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.

Fall color.......seeing red.

The red maple is giving me a great show this year.  It sometimes doesn't but this year it is the best show of all of my trees.

This burning bush, one of three, is starting to take on a new brighter look.

Thanks for stopping by at my today's post.  Friday is here and Saturday is coming.  Everyone take care and have a good weekend.

High School Social Studies.  US History, American Government, 7th grade reading.

Titles sound funny when your forget to post one.....

When I was young it was called cock's comb and I really don't know it's true name.  My neighbor gave to me a packet of wild garden seeds and it was a rather unsuccessful planting.  I did get this one stray red beauty and one smaller unknown flower that is too small to appreciate.

I found these seeds down at the farm.  My brother in law says they are from the coffee tree.  It is not a coffee bean tree but just a coffee tree.  It is a hardwood tree and does have a mahogany colored wood grain.  The seeds are larger than jelly beans and of course I will plant one in the house just to see what happens.

The burning bush always gives me a warning of what is to come.  It is like the one red maple tree that I have, when it puts out a preview of just one or two leaves, to let you know the future of it's appearance.

I am having a day off from substitute teaching but I will be back on duty tomorrow. I will teach middle school social studies to six different sections, sixth through eight.   I helped the neighbor plant some special iris rhizomes today that she had ordered from the catalog.  She shuts down her garden early every year so she really wanted them in the ground and wants to tear out all of her tomato plants.  We do have a few weeks left with some warm weather.  I picked my first butternut squash today to give to her.

I am putting gesso on some wood panels today for preparation for paintings.  I like painting on panels as the smooth surface allows more detail in the painting process.  It was scrap wood left over from a frame job and I cut them up into painting sized panels.   It will take two or three coats of gesso, sanding the surface between coats to get them ready for painting.

Grilling burgers and fried grill potatoes tonight.  It should stop sprinkling by then and maybe I can get some more leaf shots of the trees.  My birch tree is turning yellow very quickly right now and I have to hurry to catch it before the leaves fall off.  Sometimes during a rain they just all fall off overnight.


Thanks for stopping by...........the weekend is coming.