Friday, June 17, 2022

The makings of a hummingbird garden! :)

 This year has been unusual in that it's cooler and more wet than it typically is, and the number of hummers in our yard has increased to an amazing number!
As a result, I decided it was time to make a hummer garden just for them! :)

I filled several planters with plants they love, and it's been fun ever since! :)
We can sit on the glider and be soothed by all their activity as they zip from bloom to bloom, all around us! :)

They are taking advantage of the added bounty, in addition to the feeders and regular flowers around the yard! :)
The cool weather has caused the bleeding heart to put on additional blooms! :)

Hopefully Summer will come when we go from June to July. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the warmth of the sunny flowers! :)
Now that we have a flower garden for the hummers, we've realized we enjoy it just as much as they do! I want to have this area of my shed patio as a hummer garden every year! :)

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

This is a test! :)

 Recently I moved two plants into the house in hopes of wintering them over! One is a yellow Flowering Maple! :)
 The other is a crimson Sun Parasol! The hummers love them and I hated to take them away from them, but the hope is to protect them from night frosts and put them out for them next summer! :)
 I love how red the burning bushes are! They seem to be shouting "Rah! Rah!", celebrating Fall! :)
 The sedums are celebrating, too! While many plants are dying back, these are thriving! :)
 Flowering Maple! Love it! :)
 The Birch are transitioning from green to gold! :)
 The vines seems happy, too! :)
 One of the roses is giving one last effort to bloom! :)
 Currently this tree has leaves giving shade on this sunny day, but a month from now it will be shedding colorful leaves, opening up to as much light as we can get during our shortest days of the year. :)
 This post is a test to see if my blog is working again! It went away for a bit and broke my heart. If it's truly back, it is thanks to my son, Troy! Thanks Troy! Love you! XO :)

Monday, September 30, 2019

Just A Note! :)

Just a note! :)
My email got hacked and thanks to my son, Troy, I now have a new one that should now work with my blog! :)
Hopefully, if you make comments, I will get them and be able to share them on my blog! The communication should be a two-way street once again! :)
Here's Hoping! :)

Friday, September 20, 2019

Hello Autumn! Welcome! :)

 As silent as a spider spinning her web, enters Autumn! :)
 We didn't see her coming but suddenly she's here! :)
 And just like that she's spun her way into my heart! :)
 The last of the season's fruit can still be tasted! :)
 Sweet to my soul! :)
 Any corn left on the stocks needs to be picked now and enjoyed, before it's too late! :)
 Some flowers are done, leaving seed pods behind, ... a beauty all it's own! :)
 Leaves are turning vibrant colors as satisfying as any flower! :)
 Pumpkins cheer us with their "orange hurrah"! :)
 I even love the ones still dressed in green! :)
 The Pacific North West begins to share Autumn's showers, resulting in fungi! :)
 Mushrooms spring up every where! :)

 The change in the air makes one want to snuggle in and get cozy! :)
 Fall has her own beauty that gladdens the heart! :)

 The Rufous Hummers have left but the Anna's are here again! :) There are annuals ...
 And perennials that they are taking advantage of while they last. Not to worry, I will keep feeders up year round for them now that they reside in our yard throughout the winter. :)
 Leaves ....
 And Fall blooming flowers are adding joy to our yard! :)
 Even the flower bouquet I cut from the yard, and garden, whispers "Autumn!" :)
She seems to sense that there are those who reach back longingly for Summer.
So she enters quietly, bringing her bountiful gifts to warm her way into our hearts!
Hello Autumn! Welcome! :)

Friday, September 6, 2019

Taunting Tomatoes! :)

 This has been another great tomato year for us! :)
 Many of the Big Beef fill the palm of my hand! :)
 It's what one may call good news - bad news! :)
 On one hand, I'm making batch after batch of crushed tomato sauce. It's an item I tend to buy a lot of and now we won't need to buy so much as our freezer is filling and should get us through Fall & Winter! :)
 The bad news is that it's becoming the endless job! :) Every time I think this will be the last batch and I'll be caught up on processing our ripe tomatoes, ...
I look and see at least enough to fill another pot, on the table! :)
It's a good problem to have, but I'm beginning to think of those glorious red fruits as my "Taunting Tomatoes"! :)
What's funny is that I'm already planning next year's garden in terms of what food I can put up! :)
Taunting tomatoes and all! :)
Enjoy what's left of Summer, everyone! :)

Thursday, July 25, 2019

I Love When A Plan Comes Together! :)

 Last blog post I shared the process of hilling up our corn., as it was knee high! :)
 I fertilized & hilled the rows on July 8th, and I wanted to show you the results! :)
 This is what 2 weeks and 3 days later looks like! It now stands over my head! :)
 You can see how tall it is next to the 7' green house frame! The stalks are 6' tall now! :)
 The pole beans are reaching up over the roof wires, now! Just as I hoped they would! :)
 Within the frame, the lettuce is growing on one side with the cabbage on the other. :)
 The lettuce is finally showing some full heads, ready to eat! :)
 The cabbage is growing, too! :)
 The tomatoes have grown, as well, as we knew they would! They now reach up to the ceiling and will continue to grow through the season, unless I pinch the tops. :)
 The plants are full of fruit! :)
 Come August & September, they will be ripening and we'll be "seeing red"! :)
 Green isn't the only color in the garden, however! We have the first bits of color in flowers! :)
 There are a mix of colors in a variety of flowers! :)
 This is one of this year's poppies that I planted from seed ! :)
 The mixed zinnias are starting to bloom as well, and it's fun to see new color every day! :) This is what I was hoping for when I planted them! I may even bring a bouquet in the house to enjoy! :)
 I added a flower pot to the garden and have been seeing hummers and butterflies visiting it! It's fun to invite them to the garden with something bright that they can't miss! :)
 This Swiss chard plant is out-performing expectations! :)
Not unlike the fig tree that I planted as a baby plant the year Rud built the garden fence! I didn't really expect it to do well in our area, but I know a couple people who've been successful with figs, here in the Pacific NW, so I wanted to give it a try. It's now big enough that I will begin the pruning process on it this winter. :)
I Love when things work out and a plan comes together! :)
Here's wishing you all success in the dreams you're planting of your own! :)