Small flower garden

Having a flower garden here under the bird feeders where squirrels eat flowers, dig them up or break them off and where bears walk in the dappled shade of the Oaks is a challenge. 

I bought flowers at two different places.  Red, white, blue and yellow are the colors I wanted in the garden.

One tray of plants…the other got planted instead of photographed!

These are mostly new plants to this garden…we will see how they do.

Impatiens(red and white), Salvia (blue), Lantana( yellow), Begonia (red), Browallia (blue), Snapdragons (yellow), Lobelia (blue) and Pansy (blue).  I wasn’t going to get snapdragons but they were yellow…what can I say.

 

I planted yesterday…in the rain…I was out there and had half of it planted when it began to rain…so I just enjoyed the rain and finished my project as it was the one thing I wanted to accomplish yesterday…well that and the third time mowing the lawn.

I trimmed around trees while keeping Odda company until her Mom came to get her.  Our not so perfect lawn is a nice color green anyway…the dandys drive me nuts but the bees like them. 

Lantana

Far Guy picked these Pansies, they are not exactly the color he wanted…but he said “close enough.”  I think he was tired of wandering around greenhouses with me.

Hopefully the bear is elsewhere…he hasn’t been here for several nights…when I was planting I thought about that bear and wondered where he was.

 

Wistful Wednesday : Graduations

55 years ago Far Guy’s sister graduated from High School.

Jan Class of 1963

Ran onto a relative at the cemetery (a non dead relative) who said “It will be Jannie’s birthday soon, wish her a happy birthday!”   We related the well wishes to her as she turned 73 this week…she said “That part of the family always called me Jannie.”

50 years ago on May 29, 1968  Far Guy Graduated from High School.  Note the same table and lamp in both photos.  Cousin Tom’s photo is on the table, he graduated the same year from Detroit Lakes Minnesota.

The plans for his 50th Class Reunion are still in the works.  I don’t get involved.  He has women calling him all the time.  Seems like he is the ring leader and is the only one that really knows what is going on.

Bear

We had a nightime visitor. A black bear…about 5 plus feet tall.

He tried to chew into a wire mesh feeder and knocked down another feeder.  After that we load up the feeders in the wheelbarrow at night and put them in the garage.

I let Chance smell of the damaged feeder he didn’t seem interested or impressed at all.  The bear left us a poopy present near the sauna.  The bear poop looked like a cow pie only darker and full of seeds ( just incase you were curious).

Exciting times out here in the boonies!  The bear visited homes over on the lake too…he/she was caught on a trail cam over there.

Decoration Day

My grandparents and Far Guy’s grandparents called it Decoration Day.

It was called Decoration Day until 1967 when it was offically declared Memorial Day and became a Federal Holiday.  After World War II many people began to call it Memorial Day it was just not official yet.

At any rate it is a day that we set aside to honor those who died in war.

It has evolved into a day when we remember all those that have died…perhaps the cemeteries should look nice when people come to visit the graves of the war dead.

We only visited two cemeteries this year.  There just doesn’t seem to be enough time to get to all the cemeteries I would like to visit.

The birthday party

We drove up North for our Great Grandsons birthday party.

It was a really warm day 83F or 28C eh and sunny not your typical Memorial Day weekend in Minnesota weather.  Chance stayed at home.

The party had a Fire Station theme.  It was a very nice party.

Hey Mikey! : One year old

Today is our Great Grandson’s first birthday.  Hard to believe he is already a year old.

He visited us on Mother’s Day and played first in the light garden and then further in the yard.  He is not walking yet.

He was on a mission.

His Granny Trica was poking him making him giggle.  She was saying something like “I am gonna get you.”  He would squeal and crawl faster!

Finally his destination was reached.

He was intrigued with the flower spinner.

Hey Mikey Happy Birthday!

We found a red white and blue spinner for him…I bet he will like it!

Adam and his Cello

Adam gave us a private concert the other day.

Here he is attacking the music.  Such determination!

More relaxed…he plays quite well and we enjoyed the music.

Chokecherry Blooms

It was warm yesterday. 75F or 23 C eh! The Chokecherries came into bloom.

As you can see the flowers are cylindrical flower clusters. They are mildly fragrant.  I have made Chokecherry jelly…you cook up the berries and put them in a old dish towel to drain off the juice. I used to hang the towel up on a hanger and suspend it over a pan so it could drip, there is probably some fancy smancy way to get the juice but not the seeds or the pulp. I measure out so many cups of juice and add sugar and pectin and you get a runny jelly…or syrup once it is cooked up…it tastes great on toast!

Chance was following me around the yard looking for blooms.  We had to leave him home alone yesterday( Doctors appts) for the afternoon and he was very demanding after we got back.  He didn’t want to eat his supper, he just wanted his treats.  SPOILED.  It was just too warm to take him along.

I did some watering of some patches where we have grass seed planted and since Far Guy was at a meeting I hosed down everything on the patio…the pollen is horrid…everything was yellow…including Chance’s feet.  I cleaned out all the bird baths too.  We need rain to settle the pollen.

Wistful Wednesday: Noah

Not a little boy anymore.  Our fourth grand and first grandson.

Here he is at Susan’s Daycare…he is in the center in a blue t shirt.  Look how blonde he was!

We went out for lunch for his birthday.  It was good to see him and give him a birthday hug.

I told him that I wanted to keep him little forever but his Mom couldn’t stop him from growing.  He said “I did stop just at 6 feet 2 inches.”

This is the last of his teen years….seems like only yesterday that Far Guy and I walked into the hospital very early in the morning to the sound of a baby crying…yes it was Noah…his Dad was giving him his first bath and he was letting everyone know he didn’t like it.

Some shrub with white flowers

I can never recall what this shrub is called. I always have to look it up. (getting older)  It is Red-berried Elder or Sambucus racemosa.  It always blooms after the Pin Cherries but before the Chokecherries. 

The flowers are upright pyramid shaped.  Red berried Elder’s berries are bright red.

We have one along our driveway.  My baby brother has many of these in bloom at his lake place.

If it gets berries they are poisonous…but birds can eat them. 

Reminder to my baby brother who has eight grands five years old and under…all berries except wild raspberries are off limits to small children.  These will likely get frozen and not produce berries but just in case.  Good thing these are tall shrubs…but you never can tell what kids will do.

It should not be confused with the Common Elderberry or Sambucus canadensis which has flat topped flowers and blooms later and has purple berries…from which some homemade wine is made.

If you live near the woods do you research all the plants that bloom that may produce berries? 

Cherries

The Pin Cherries are in bloom.

They are always the first shrub/tree to bloom in our area of Minnesota.

Next will be the Chokecherries. Maybe enough fruit this year to make some jelly.

I mowed the lawn for the first time yesterday.  Thus it begins.

Pairs

The Rosebreasted Grosbeaks are really different yet they are a pair.

Female on the left and colorful male on the right.

Orioles; female on the orange and the male waiting patiently.

The Orioles are still here, the Grosbeaks are just passing through they only stay a few days.

I watched the Royal Wedding mostly it was so early in the morning…I fell asleep for some of it.  Some of the so called “famous people” I had no idea who they were…neither did Far Guy.

 

Indigo Bunting

Chance had to go out at daylight.  We were serenaded by many birds…then I heard a tweet tweet tweet sound and a Indigo Bunting flew near the patio.  It was almost as if he was announcing his arrival.

I went in and got my camera.  Of course by that time he was gone.

Soon he landed near Far Guy’s garage.

He and one of his pals hung around all day.  I did not see the females…they are brown…so they blend in with other birds.  Typically they only stay a few days a week at the most…but I can always hope they will nest here.  They are ground feeders and like the thistle seed on the ground and they visit the birdbath.

It rained, Chance and I had a nap.  Far Guy worked in the woodshop.  The Buntings were the highlight of our day.