Yellow Blooms

 The Marsh Marigolds are finally blooming sometimes known as Cow Slips.

The early blooming  smaller Yellow Ladys Slippers are blooming too... they always bloom around Memorial Day and the larger Yellow Lady Slippers bloom around Father's Day. 

Fun to see something blooming!  

This last day of May...the lawn has been mowed at least once...some parts twice, my Lawn Mower has a bad tire so it needs air every time I mow...I need to focus on the ant problem in this area and the Poison Ivy has emerged. 

Far Side

Yellow Flowers

I like yellow flowers...betcha never would have guessed.

They are so cheerful ...how can you resist a smile.

Rudbeckia 'Sonora' is in bloom in the wild gardens.   They reseed themselves.   My planting of Rudbeckia has diminished over the years but there are still some left.

I was busy all day...some laundry, painting Christmas Ornaments (21 are completely done) it may be awhile for more to be finished completely...hooks were ordered and will be here in a week or two. It was a cooler day so I made a pan of Chicken Enchiladas and six servings are headed for the freezer.

No time for a nap or movie time.  I sat outside after supper...the skeeters are getting more aggressive and larger.  All the ponds in the Corporate Farmers irrigation fields are breeding spots....especially since they irrigate in the rain.
Ohhhh crabbiness is setting in.
I need another yellow flower now.

More sunny yellow flowers this one a Rudbeckia with double petals...a seedling variation...nothing that I planted. 
There I feel better now!  Stay safe out there!

Far Side

More yellow and a little green

On the way into town to pick up my Dad for our Bingo date I stopped by the sunflower field.

What fun to photograph such beautiful blooms.  I like this field ...there is a safe spot to pull off the highway.

I have to bee careful on account of the bees and my epi pen was at home.  The bees were more intent on the blooms than me...good thing.

Oh and the green.
Well we had an uneventful night at Bingo until the last game.   The big one... Blackout for 1,000 dollars.   Yes I Bingoed but so did two other people so we had to spit the loot and I split again with my Dad cause we always play one wins we all win.  So Dad and I  went home 130 dollars ahead and had a free night at bingo. ( Bingo cards are 30 dollars for the evening.  We play double packs and then buy 7 extra cards for Blackout.)  My Dad really enjoys Bingo.  When I called at 4 PM to check on them and make sure Dad was feeling okay and wanted to go to Bingo...Mom said "He already has his shoes on and is waiting for you."

Far Side

Original Wildflower Gardens

I planted flowers in this area 18 years ago.  It used to be more formal gardens, we tended gardens in between customers all summer long.  After we retired from the greenhouse business we were both burned out and just let the gardens go “wild.”  We don’t water or fertilize or do anything special, what survives …survives!

Flowers by the sauna, Gaillardia out front and Ratibida out back with various other flowers. The Gaillardia is going to seed and is on my list for collection!

Ratibida pinnata

The small windmill.  You can see the sauna and my garage in the background.  The Liatris, Rudbeckia and Physostegia (Obedient Plant) are in bloom on this end of the gardens….along with some really tall Thistle.

Liatris out in front with a sprinkling of Rudbeckia and Marge Grass in the background.

This is a new arrival this year, it showed up on the edge of the Marge Grass. It is a Helianthus  or Woodland Sunflower.  A bird must have dispersed the seed into the area.  It is a native to Minnesota plant.  Not to mention one of my favorite flower colors!

Chance usually walks out to the gardens with me. When he was younger he would run the perimeter of the gardens and lay in wait for the ball.  Nowadays he doesn’t run, he will play ball on a good day but lays down with the ball after it is thrown once or twice.

I took these photos on Tuesday toward evening, yesterday (Wednesday) it rained all day.

Dandy Lawn

I mowed the front yard yesterday.  I left the side yard because it is blooming quite nicely!

Maybe it is a Lion amongst lawns.

They are just perfect in form and color..yellow being my favorite color in a flower.

Even the little Violets seem to like their lawn companions.

I sat in the lawn a long time taking photographs and enjoying the simple beauty of the dandys!  They are about the only thing blooming for the bees.  I did see a couple of bees and a Cabbage White Butterfly….who was in a hurry to get someplace.

The ground is warm enough to go barefooted now, that used to be the rule…keep your shoes on until the dandys bloom.

Ahead

We turned most of the clocks ahead…we forgot a few…the thermostat does not go ahead automatically …duh.

I worked on some genealogy…going down different rabbit trails…cousins.  I know more than I did before…but not much. I still have lots of questions…and need to keep better notes. I need to have my questions someplace besides in my head.

I cleared one stack of papers off my desk… then I got an email from one of Far Guy’s Maternal Cousins ( I would call him a long lost cousin but he is doing research just like me)  and another project was added to the ongoing project list.  No progress is made there except this cousin may have some info to share…never can tell.

Ratibida pinnata  July 2016

I have the menus planned for the week.  Far Guy has become a bit testy when I am the first to ask what’s for supper.  Ribs and a baked potato, soup from the freezer, baked chicken and salad, venison and a steakburger round out the week with two supper dates during the week. Yeah for two nights of no cooking!  We had a huge break through last week…Far Guy discovered that he kinda likes roasted asparagus!!  I will roast another batch this week.

I was going to say I hope to get many projects done this week…but then that may jinx me…so I will just do what I can do to stay ahead.

It snowed again, it almost covered up the gray snow.

Yellow

I like yellow.  The color is so warm and welcoming.

Yesterday I looked at the bunches of roses on my way into Wally World…the coral and red roses were beautiful but I liked the yellow ones the best.

Perhaps that is why I smile everytime I glance over at the wild gardens this time of year!  I planted just a few plants about 17 years ago and just let them reseed at will.

Soon the Liatris will show some color..purple will just add to the yellow show!

I miss being able to bring flowers into the house.  From the years spent in the Greenhouse neither of us can handle flowers or plants of any kind in the house…we both come down with a scratchy throat/coughs and congestion within a few hours.  So we enjoy our outside plants even more because they don’t make us sick.

Today I am off to the Doctors Office for consult for a small procedure…at least I hope it is small. Perhaps it will require several office visits or one big visit…time will tell. Nothing to worry about just one of those old lady things. At least I hope it is nothing to worry about…I never wasted a worry about it until now.  I made the appointment about three months ago…some specialists are really busy.

Lesser Yellow Ladys-slipper

The smallest Yellow Lady’s Slipper is blooming.

We saw one clump on a local road.  So we stopped for the photo op.

Cypripedium parviflorum var. makasin or Small Yellow Lady’s-slipper.

They are the first of the native Orchids to bloom.  Most of the time I am too late for a good photo of them.  This slipper is small 3/4 to 1 1/4 inches long at the slipper or bowl part.

This time of year you have to be quite observant to find them as they blend in with the Dandy’s that are blooming it the ditch.

It is a Native to Minnesota Wildflower.

Winey Snob

I do like a glass of champagne every once in awhile.  I have about 4 small one serving bottles in the fridge …they have been there about a year.  Cooks I believe is the brand. I must be ageing them. I love the bubbles in a half way decent champagne.

The last time I had a glass of wine?  Easter.

I heard it with my own ears.  “I keep an opener in the car, just in case of a wine emergency.”  What I wondered would constitute a wine emergency?  A flat tire?

I keep an extra couple of blankets in my car just in case I might be freezing to death and a small bag with necessities; an extra collar and lead for Chance, in the summertime a bottle of water and a dish again for Chance just incase he needs a drink, Kleenex, a couple of plastic bags to clean up after you know who in case he poops away from home, hand sanitizers and a couple of pens oh yes and some toothpicks. Not a wine corkscrew to be found.

Perhaps the wine emergency gal and this gardener are related?

No probably not, the Black Eyed Susan Vine is climbing up a piece of wood with dowels that holds old pop bottles. I am sure the wine emergency gal probably only drinks designer coffee and wine.

This recycling gardener had some beautiful sunflowers.

It was worth stopping for.  I wish they had been out in the garden working I would have you whooed and wrangled an invitation to get a closer look.  As it was I stood at the edge of their property and leaned in as far as I could without falling over.

Yesterday we had a leisurely day together just the three of us, going to garage sales and looking over different parts of the county, then we came home and had a nap:)

Frustrating Forsythia Failure

I love Forsythia, I am very partial to yellow flowers, yellow is such a sunny warm color. I have a Forsythia in my yard. It is Forsythia x 'Meadowlark' it was a NDSU introduction back in 1986 ( by one of my Professors), I have thought about writing him a letter to give him my opinion on his introduction. He is getting on in years and has probably lost what little sense of humor he had. It is the only Forsythia that is hardy in our area. For nine years it has been a dismal failure. I keep hoping for just a couple of flowers..one or two..hey I don't ask for a flowing fountain of flowers but a couple would be nice. Here it is: A Failure.. my frustrating Forsythia..it may get leaves in a couple of weeks, if not, I can declare it deader than a doornail and swear off further Forsythia attempts.

Here is one blooming just this past week in town, a virtual fountain of color. I was tempted to knock on the door and ask for a whip, ( a cutting) but I took this photo from the roadside and went on my way. I am sure they take their Forsythia for granted...they probably don't even give it a thought.

I did find this Meadowlark a while ago... but he just reminded me of my failures:(