 I have too many photos of this multi-petaled tulip. It is so great to have. It has been planted in this location for a few years now. 

 As the storms move on to the northeast, we get great views of thunderclouds afterwards. Some severe weather resulted from these clouds as it moved on and a couple of tornadoes did hit the ground along the way. Our hous sits off kelter to the world at 60 degrees to the north/south axis which helps us tolook out at these view better. 

Full sunshine all day has been welcomed. I will never complain about getting too much rain have lived through droughts for a few years in the past, but the sun looked so good today. 

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West to the East

 This is the view to the west as the sun was setting. Threatening storms were on the news. We did get rain from all of it. It has been raining each day for forever. I dump the rain gauge each morning. We had just under an inch of rain yesterday. I should be writing things down but don't. 

 

As I rune with the camers the sky is showing such great blue colrs with the pinks on the clouds. 

 As I turn to the east the colors are wonderful. The clouds are all along the edge of the horizon as thunderstorms are headed our way. I find the colors in this view to be so soft. It is such a contrast to the bright reds and orange of the sunset in the opposite directions. 

 The multi-petal tulip has some of the same colors in it as the pink clouds. The rains have made the tulips bloom well this year. 

Today is my wife's birthday. We will celebrate going out for a meal this evening. I think the weather will be good for us to be out. The rains for today ae staying north of us. We did have rain in the morning for a while. Our temps are the kind that you can't wear flannel shirts anymore and a light jacket would be best even though it looks strange wearing a coat. I went over this morning ot the grocery story to pick up some loose items. I always buy flowers for my wife as well as a very small birthday cake. I was pleased with thr roses that I found and the cake is decorated with small balloons. I shold have made it mysel but I find it convenient to pick out something at the bakery at the grocery store.

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Tuesday Start

 A heat wave was going to hit and the clouds were reacting to it in the morning. We now have tornado warnings. 

 The back yard needs to be mowed. I am just going to wait one more day hoping it will be cooler. The redbud is showing off its color now as the blooms are now opened.

 It is a "looking through" shot as one can see the blooms are open fully. The color green is welcomed at this time. We have had so much rain and it is so great. 

 Over in the corner of the yard next to the red bud the wild violets have a lot of blooms. The rains have made them do this. 

 This was always a sure sign of spring when I lived on the farm as a kid. I liked picking them and finding small jars to put them in to enjoy.

 In thr front yard my Rembrandt tulips are looking good. They are planted in with a row of peonies so as they tulips fade the peonies are up and covering the area. 

 The flowering tree is in its prime right now. As a tree is isn't looking that good as storms have broken out lots of limbs. Once the leaves sprout out it will look pretty normal. 

The work begins with the mowing of the grass and the pulling of the weeds. I think I have lost a couple of rose bushes. Our winter was so warm and then so cold that they look like they just didn't make it.  One was a newer bush but the older one was very established.  It is a part of the nature of things when it comes to gardening.

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Spring Suff

 

 

 

 

 

Robin and Blue Spruce

 

 

 

We had another rainy day. We have been in need for it for so long that I won't worry about it being too much at this point. We drove by some low level swamp areas in the valley today that have not been filled with water for five years. The birds, frogs and maybe some fish will come back. My yard will need to be mowed in a few days to clean it up. We still have such windy days and the wind from the south is welcomed. The mourning doves are back and there are many of them. I am sure thay are nesting already.

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The Saturday Report

 

 The grackle was feeding while the sun shined and its colors from the sheen of its feathers. The green colors of the head of the bird are so great and the different browns are subtle until the sum brings out the different colors.

 

 The sparrow has a lot of different browns showing in its feathers. The patterns are also created by the lighter colors of outlines on its different sets of feathers. 

 Yes, it is time to see some peony actions. The do sprout up quickly oece it warms up and the ground warms up. 

 I took a blind shot of this bird. It may not look like it but it is a very large bird. It was soaring, floating on the winds.  I am thinking it is a juvenile bald eagle as it is solid brown in color, with its wing span being so large. The head is not white until the second year of age. Being close to the big lake and the bald eagles do live all along the lake's edges. The like to fish from the lake. 

Thanks for stopping by today.