A Look at the Lake

Last Saturday, the boys were to come over around 10 am. We planned to go fishing and then plant the coleus that I'd bought a couple of days before. It sounded like a good plan and a way for everyone to get out in the sun and have a bit of fun.

The best plans of mice and men sometimes go awry. First, the boys were late getting here and arrived about 11:15. When they came in the door, I told them that we'd best get going if we wanted to fish because a storm was moving in. That's when they told me they hadn't had lunch.

To us, 11:15 is a bit early for lunch, but last year the school board changed recess and lunch periods. Instead of having two 15 minute breaks and an 1 hour for lunch, two 40 minute Nutrition Breaks were set in place. That means the boys either eat at 11:00 or they wait until 1:45. So the boys are used to having lunch at 11:00 and a snack at 1:45.

Since I know the boys' schedule when they are in school, I knew that I should give them something to eat. By the time that was done, it was 12:00 when we set out for the lake.

Just as we got there, it started to pour. Since I had not taken my camera along on the last fishing trip, I made sure I had it this time.

This area of the lake is almost completely overgrown with bullrushes and other water plants.

The lake looked beautiful in the rain. The bullrushes were swaying in the breeze and sea gulls were screaming overhead.

If you look closely at the above photo, you can see the rain hitting the water. It was a gusher.

The overcast sky made the water look blue and a bit blurry, but that is how hard the rain was coming down. I like the way this photo shows the blue of the sky and water. In the foreground wildcarrot and milkweed give a splash of color.

These beautiful yellow flowers were growing alongside the road. You can see the water of the lake in the background.

Well, there were some nice photos, but unfortunately none of them were of the boys with their catch. We headed back home and got here just as there was a lull in the storm. We got in the house as fast as we could, but there was no planting of flowers. Instead we had a game of Mario Baseball. The first game Brandon beat me and then Jordan played Brandon and lost. Then I had another game with Brandon and Jordan aided me in beating him. Those boys can't fathom that at one time Grandma was a young girl and played on a baseball team. We had lots of laughs with the game and it was a great choice for a rainy day even though we would have rather gone fishin'.

Enjoy the week and be sure to take some time to do something for a child. A few minutes of your time is a precious gift to kids. ~Blessings, Mary~

Green Thumb Sunday

It's Green Thumb Sunday, hosted by Tricia at As the Garden Grows. If you'd like to participate, just click on the link to find out how.

I have been working on the side flower garden, trying to gain some control over it. The weeds were thick and with the renovations, I didn't get to it early this spring like I usually do. I've been pulling weeds and mulching as I go in hopes they don't come back.


I have most of it done, but rainy weather has prevented me from doing much this week. However, I did get the bears that Brandon and Jordan gave Dwight for Father's Day sprayed with a clear laquer to protect them. Once the laquer had dried, I put them in the garden. Above is the grizzly bear. Above are the black bear cubs. They look very nice next to the orange blanket flowers and with the reddish colored mulch.
The purple flowers and ivy that Brandon planted earlier in the spring have flourished, but this week I think they got a little too much water. The purple flowers (I forget what they're called) are not doing as good as they were. I also picked some leaves off the ivy that had black mold. I'm hoping the weather clears and that they come back. This was a very pretty planter and I want it to continue doing well into the fall.
My neighbor gave me the above handmade basket. It is made out of small pieces of wood. I had purchased a couple of plants to go in it and they were too large. Last Wednesday hubby brought this Shasta Daisy home from the grocery store. It fit perfectly and looks so nice in the basket which sets on the porch railing.
Above is the coleus that the boys and I were going to plant while they were here yesterday. However, it rained buckets and that was impossible. We had planned to go fishing, but that idea was squashed as well. We had headed out to the lake and were caught in the storm. I have some photos to share another day but unfortunately none of them include fish.

I hope you are having a restful Sunday. Enjoy your day. ~Blessings, Mary~

Green Thumb Sunday

It's Green Thumb Sunday, hosted by Tricia at As the Garden Grows. If you'd like to participate, just click on the link to find out how.

Last Tuesday, the boys and I headed out to the local garden center to buy a few flowers for my planters. I let the boys chose the plants they like. It gives them a chance to learn about gardening and they enjoy it.

It was too late to plant the flowers by the time we got back, so we decided we would plant them later in the week. Jordan said he was going on his school trip so Brandon could plant the flowers when he spent the day with me on Thursday.

First we planted the balloon flower that I bought a couple of weeks ago. It needed to be planted badly and Brandon thought it would be nice to put it beside the solar light and close to Desmerelda, my garden fairy. We gave it some fertilizer in hopes that it would have a growth spurt. It should look nice here.

Then we planted the flowers that Brandon chose for the planter he painted last year. He had never painted before and he did quite a good job. It is showing a bit of wear and we will need to give it a fresh coat of paint next year. Brandon had chosen ivy and these pretty purple flowers to go in this planter.

Above is a resin planter that the boys bought me last year. It is a boot with a bluebird and a nest with babies. Jordan chose this pretty blue flower for it.

And finally, the boot with the rabbits that I bought about four years ago. Brandon chose a mauve flower for this one because he thought it would look nice if both boots had the same kind of flowers but just a different color.

We enjoyed our time and later that evening I snapped these photos with today in mind. I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my garden ornaments. I will try to get photos of others for another time.

Enjoy your Sunday. Relax and pamper yourself a little or take a hike along a nature trail. The beauty of nature is good for the soul. ~Blessings, Mary~

Good morning! We have been having cool, rainy weather. Yesterday we had to wear sweaters because of the chill and it rained off and on all day.

Brandon spent the day with me and we did some gardening and planted some flowers in the some of the planters that I hadn't filled. We noticed some different flowers blooming in the front garden and Brandon commented that they were just like the ones in their front flower bed. It then dawned on me that Michelle gave me these last year. I do like them but need to move them. They are too near the center of the bed. So that is another project that needs doing.

The tomato plants that the boys and I planted a couple of weeks ago are about a foot high. They are doing well. My strawberries are ripening and I picked a handful for Brandon to enjoy. The rest aren't ripe yet, but there will be more. The contractor who came last winter to clear the pipes had to dig up that garden and many strawberry plants were lost. However, they will continue to spread and next year we will have more. In the meantime we will be able to go to the U-pick farm and get all that we want. Picking them is much more economical than buying them ready-picked.

My porch is a mess and needs cleaning badly, but I find myself needing to be at least two places at once. Since cloning hasn't been perfected yet, I have all of these things to do and not enough time to get at them all. So the porch will have to remain a mess for at least another day. I've learned to go with the flow and be thankful for what I can do.

Not much news from here other than that. Hubby worked upstairs a little. We are almost ready to put the sub floor down and so our next shopping trip will be for plywood.

Take care and have a great weekend. ~Blessings, Mary~

Tour for a Cure Hosted by Sweet Annee

Deena, from Can I Be Pretty in Pink, also known as Sweet Annee, is hosting Tour for a Cure today. She asked that each of us show photos from our gardens this year and also post the click for a free mammogram button. Please be sure to visit Deena and check out Mr. Linky for more garden photos. Be sure to click on the free mammogram button just beneath my banner to help a woman get a free mammogram.

The first thing to bloom in my garden each spring are snowdrops. I love them and when they bloom I know that spring is definitely on its way. The are so dainty and pretty. The first signs of rebirth.

The second thing to bring forth beautiful thoughts of spring are the fragrant violets above. They are also dainty. They were given to me by my MIL and I love them.

Then come the perriwinkles. They grow in several places in my garden and also behind the house in the garden outside our bedroom. Last year I transplanted a few into the side bed. It was nice to see them there when I stepped out onto the side porch this spring.
Tulips and lavender. That lavender is trying to take over this flower bed. It spreads each year. Each spring I thin it back to almost nothing and the next spring it is right back to full size again. I usually dry a little of it to put in my dresser drawers to keep everything smelling nice.

Meet Desmerelda, Queen of the fairies. She sits in front of this rock in my side flower bed and watches over the sleeping flowers at night. She has a solar light that gives off a glow in the moonlight. She's so pretty and I can see her from the side door.
A new hanging basket this year. This hangs on the stairs that go up to deck on the back of the house. I have never had a hanging basket like that before.
The above hanging basket is scarveola. I have loved this since the boys first gave me a basket like this about 5 or 6 years ago. Each year I have a basket of scarveola hanging in this spot. In the background you can see my butterfly that hangs on my porch.
Red Oriental poppies. One of my favorites. Each year I wait for these to bloom. They don't last long, but I absolutely love them. A little bird left these in a deposit in my flower garden.
And above, one of the blooms. This one was about 4 inches across. They are so beautiful!

Then came the rosebuds. There were dozens of them and I knew I was going to have lots of red fragrant roses this year. We planted these when we moved here 15 years ago and they have never ceased to bloom. One year after a harsh winter, they were late budding and I thought I'd lost them. I really enjoy these roses.

The buds progressed quickly. Next they looked like this. I knew that the hot temperatures would bring them on.

Today they look like the photo above. They are plentiful and there are still lots of buds.

One of the red roses in a closeup. The color is actually darker than this. They are a darker red.
A closeup of one of my pink roses. They are highly fragrant and this one is about 4 inches across. I like to bring these in as they bloom and float them in a rose bowl. They fill the house with their wonderful fragrance.

The flowers above spread like wildfire. They are another that I thin out each spring and they just keep on going and going.
The iris above was given to me by my mother, who got a toe from her mother. This iris has been passed from generation to generation in my family. I enjoy it. It is the only one of my iris that bloomed this year. I think some of them need to be transplanted and given a bit of manure to help them bloom.
The above photo shows my red peony in bud. This is another plant that has been here for 15 years since we bought the house.

Above, it is in full bloom. These peonies and the pink ones below are all fragrant - the pink one more so.

Mini carnations. This was taken a week or so ago and they are finished now. They are pretty though. It's been so hot this year that none of the blooms are lasting long.
The above photo shows my clematis. It always has dozens of blooms on it, yet I do very little with it. I just water it when I remember. It has done very well.
The clematis was also planted the first year we had the house. It gets bigger every year. I love the dark purple shade of it. I tried growing a red one, but alas, it never bloomed and finally died the second year. I've been told that red clematis is very hard to grow, as is white. I'm not sure why.
Purple columbine. I didn't realize that I had so many purple flowers in my garden. There are quite a few.

Here is close-up of the blooms. They are so unique and below is a pink columbine. I don't like it nearly as well. It looks kind of washed out. I got a piece of root from Mom. The purple columbine root came from Aunt May. I'm hoping it continues to do well. It is also a favorite.

Some of my readers will remember my post about the stump I brought home when the City cut down a tree two doors up the street. You can find that post Here.
This is what I've done with it and I think it looks kind of pretty. I would have liked to have put a scarveola in here, but there were none to be found. I settled on this beauty.
Here is it from another angle. I do like the effect it has. We have lots of white clover in our lawn in the area. If you want a lovely natural lawn, white clover works really well and when it is cut, it is so soft on bare feet.
After I had planted the flowers in the stump, I got my garden elf out and asked him to stand guard over the lovely blossoms. He was glad to do the job and gives the stump a more enchanted look, I think. Of course the grandsons love this kind of garden decor and when I choose something, I keep them in mind. It was about eight years ago I bought the garden elf for the boys. Every time they walk past it, the Hi Ho song from Snow White plays. They about drove Grandpa nuts with it way back then.

So that is a tour of my garden. It is a little neglected this year because of all the renovations taking place, but I still enjoy all the lovely blooms. I hope you've enjoyed the tour. Have a great Sunday and remember to stop and smell the roses. ~Blessings, Mary~

Green Thumb Sunday

It's Green Thumb Sunday, hosted by Tricia at As the Garden Grows. If you'd like to participate, just click on the link to find out how.

I was out cleaning up the flower beds and wanted to show you some photos of what is growing in my garden.
A few days ago, I raked a lot of dead leaves from last fall out of the corner by the back shed. My rhubarb was just peeking through the ground. Yesterday, I took a look to see how it was coming along and I was shocked at how much it's grown. I'm going to keep a sharp eye on it. I believe it needs to transplanted to an area that has more sun. Does anyone know when rhubarb should be transplanted. I'm guessing now would be a good time but I'm not sure. Any advice would be appreciated.
In my side garden, my tulips and lavender are growing. I can't believe how thick the lavender is. I'm thinking I should be thinning it out. Again, any advice would be appreciated.
This is the flower garden where two of my peonies grow. The one to the left is a pale pink color - the one in the corner is a dark red. I will show you these again when they bloom. I also need to take the rest of the dead stalks out of this area.

I hope you've enjoyed my Green Thumb Sunday for this week. Enjoy your day and get in some relaxation before the work week starts again tomorrow. ~Blessings, Mary~