Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Lime or Light Green
That sounds like spring to me because that’s when the leaves are a light green, almost gold.
LIME AND LIGHT GREEN: CEE’S FUN FOTO CHALLENGE – Marilyn Armstrong
Tag: spring
BLACKSTONE RIVER AND CANAL IN MAY – Marilyn Armstrong
We had just enough sunshine to get out of the house and down to the canal. About an hour in total.
A quiet day with the river shining like glass. May telling me that summer really is here … or nearly so.
GOOD MORNING – MEMORIAL DAY IN THE U.S. – Marilyn Armstrong
Unlike most other American holidays, we retain a bit of respect for a day that honors veterans of our many wars. The cemeteries will be full of flags and visitors.
Otherwise, this is “grill your meat” day. It is the official opening of summer. Everything closed all winter opens on Memorial Day.
I have a problem with grilling insofar as we don’t own a grill. Well, we do, sort of. A tiny hibachi which uses charcoal. The amount of labor required to cook two hamburgers on a hibachi exceeds any joy we might get from eating them, so I think I’ll cook normally. Finally, I understand why gas grills have become so popular.
Flick, it’s on. No lighting the charcoal and waiting until it finally gets to the right color … and then waiting for it all to chill down so you can figure out what to do with the ashes. (Answer? Put them in the garden; they make a pretty good fertilizer.)
Tomorrow isn’t supposed to be a nice day. Grey and chilly like today, though we might get a little bit of sunshine. Hard to know. By Wednesday, summer will make another appearance.
We used to give barbecues in the summer. When we were younger. When I could still get from the deck to the lawn without a chair lift. For that matter, when Garry could get from the lawn to the deck on those long, steep stairs.
If the sun comes out, maybe I’ll take some pictures. Otherwise … it’s will be another Monday. Holidays don’t pack the same oomph they had when we were working.
When every day is a “day off,” a three-day holiday is another day off, but with a lot more traffic.
AS DOES THE GARDEN GROW – Marilyn Armstrong
The columbine are starting to bloom and I got pictures, but they aren’t fully open yet. After yesterday’s rain, everything is covered with drops of rain. And it’s pretty muddy.
More wild strawberries
Bunches more wild strawberries popping up everywhere and the rhododendrons look happy and healthy.
After cutting back the roses, the rhododendrons are looking very happy. It’s amazing how fast everything is growing right now.
Solomon’s Seal
And a few not fully opened Columbine (just a few more days and they will be amazing).
And of course, the deck …
WHICH WAY IN THE MONTH OF MAY – Marilyn Armstrong
Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge
The weather has been really lovely for the past few days and I managed to get out of the house with a camera. Not for any kind of long shoot, but for a few minutes here and there.
Today I went to the dentist and when I got there, realized I’d forgotten to take my antibiotics. You have to take them to have your teeth done if you have an artificial heart valve — and I have two of them.
But we were parked next to the dam and the trees were blooming. And, as it happened, I had a camera.
SPRING HAS SPRUNG, FINALLY – BY ELLIN CURLEY
It’s finally spring in New England. We can safely move the snow blower out of the garage and back into the shed for storage.
It’s warm enough to put plants out on the patio and not have to worry about a rogue frost killing them all. It’s also just the right temperature to sit on the deck, It’s not too cold and not too hot. And the bugs are not in full attack mode yet.
I can still hear the water rushing in the nearby stream. The heat of summer will dry up the water and silence the stream. The birds are also adding their voices to the outdoor symphony of spring. So it sounds as glorious out there as it looks.
The dogs love to join me outside. They lie down near me or wander around sniffing all the wonderful smells of nature in bloom.
We just built our patio about five years ago. Ironically, as beautiful and bucolic as it is, we have found that we are rarely out there. Except for Tom, who grills there almost every night we’re at home. The problem is that once boating season starts, we spend most nice days on the boat. We also do most of our entertaining at the marina as well.
So there are two small windows for me to enjoy this lovely setting. Early spring and late fall, when we are not always on the boat.
I think maybe this summer I’ll make sure to spend some more time out in my little oasis in the woods. The marina is relaxing and beautiful, but so is my own backyard. After all, there’s no place like home!
GARDEN REPORT – Marilyn Armstrong
I fear we shall not see daffodils or tulips this year. Nonetheless, other flowers are blooming, or soon will be. It will not be a flowerless year. We are missing some of the early spring bulbs, but they will probably come back next year.
April 5, 2018
April 8, 2018
Because I’ve planted so many wildflowers, we have an abundance of them. I love wildflowers and always have. More than that, wildflowers are hardy — far more than garden flowers. Since I don’t have the energy to nurture delicate plants, I’m glad I dug up dozens of day lilies and put them in the garden. They will find a way to bloom. Although they are actually not native to this region, they have become a very common. They grow everywhere, in woods and along the roads throughout New England. I think their original home was in China or northern Asia.
The Solomon’s Seal is local. It was used medicinally and as food by native Americans. I just find it lovely. When I found a few of them in our woods, I moved them to a sunnier location where they bloom like mad, even this year, though they are not as big as they usually get. I think they started growing rather late.
Among other amazing things, we actually managed to get one some lilacs. They are the pale light lavender flowers, not the dark French ones.
The trees on which they grow are not in good shape.
This is a very old lilac tree and was probably here before this house was built. There was another house here before this one. Sometimes, you can see the corner of what was probably its basement out in the woods. The lilac was from that early house’s planting. Bet it was located by the kitchen. It used to be lucky to have a lilac bloom near the kitchen.
During the past three winters, it has been hit be at several falling trees. Another one got it in March. I need a chain saw to cut out the dead wood. With a little luck, we might get new shoots from the ground up.
I am optimistic about the day lilies. There are dozens and dozens of stems, so I think they will bloom.
All the wild violets are brightly purple and I found two wild strawberry flowers. There is also a lot of columbine coming up and the roses look pretty healthy.
We will have a garden this year. Not quite the same garden we usually have, but a pretty garden.
There’s a white rhododendron already blooming and a second big pink bud almost ready to pop.
The holly is sending forth oodles of baby berries. Considering that holly is known as a Christmas flower, it’s interesting it blooms early in spring. By Christmas, all the berries have been eaten by birds. I have to get my Christmas pictures in late May and June.
Finally, there are the ferns. We have the most common of the ferns, literally known as “common ferns.” They are everywhere in the woods and wherever there is shade, they just show up. They grow under the steps to the deck, too and I like them, so I let them grow. In the fall, they all turn bright yellow and orange and make the woods beautiful. Sometimes, their colors are so rich they don’t look like real plants, but rather as if they were painted. Right now, they are just green … but they are back for another season.
