A Few Weeks of Photos

I got behind with my blogging again.  Life gets busy sometimes.  Here's a little glimpse of what we've been up to!  Flowers were purchased and plants were planted.  My little wheel barrow boy is happier with flowers.

A friend took me to the Twins game as payment for some graphic design work.  The seats were awesome, the Twins lost, and I got a really nasty sunburn on my shins.  Dang it!  I guess when it's too cold to expose any skin for many many months it isn't a very good idea to sit in the direct sun for an afternoon.  I rarely get sun burned...should have known better. Peel and learn.

I planted a lot of petunias.  I had to!  They are doing well.

We went to the farm to drop off our dog prior to going on vacation.  It's finally looking like late Spring / early Summer there.  At the first of June.  Long winter.  The greens were especially green.

 There is a pair of bluebirds with babies in a bird house on the back of the garage at my mom's place.  What a fun surprise!

It's always good to see my handsome boy!

My mom and I walked through the woods to see if the wild geranium were blooming.  They were!  So many pretty wildflowers this year.

The columbine are blooming beautifully in my backyard garden.  Now that our cat Greta is outside at times, the rabbits have been staying away.  Yay!

The forget-me-nots are blooming too.

Greta sleeps in a clay bowl on my dining room table.  Curls right up in it, it's the cutest thing!

We took a quick trip to Oregon to go to Eric's niece's graduation.  Flew into Portland, spent a day traveling down the coast from Cannon Beach to Florence.  So many beautiful stopping points!

Then we drove from Florence through Eugene on to Klamath Falls.  We stopped at Sweet Water Creek for a little while on the way.  Pretty cascades.

We met up with Eric's family in Klamath Falls.  His brother and sister both live there.  His mom and dad had just arrived for a ten day visit.  Saturday morning we drove to Crater Lake.  So beautiful!  My memory card in my camera failed that day, I lost around 60 photos taken on the way there, and while we were there, including one of our family in front of the lake.  It's frustrating, but there isn't much that can be done at this point.  I guess we'll have to go back!

Sunday was graduation and party day.  Eric's brother Chris, Eric, and Amy along with a niece at Hannah's graduation.

Monday morning after a family breakfast we headed back to Portland.  We stopped at Salt Creek falls to see an amazing waterfall.  Then got to the airport in time to wait for our delayed flight.  Flew from Portland to Las Vegas, had a layover there and then on to Minneapolis.  Arriving at 5:30 a.m. after traveling all day and then night makes for a long day.  I think I'm finally recovered!

We came home to find some pretty flowers blooming in the garden.  Queen Anne's lace was just opening up.

The daisies are starting to bloom!

Daisies always say summer to me.  Love them!

Baseball says summer too!  Billy's playing in his final season of youth baseball.  We're happy that he has the chance to play again.  And he's hitting really well after his first double header too!

My photo of the day is a columbine again.  Oops.  A little time goes by and I forget what I'd chosen a few weeks before.

Grocery store bouquet.  It's the one thing that gets me through my grocery shopping.  Not one of my favorite things to do.

Wild flowers at the farm.  We finally went there and picked up our old dog.  She kept me up most of the night with her nervous panting last night.  I think that it's an old dog thing.  I'm glad that she's home, but I sure didn't miss the interrupted sleep that she regularly causes.  I'm going to think about the pretty flowers instead of that.

We've been in a rainy spell.  It's getting darker by the minute outside.  Hopefully the rain will hold off until after the baseball game!  Daisies, rain and baseball.  Yep, it's summer.  I hope that things aren't rain delayed in your neck of the woods!  Unless you need the rain of course...then I hope it's headed your way!  Thanks for stopping by.

Summer is Here!

   We had a cold and wet spring, but all of a sudden, summer is here!  Lots of daily photos to catch up with today, so not much talk.  The photos start on May 8th.  Still very cold and wet.  There were a few green buds on our maple tree in the front yard.

My tulips were slowly emerging.

The hepaticas in my mom's woods were slow in coming, but sure were beautiful this year.  They don't last very long, but are one of my favorite flowers when they're here!

Czar summer coat came in, but the leaves hadn't started budding at the farm yet. This was May 11th. The horses had to bear a few cold days and nights this spring.  But after our long hard winter it probably didn't seem so bad in comparison.

The crab apple tree in our front yard finally started to bud.

You could almost see them grow from day to day.

There is a wimpy little azalea plant in our front yard, it's kind of tucked away and hidden from the road and doesn't do too much, but it's always one of the first things to bloom.

The tulips at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum are beautiful again this year, in spite of the long winter!  The man in the background told me that he is the one that designs the garden each year.  It was really interesting to talk with him.

The crab apple tree is getting closer to blooming!

Another trip to the farm.  Hello handsome!  I love when they come running to see me.  Even if it is just because they want a treat.

The woods was filled with Spring Beauties again this year.  So many flowers that it looked like a carpet of snow!

The crab apple tree was in full bloom when we got back from the farm.  This was taken on May 19th, my late grandma's birthday.

One of my few tulips.  I planted pink ones a few years ago.  This is what came up this year.  Looks yellow to me!

And the crab apple tree is already fading.  Still beautiful though!

Another trip out to the Arboretum.  Such a pretty day to visit.

I was able to plant all of my planters, window boxes and flower pots before we left for Memorial weekend.  Trying some trailing Verbena in the window boxes this year. I love the color!

The trillium were beautiful at the farm and the cabin this weekend.  Spring is waning and summer is here.

Little Henry was at the little cabin with his family.  He was loving the tire swing!

I finally had time for a horseback ride this weekend.  A shaky start to the riding season, but hopefully with a little work we'll get there.  Then the rain came.  Here's my pretty boy after one of the rain storms.  He's too smart some days.

And last but not least, one of my planters on my front step.  It's a Tuesday that feels like Monday because of the holiday...

....but it finally feels like summer, and that's all that really matters to me!  Thanks for stopping by.

Summer is Near

We are getting hints that summer is on its way.  A look at the calendar says that it really should be here by now, but it's coming, so I can't complain!  There have been some new birds at the feeder, they must be passing through.  I'm not sure what this little cutie pie is.  I need to dig out the bird book and look it up!

The leaves are starting to bud and open up on the trees.  I can't wait until this crab apple tree starts to blossom...so beautiful!

Eric and I caught a sunset over a pond in Eden Prairie this week, it was so pretty.  So many clouds and jet trails going every which way.  And it was nice enough to be out without a coat!  Bonus.

I stopped by the same pond the next day and snapped a couple of pictures of some geese.  I bet they are happy that they can swim now instead of stand around on the frozen pond!

There have been a few morning doves around the yard for the last week or so.  They like to perch on top of our 3 season porch.  They make the coolest sounds.

Unusual birds, pretty skies, open water, buds on the trees....summer is coming I just know it!  Thanks for stopping by!

Happy May!

After at least a solid week of rain...well maybe not, but it seems like it!...the sun is finally shining today.  Blue sky and soft clouds.  A nice change from the photo below!  Poor little cold and wet birds!

Last week I went to the Como Park Conservatory for a little touch of summer and some warmth.  The tulips there were past their prime, but the lilies were gorgeous!  Nothing like a large glassed room full of blooming flowers to make you feel like there is hope for spring!

I bought some lilies for at home, they smell nice, but don't pack quite the punch that a full room full of flowers does!  If I could afford a room full of flowers I could afford to get away for most of the winter and then I wouldn't need them.

Rainy days outside make taking a photo a day more of a challenge.  Fading daisies were all I could come up with this day.

The lilac buds aren't growing very fast...but at least they are growing.

My lilies are looking a little better!

I finally refilled the bird feeders, the cardinal is happy and dry for a nice change.

I was taking photos outside when Brian arrived home from his class, he was better looking than the leaf buds that I was trying to capture, so he became my photo of the day.  Hi Brian!

I'll end with tulips.  They are starting to grow in the garden, but are pretty far from blooming.  It's good to know that they are coming up though!

The sun is shining this Saturday morning, we are in town for the weekend for a change...so I better get cracking.  It's looking like a good day to get some things done outside!  Have a great weekend.  Thanks for stopping by!

April Showers.

We've had quite a few rainy or cloudy days this month.  Only one day in the 10 day forecast is predicting a sunny day.  Otherwise it's rain or clouds.  It must be April.  But the warmer days and rain have the Spring Peepers peeping!  This wind chime isn't a Spring Peeper...but close enough.

The night of the lunar eclipse was very clear, but also pretty cold!  I took this shot of the full moon before midnight, so it counts as my photo for April 14th!

Brian and I stayed up most of the night so I could take a picture of the eclipse every 10 minutes.  Well, he stayed up because he was doing homework and that's what he does.  It started at 12:55 a.m. and ended at around 4:30 a.m.  If I were doing it right I would have used a tripod instead of hand holding the camera...then I could have kept my ISO lower when the moon turned red!  But I didn't, it was too cold to sit outside and I wasn't going to leave my camera out there without me!  So the red shots are grainy, but I like how it turned out anyway!

The next day it rained and rained.  We were lucky though, because it snowed at the farm.  Snowed and snowed almost 15".  The winter that never ends!

I haven't been very motivated to take pictures, but Molly lounging on Brian's pillow like a queen seemed like a good enough reason to get the camera out.

My cactus is still blooming, the blossoms are fading though.

We spent the weekend at my Mom's celebrating Easter.  The snow had melted, my boy was happy to see me! He still has some shedding to do!

Easter morning was really foggy!  I love how this one looks like it's a black and white.  It's not, it was just that foggy.  I was itching to take more pictures but had to get ready for church.  The fog burned off, the day turned sunny and warm.  Minnesota weather, it's full of surprises.

The warm days made the lilac buds pop.  Spring is coming!

A busy day and not much picture taking motivation had me taking my daily photo well after dark.  A meeting for the golf league and going out with the girls afterwards were a fun reminder of the summer outings to come!

And finally, my little statue looking out into the mostly green backyard.  Patiently waiting for the rain to stop and for the days to get warmer so he can have some flowers in his wheel barrow!

April showers are here...the May flowers are just around the corner!  I'm looking forward to it!  Thanks for stopping by!