Trillium

 The Trillium are in bloom. 

This is a nice patch that extends off in to woods who knows how far..I guess as far as the eye can see:)

Such a simple pretty flower!

Minnesota Weather; High 86 F or 30 C and the low was 60 F or 16 C eh.  Wild Fire Smoke from Canada filled the air so we did not go outside the house.  We have two air purifiers going inside the house all the time.

We had a quiet Sunday. I cleaned out the bathroom closet and my bathroom drawer that holds everything I need daily.  Laundry and deep cleaning the bathroom kept me busy in the afternoon.   My other baby brother and she who sees robins first stopped by to visit. 

Supper was Tri Tip Steak and baked potato. 

Far Side

 

Trillium

 The Trillium are in bloom. 

Such pretty blooms.

There is a Large - Flowered Bellwort in the photo too...the yellow flower above the left bloom. 

Fun to see the Spring Wildflowers bloom one by one. 

Far Side

June 1st

 The Trillium are in full bloom and fading fast as the weather has been very warm.  Unseasonably warm for the first part of June. 

Trillium as far as the eye can see in the woods. 

It seems we had about a week of Spring and now Summer.  We  made trips to the cemeteries...yesterday we went to get our flowers so the lawn mowing people have an easier time over the summer.  We recycled and I put a bunch of stuff away. 

My Mom is anemic, she has some erosion on the bottom part of her esophagus...so a prescription will be changed.  The Dr suspects that she has some bleeding from time to time from excess stomach acid.  Her hemoglobin is down.  I spent Tuesday with her in same day surgery so they could scope her esophagus and stomach.  Her legs are still swollen and one of her legs weeps all the time.  Getting her to put her feet up, wear compression stockings and walk around is a struggle. She is getting more forgetful and falls asleep easily.  (Mom is 93 years old) She no longer drives her vehicle...and that is a good thing, my other baby brother has the vehicle keys. It is hard for me to load her in the car along with her walker...she has a hard time lifting her legs high enough to enter the vehicle.  

Far Side

Seen on the trail

 We went for a trail ride...

I found an apple tree...might be a crabapple...we will watch how the apples develop.  I was looking for a different apple tree that we picked crabapples from years ago. 

The Trillium was in full bloom along the trails.

Then it rained and it was a hard rain.  We got 1/2 inch in the early morning on Monday then in the afternoon tornado and wind warnings and another 2 inches of rain...that will drown some skeeters and hatch some more.  My other baby brother and she who sees robins first came by for a visit during the storm.  The wind was't too bad...no bending over of trees just some swirling this way and that.  

Far Side

Trillium

 The Trillium is in bloom.  Just one bloom. 

It is a beauty! 

Here is it's spot along the edge of the woods with the Daylilies. Years ago there were two plants...not sure who ate the other one.  HA!

Far Guy and I had a quiet Saturday.  We visited with one of my cousins in the morning and then in the afternoon Far Guy took me out for lupper....enjoyed on an open air patio.  

 It was quite warm here yesterday 76 F  or 24 C eh!   The Piss Popples sometimes known as Aspen are puking out their annual fuzz....the air is filled with it...just like snow. 

The skeeters are HUGE!  I have not seen them so big or in such great numbers this time of year.  Some one once said the State Bird of Minnesota should be a mosquito.

Far Side

Updates

 We used to have two Trillium plants...one was probably eaten by a deer. 

We still have one plant and it is blooming now. 

Far Guy is a tad better.  Nowhere near normal but we are taking it one day at a time.  He had a Cat Scan and it was normal.  His Team of Doctors in Minneapolis are aware that he is very short of breath.  

Grocery pickup could have been worse...there are no canning lids, clothespins or Kleenex this week. 

I tried a new recipe...how to make Chicken Schnitzel...I followed the directions of a famous cook.  Far Guy said " I think she lost her taste buds when she was in prison."  Needless to say I won't be making that recipe again.   It made six servings...four are going into the freezer for consumption some night when we are desperate starving to death. 

Far Side

Trillium

I have been watching our Trillium, it is at the edge of the woods.   It is a sneaky plant, it comes up really fast out of nowhere...but then the flowers take about three days to form and open.

Trillium in bud

Such a beautiful flower.

We finally got a little sunshine and had a day about 70 degrees yesterday.   The grass seed that we planted before the rains began are beginning to germinate.  Good timing. 

Far Side

Thoughts of Spring

We wish Spring would get here faster!

Far Guy took away the Electric Snow Shovel...that piece of equipment saved my shoulders from many aches and pains.  No worries my other snow shovel is still near the door.  I expect that we will get more snow before Spring really gets here.

I bought a new stamp.

A Trillium.  It was on the sale table...truth be told I would have bought it anyway even if it had been regular price.

These will be cards ...eventually.  The shiny one  on the right is done with a pearl watercolor paint.  Far Guy and I both agreed that it was TOO much.

Simple is better...the rest were done with Prismacolor pencils, watercolors and a glitter pen.
If Spring cannot be here yet...working with Spring like images is the next best thing!

The snow is melting and revealing many twigs and branches that litter the yard.  Snow really hides lots of "stuff."
Our Trillium will be blooming in about six weeks.
Far Side

Minnesota Snowball

We sure could have used a snowball or two the last couple of days have been unseasonably warm…82 F or 27 C yesterday and Friday was 86 F or 30 C eh.  We usually don’t hit that warm of temperatures until late June.

The Minnesota Snowball is in full bloom.

I have been enjoying it all week.

Viburnum opulus ‘Roseum’ I think is it’s real correct name.

Far Guy’s Trillium is beginning to fade to pink.

Mowing the lawn is almost a full time job now a days.  I was able to get a few of the glass flowers out yesterday and we purchased plants for our little garden out front and they are now enjoying their first day in the garden and we hope the darn old squirrels leave the plants alone.

Trillium and Dame’s Rocket

The Trillium has faded to pink.  They start out white and then turn pink and fade away….the whole plant dissapears until next year.  I have read that it can take up to ten years for the seeds to grow to make new rhizomes…and that the Trillium is one of the only plants that changes color as it blooms.

Trillium grandiflorum

It was a busy week.  I spent three afternoons this week out and about.  One day going to garage sales with Far Guy, one day in Detroit Lakes with Jen and one day out just for me.  The day in DL with Jen; we spent some time in the cemetery, the thrift shop, JC Penneys, a bakery and driving around until we decided to walk in Wally World. 

The Dame’s Rocket was very pretty this year.  Hesperis matronalis is it’s real name.  It can be easily confused with Phox…but Dame’s Rocket has four petals that make up the flower and Phlox has five. 

Trillium

The Trillium are in full bloom.  There are areas in Northern Minnesota where they brighten the forest this time of year.  We have a few in our area.

We saw them up near Lake George.  They had city wide garage sales last Friday.  Far Guy didn’t buy a thing and me well I bought more glass for flowers.

Trillium grandiflorum

When we got home we checked out our Trillium and sure enough she was blooming….just one plant and one bloom.  The seeds are said to be dispersed by insects…maybe someday we will have more plants.

Trilliums Finished!

I wasn’t planning to paint Trilliums this week…but Far Guy started painting by himself…so I joined him.   Like he said “It will feel good to get them done!”

They turned out pretty good, I am pleased.

I got a little carried away when I added the stamens to my carving.

The stamens are thorns from the Thornapple Bush rolled in glue and sawdust…Far Guys idea and it worked wonderfully!

Cross a woodcarving project off the list!

Woodcarvings: Trillium

Time for an update on the Trilliums that we are carving.  It was a class that we started four weeks ago.  We have spent a fair amount of time at home carving on these flowers in between classes.

This is what we started with.

Three chunks of basswood.

After much carving here are my pieces.

The weather was rainy cloudy and cool all weekend…so I spent some time carving in the greenhouse/woodshop.

I selected a piece of Black Walnut from the “woodpile” for my base.  The two sticks are stems from a Thornapple Bush.  The stems need to be sanded yet…I am saving something for class this week.

Here it is during a trial run. I may shorten it up a bit before the final gluing.  AND it will be painted…so it is not done yet…oh and it will get stamens…they are thorns from the Thornapple rolled in sawdust…they will be added last.

This is Far Guy’s Trillium…as you can see we carve differently because we see things differently. I like the way his flower faces outward…where as mine looks like it is seeking the sun.  He also chose Black Walnut for the base…but with an oval shape.

Trillium togetherness.

The Trillium was a challenging diversion, I probably won’t carve another one.  I  carved on it about 30 hours. Now I can get back to carving Christmas Ornaments.  I would like to have them all done before it snows. 

Flowers Finally

Chance and I did a walk around the yard and found some blooms…besides Dandys!

The Double Flowering Plum or Prunus triloba ‘multiplex’ is blooming quite nicely.

The blooms look like little roses.

Far Guys Large - flowered Trillium or Trillium grandiflorum is blooming.

She lives on the edge of the woods..just one..all alone..never spreading or causing problems like some other plants I know.   The Deer seem to leave her alone.

Chance is still in a funk because his friends left..and it has been raining and thundering and the wind blew..and Far Guy worked at the museum..so Chance stayed home and I cleaned his teeth.

It is not warm here.  It has been cold and rainy.  We were lucky yesterday to make it to 56 F or 13 C.  It hardly feels like Summer weather.  The calendar says it is June but you could have fooled me:)

Wildflowers: May 24, 2010

Today I will show you some white flowers..

The Sweet Grass or Hierochloe odorata or Holy Fragrant Grass is in the front wildflower gardens.  The Native Americans burn this grass as a purifier before their ceremonies because it keeps out evil spirits.  It smells a little like something illegal when it burns.  Sweet Grass is a native plant in Minnesota.  I would bind up some of the stems and put them in the trunk of my car (If I had a trunk) or lay them in a damp basement( I don't have that problem either) Far Guy says Sweet Grass smells like vanilla.  He has planted it here and there throughout the yard, when I mow sometimes I get carried away and mow it down..I wonder what the evil spirits think about that?

Common Chickweed or Stellaria media is a non native plant. The little bloom has only five petals but they are divided so it looks like ten petals.  This little plant blooms most of the summer.  This one is found lots of places..this one is from the cemetery.  In the late evening it looks like hundreds of little stars are hiding in the grass.

Wild Strawberry or Fragaria virginiana is a native plant, if you can nab this tiny little fruit before the birds eat them you are really lucky.  Wild Strawberries have very intense flavor.  I am allergic to them, so I just let the birds have them.  Wild Strawberry is found on the edge of the woods..and in the woods.

 Our Trillium May 21, 2010

Last but not least the Trillium or Trillium grandiflorum. We have one of these plants, and it has one bloom every year. Far Guy planted it next to the woods one year when he was really into native plants.  It blooms in the early spring.  Supposedly seeds are dispersed by ants, and the seeds that they don't eat will grow.  I have heard about the Trillium in bloom in Minnesota..but I have never seen huge expanses of them in the woods until Saturday.

Trillium grow only in areas with deciduous trees, apparently they do not grow well in Pine Forests, I am not sure if it is a soil thing or a light thing, or a combination of both. (Some plants need the extra light in the early spring when the trees don't have their leaves yet).  We stopped along the edge of the road so I could get a few photos..I was watching so intently for them that I totally missed the bear that ran across the road:)

What's Bloomin'

The Yellow Ladyslippers (Cypripedium parviflorum) were a little shy this spring. These are Far Guy's plants, it was his "wild idea" to grow them..he was successful. He has two bunches of them growing in what I now call the "Wildflower Gardens" a very wild weedy natural area. This year there were five blooms on one plant, and two on the other. . This plant is native to Minnesota. We also have them growing along the back drive, but those bloom much later as they are in deep shade.

Show me your bloom..please.

Nope not today either..still hiding.

TA DA! Finally! Slowpoke shy slippers anyway.

What else is blooming? The Trillium, no not a gorgeous thick bunch of them, but one very lonely Trillium growing along the edge of the woods. To tell you the truth, I appreciate this one small bloom every spring much more than if I had a whole forest full of them. If I had hundreds of them I would just take them for granted.

The Bleeding Hearts, no not the classic ones..instead..this little one with beautiful blue/green foliage. She is Dicentra exima..and she has a secret..if you water her and remove her spent flowers she will bloom all summer. If you are a lazy gardener like me, she will re seed all over..:)