Beyond Wednesday..............

They seem to be more like umbrellas as they spread their petals downward.  I remember when I first saw a coneflower and I wondered what was wrong with them.  I wasn't aware that they were a wildflower from the prairie.  People were not into prairie plants when I was a kid but they became popular to talk about and plant in the 90's.  One does need a buffalo or two to have a real prairie.  We can go to the park near here to see buffalo but they tromp out all the wild flowers in their limited pen.

This is a hosta that I had planted too close to a tree, during a two year drought. Now in its third year on my property, moved out and away from the tree,  it has finally taken off and grown.  It is an unusual pattern on the leaves. Our 2 inches of rain or more will make it a very happy hosta.

This is the volunteer sunflower that came from the birds or a squirrel dropping the seed far away from the bird feeder.  The top flower is big but up and down the stem are these smaller buds and blooms.  

To dispel the thought that I have a very lush garden everywhere on my property this is what it actually looks like in one of my flower areas.  I see I have a pile of juniper branches to be burned in the background.  The flowers are very scattered in my yard but macro shots make me look like a major nursery business. 

I am sure people who follow me regularly tire of my repeating things, over and over again.  I will only mention that I took the bargain hanging planter of many geraniums apart on Tuesday and I planted the plants into a pot full of real soil.  The basket was all filled up with planting medium and watering twice a day to keep them going was frustrating.  The group of geraniums had all gone bad because I missed watering it one day.  I do prefer soil anyway for geraniums. I will share a photo when they start to bloom again.  I have nothing to hang on my garden hook now but I will work on that problem today.

Good old Iowa dirt and a large planter gave these oxalis a vacation in the sun.  The leaves on this planting are twice the size of the oxalis that I have inside the house.  I will try to replant the inside one this week and give it a chance to really  grow.

It is foggy this morning and the rain chances are less.  The sprinkles have stopped but we may get a couple of more chances of that today.  We are headed to KFC this noon to take the neighbor lady to her favorite place to eat chicken.  She likes the company and me driving her car so we will get out today.  I was planning a bookstore excursion but there is a Friday left in the week for that.  We are cool again this morning and have not see the sun for a couple of days.  Today I predict to see some sunshine.  It will take away the foggy swampy look that we have right now.  

Thanks for stopping by today.

A Morning Rain........

We have been receiving a quiet steady rain through the night and this morning it was still raining.  It is so needed as the cracks in the ground were everywhere.  It was surprising as to how fast our soil dried out considering the wet spring that we had.  The hardy geraniums are bowing down to the rain as you can see as they get a  shower removing the dust from their leaves and blooms.  The hosta looks really better just from an overnight shower.   We have an inch and a quarter of rain so far and it is thought we will have another inch by evening.  The crops in the fields look great but this is perfect timing for it all to be better.  I did see a field of corn yesterday that was already firing from the bottom.

The surprise lilies seem to have had healthy leaves but the returning blooms are going to be minimal this year.  I have only two stalks that showed up so far. The first bloom seems to be pretty beat up from weather.

Another weathered warrior is this brown eyed susan.  The foliage itself all around it shows it is a jungle out there and it is every plant for itself. The vines are growing well this season so I am busy trying to eliminate them as much as possible.

Those who keep everything in nice rows would not have the layers of things that I have.  They would not have weeds either.  There are views of tomato vines up high and the sunflowers in the background. The mint is blooming and is keeping itself back a little as I  mowed a large area of it.  Brown in the background is grass mulch that I have around the cucumber and melon vines. The foreground, weed, puts out a small blue flower so I tolerate it on certain days.  On other days I eradicate it a few easy pulls.

I will finish today with this photo of two blooms in one day.  The vines are young yet so I can't expect too many blooms.  I think that only three vines survived in the planter out of all of the ones that I had planted in it.

The rains today makes it easy to just stay inside.  I have watered indoor plants and will be doing some of my usual inside chores.  I am so glad to get rain and will be glad that it sticks around for a couple of days.  We have State Fair coming up so it will turn very hot during that time as usual.  I hope all of your are doing well today. Thanks for coming by today.

The Second Day of the Week.......

I don't think I have all my ducks in a row today but I do have all my hen and chicks in a row.  They  appear to be doing well out in the flower garden and no dog has disturbed them.  I need to break off some of those chicks and get them  growing on their own away from the mother plant.

This sunflower is getting close to opening up its big bloom.  This is the reddish brown one that I  planted as you can see brownish veins on the leaves.  The whole patch of sunflowers like August as they seem to be growing by many inches each day.  Our humidity probably makes them happy as the air is full of moisture.  I did go out and water my muskmellon plants and cucumber plants yesterday.  Until we get rain I will head out there every other day to dump water on them.  There are large cracks in the  ground out where they are planted.

I didn't think my tomatoes were ever going to take off but they have now.  I guess I have to remember that they were started later and they need the certain number of days of growth to mature.  The one celebrity tomato that I bought in the store which already had a tomato on it is just now having that first tomato turning red. By Friday or the weekend we can eat our first one from the garden.

I am still waiting on the zinnias.  The bud that I had taken a photo of a few days back has a stem that grew about 3 inches the past few days.  I need to go check to see if any more morning glories are blooming.  None bloomed yesterday but there are buds ready to open.

This is what the finished area looks like for now.  The place where the two corner gates sit was where the overgrown, non blooming forsythia grew.  I see now that I need to trim back the barberry so it will stay in its place and not crowd the fence.  After this shot I dug a hosta and divided it into four parts.  They are all planted in a row infront of the newer fence.  The stump of the lost tree is next to the privet shrub in the foreground of the photo.

We are clouded over right now with a slight chance of rain possible this morning.  If it does rain, which it looks doubtful, the amount will probably just wet the sidewalks.  It is a narrow band moving south and will not last very long. 

I didn't mow yesterday but ended up cleaning bird cages.  It took all morning as I like to take them outside with the birds in them and really give them a washing.  The cockatiels sort of like the process as they like a slight spray of water on them once in a while.

I didn't do a lot yesterday if I were to critique my amount accomplished but I did get some important things done. It was hot and very humid outside.  When I clean the two bird cages I usually do a thorough cleaning of the the room that they are kept in and I did need that.  I rearranged furniture and threw things away.  The birds are back in the window now and they love it.  They can't stay there with the cold weather of winter but for now they are putting out warning signs to dogs and people who are walking by them.  I am sure they miss the redbud tree that was outside of their window as they could see other birds too..

I hope everyone is doing well today.  The weather keeps being ever changing but that is what it is all about for us.  Everyone enjoy your Tuesday and thanks for checking in on my blog.

First Day of the Week........

I am using fertilizer this year and it really does pay to do so.  It seems that when you get into the rut of just giving them water that it is a mistake. I now realize that the fertilizer gives the plants a real boost in growth.  I now carry watering cans of water over to two of the beds every three days to keep them alive.  We are dry now and need some rain.

Here is another shot of my two dollar rose.  It seems to be struggling where I planted it.  I decided not to get to anxious about moving it as I guess it just needs time to grow in the ground.  The roots in the plastic bucket were pretty confined and I think that when it is done growning the roots it will use energy for buds.

I have planted hostas next to my two roses and it will look good next year when they all come up at the same time.  I may plant lilies, move them, in the area of this new garden area in the next few days.

I turned the corner at a house a few blocks away from me and I notice their phlox patch was filled with three or four different colors.  I can tell from my own phlox that they are seeding out new plants and they are putting up different colors of flowers.

I really like the white phlox that came up next to my pond.  It is volunteer but I really don't like where it is growing. I will leave it alone for now in hopes that it will seed out to new areas.  I don't know who I am fooling as I have a garden that is more country in style and there are few areas that have any plan or planting scheme. Everything except for the hostas grow where they may.

The lavender flowers seem to look like they are a washed out version of a stronger color.  I like them though and really don't remember what was the color of the parent plant.
I remember buying years ago a multicolored phlox and I guess these are all off spring of the original. I don't have the original anymore.

The one batch of phlox are wrapped with a woven wire fencing material as it always seemed to fall down.  I would mow into them when the fall as I was too lazy to hold them out of the way when going by them.

I don't have a definite plan of doing things today but I will take advantage of the mosquito free area today.  They sprayed over the weekend and it does take them out for a few days.  Mowing the yard was on my list but I won't know until I get out there to see how tall that it is.  We are going into the summer stage of our yards where the grass has thinned out now and really isn't growing very much.

I have dirt to move from my new fence area and I need to start planning that garden area.  I have thoughts about moving some privet bushes to another location while they are still small in size.  The guy who helped me cut down the dead redbud tree told me he hated privets because they smelled so badly.  I have never smelled anything from that kind of shrub so I will continue to enjoy mine. He also would trim the heck out of my Minnesota birch.  I am sure he would like it to look like a palm tree like all the trees in his yard appear to be trimmed to be like.

 The sun is shinning this morning and it will warm up to the mid 80's by afternoon.  We are not cooling off much now in the night. Spotty rain is predicted throughout the week. The major plan is to enjoy the week by not going to work this week. As you can see my blogging times have moved back to morning again which puts a lot of you reading my blog a day late. Whenever you read and see my blog, it doesn't matter.  I appreciate you checking in on me and reading some of my stuff.

A Hungry Swallowtail.........

While out in the garden I notice this swallowtail digging deep into this daylily.  I have never seen them even try to eat f rom this flower but this one was very active as it dipped in and out to get the nectar.  I like this photo as a lot of my photos don't show the outside edges of their wings.  There two swallows out there a lot of the time of the day and still a mysterious orange butterfly that I still can't identify nor capture on the camera.

I guess my illness early in spring kept me from getting the zinnias in the ground.  So I am still waiting for that first bloom to happen.  Both flowerbeds of zinnias look great, one is in the sun more so it has matured faster. 

I like the design that I created but it looks bad to me when I see it in the photo. It has better design when you see it not through the camera's view.  It is a filler piece that I made from scrap.  I may return and rework it but for now I am just letting it be.  My thoughts were to place vines and rocks on the shelves.  Maybe even antique tools could go on the shelves.  If I tire of it and rework it, I will just remove the shelves or some of the shelves. It is actually a ladder like piece with small boards in the front of it and wider boards in the back.

Coming tomorrow will be close up shots of the first morning glory in bloom. I went out to the garbage can and noticed that the first bud finally opened.  It took a while to see it happen.  I returned with camera in hand and this photo is hot off the presses.




















We had a great visit with son Aaron and his wife Keegan.  They should be on their way to Lake Pokegama in Minnesota this morning.  They live on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, a mile away from it in fact, but family tradition takes them back to the lake of their childhood.  We had good times visiting and catching up on the things of Iowa and of Maine.  Keegan's dad is harvesting the blueberries and the two of them saw moose while kayaking on a lake near where they live. Aaron discovers the changes of our area as Des Moines westward keeps growing.  We are back to empty nesters again are tired today.  We will head out to church soon and teach our Sunday school classes and get a sandwich afterwards.  Stop at Walmart on the way home and we will have a quiet afternoon.    Thanks for stopping by today.

The Weekend is Here..........

Weeds and all I share with you today.  I am not completely finished but I am done enough that the fence will hold in my tough dogs.  It is all recycle except for the nails.  I had in the shed, while browsing in my garden shed, some siding from a railroad car.  It is a long story how I own them but anyway there were boards there that I could cut down into long strips.  The pallet wood was used for all the vertical pieces. You can see the new area of dirt and stumps from the forsythia bush are still in view.

The gap between the top and the main section has yet to be finished.  I am thinking of options of boards to put in there for a garden decoration.  I would like circles of wood shaped like cheerios but I am too lazy for that.  I will wait for that perfect idea to jump into my head.

I am going to put a finial on the corner post for decoration.  The older section of fence isn't a secure fence for Button as he learned earlier when I built that a few years back that he could fit through that square hole.  I have woven fence wire installed along the bottom row of that older one.  I know that the wood that I used would not keep out raging bulls but it will weather for at least 10 years or more.  I may paint the crosspieces the same blue as the gate door.

Our youngest son and his wife stopped in last evening to visit the house and the dogs.  They took us out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory after a visit. Barney really likes Aaron's wife Keegan as he was petted continually by her while they visited.  He had remembered that she was a dog lover from the last time she was here and laid his head in her lap for repeat petting.  We had a good meal at the Jordan Creek Mall and then returned home late in the evening.



This morning we will meet with them again for brunch before they take off for a northern Iowa bbq with Aaron's college friend this evening.  They then head north for the lake in Minnesota where he spent his summers growing up in the Grand Rapids area.  I have taken a lot more photos so I won't have to repost old ones for now.  I spent time yesterday chasing and standing around trying to photograph a new butterfly to our area.  I did not succeed.  It was a hyper butterfly while the swallowtails just lounge around for their pictures to be taken. 

Thanks for stopping by today.

Friday's Filler...........Forgot

I was so busy working on the fence yesterday that I forgot to take new photos.  I am going to share more of the same.  I don't think they are reposts.  I do have some time to go take a couple of new photos today.

I have dozens of shots of the swallowtail but only edited about six of them.  I pulled the best pictures that had different and interesting backgrounds.   This shot was a zoomed in shot from the butterfly being on a spirea bush.

The geraniums are doing so great with the cool evenings.  One blogger asked if this was normal temperatures for us.  I have to say that normal would be staying hot all night is normal.  Cooling down to 55 degrees is a blessing but not normal.  We need some rain to come soon.  I guess southern Iowa is receiving some rain.  I was out yesterday and it was overcast with large drops falling from the sky.  The drops landed about one every square foot.  It was strange to be out in that kind of rain.

My fence from recycle materials is looking good.  It is as good as you can get when you reuse materials. I was genuinely very frustrated with the process as I tried to make something out a bunch of nothing parts.  I will share a shot or two later.   I spent a lot of time trying to make level and straight out of all my existing elements of gate and 8 foot older section of fence.  Nothing is level or straight with the world but I have decided to just allow there to be an illusion of straight and level.  My blue gate with a roof has settled some and so it leans slightly making it hard to attach a fence to it perfectly.  The only way I could straighten the blue gate would be to dig it  all up and put it back in to the same location.  Maybe some other year will I do that project. 

By reconfiguring the fence into a different shape I added a 5 foot by 10 foot space to the backyard.  It could become partially flower garden but I know it to be a fact that Barney will control the area along part of the fence.  I may use shrubs and iris in part of it.  I saved an iris that was sitting in line with the fence placement yesterday.  While digging it up I noticed a grub like insect eating out the inside of one of the rhizome.  I don't know why that grossed me out but I hope I don't have any more of that to see.  I will replant the rest of the iris today or tomorrow in a new location. I hope the insect isn't going to attach the rest of my iris. 

Busy day today finishing up things on the fence and cleaning bird cages.  We also have a quick visit from our younger son and his wife this evening.  They are taking a side tracked journey down from Minneapolis, where they flew in, and have a couple of meals with us.  Supper tonight and brunch tomorrow and they will then head north to a friend's bbq in northern Iowa.  From there they will head up to Pokegama Lake in Minnesota to vacation for the week with our older son and wife and AJ and other family members. We have not seen them for a couple of years so it will be great to get together.  They are from Lamoine, Maine so Iowa is a stretch for them to visit as well as for us to go visit. We will be very glad to see them.

Thanks for stopping in today.  Have a great weekend!