Full Moon! :)

 It all started when Coal walked over to the glass French doors and looked out! He started barking the alarm, so I went to see, thinking it must be deer! As I scanned the yard, well lit by the bright moon, I could see there was nothing out there. Rud laughed and said he must be barking at the moon. :)

 Coal galloped over to Rud, barked, and led the way back to the French doors, where sure enough, blazed the full moon! :) We laughed and returned to our seats. Coal excitedly started running back in forth in front of us, barking his excitement! Of course we laughed! Then he spun on his heal and gleefully nipped Rud's arm! Rud began laughing in surprise, which made me laugh, which made Coal repeat the gleeful attack, which made Rud laugh, which made me laugh harder, ... and do to the laughing and the lightning-quickness of Coal's nip-and-run actions, we couldn't catch our breaths enough to correct him! I breathed, "Get him outside! :)", which Rud managed to do by opening the front door! Out Coal ran, quick Rud closed the door, and we had time to control our laughter and take control of our situation! :)

Soon Coal was at the door and, now composed, we let him back in. We all smiled at each other, and all was back to normal. ... We blame it on the full moon! :)

It's All Good! :)

As some of you know, I have a love for puzzles! :)

 This one, with the feline, garden seed packets, bulbs, and flower pots, is right up my alley and suits what I'm doing this time of year, perfectly! :)

 I, too, am laying out the new seed packets, now that all my seed orders are in, and taking another joyful look at what I've got! :) There's a variety of lettuce;

 Misc. mix of things;

 Herbs;

 Flowers to lift my heart and invite pollinators;

 Cabbages;

 Corn;

 Pole green beans, pole snow peas, and pole shelling beans, to grow on the towers;

 Carrots;

 Winter squash;

 Summer squash, cucumbers, and melons;

 and, ...

 The Copra Onion that is the Best onion to grow for storage, as they can last up to a year in storage! For me, it's as much of a "must have" as Walla Walla Onions are for fresh eating! :)
I'll be buying the Walla Walla Onion plants as soon as they are in the local nurseries! :)

 Of course, that isn't including seeds from previous years, that I'll also be growing! :)

Sometimes the lines are blurred between art imitating life and life imitating art! All I know is that when it comes to this time of year, when we're gearing up for another exciting garden season, it's All good! :)

More Sunny Spring Days To Come! :)

 There's no question that Spring is in the air! :) Look! The vinca minor is getting ready to bloom! :)

 The snow drops are open and just humming with bees on sunny days! :)

 The battle with slugs has begun anew, (as you can see from this partially eaten crocus), and any I see get quickly removed from the yard! :)

 The crocus are also getting plenty of pollinating attention on sunny days! :)

 The felines are enjoying keeping me company, as I work around the yard, checking out the newly cleaned flower beds! :)

 The tulip greens are continuing to reach new heights! :)

 Of all the cats, Gerdy has grown most fond of spending leisure time in the shop! :)

 Even she's found the sunshine and warmer temperatures too inviting to resist! :)

 The clematis, in the garden, are showing signs of awakening! :)

 Do you remember the dozen baby onions I transplanted last Fall? They've grown over the winter! :) I went out and did a light hand-weeding around them, and am pleased with how healthy they're looking! :)
Tomorrow, one of the local stores is expecting their onion shipment and I can hardly wait to buy more! :)

 It's fun to see the new growth of bulbs and perennials as I clean the beds! :)

 Isn't this a pretty crocus? :)

 Taking a moment with Mick! He likes to put his paws on my knees and look into my eyes while I pet him! Sometimes he'll even settle onto my back when I'm squatted down working! :)

 So far the Swiss chard, I transplanted last Fall, look like they're going to make it, along with the two types of garlic I planted within the row! :)
It's nice to already have a few things growing in the garden! :)

 The Hellebores are budding nicely! It won't be long until they give color in the yard! :)

With the end of Winter nearing, it's nice to know we have more sunny Spring days to come! :)

The Morning After! :)

 I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day! Ours was wonderful! :)
To make matters even better, we woke to glorious sunshine streaming over the horizon! :)

 We haven't seen a lot of sun lately, so it really lifts the heart! :)

 This morning there's happy traces of yesterday on our dining table! :)

 There's the gorgeous begonia plant I couldn't resist buying and bringing home! :)

 There are the red roses my Honey brought home to me for Valentine's Day! :)

 I'd never seen them coupled with variegated leaves before, and love the affect! :)

 There are what's left of the juicy, sweet oranges! :)

 Tip: These are Heirloom Navel Oranges, and they are the Best oranges!! :)

                                

Not the least of all, is the last remaining chocolate drizzled strawberry, which I promptly ate this morning! What a great way to start 'the morning after'! :)

I'm Not The Only One Who's Been Pruning! :)

 I'm not the only one who's been busy pruning around here! :)

 My Honey did his annual sheering of our hedges, Saturday! :) It's a huge job! :)
 As you can see, the deer sneak in and do some pruning of their own, in the cover of night! Too bad, because the hedges would be beautiful, otherwise. :)
People who think it's a crime to hunt the pretty deer, have never lived in the country where hunting is the only thing that halfway keeps their run-away population in check, and all one's expensive plant purchases, and hard work, are under constant attack! :)

Even so, it's always a great feeling when pruning tasks are accomplished for another year! :)

I've Only Just Begun! :)

 It's only the first week of February but I'm already behind schedule with the pruning, as I've only just begun! It's seems that every time the weather is right, my schedule is full!

 Finally the weather and my schedule came together for one day over the weekend, and I finally got out the pruners! :)

 As you can see, I had a lot of helpers! :)

 They like to be involved in the yard work! :)

 I only had time to prune the outer edges of our King Apple Tree, but at least it's a start! :)

 It's the fruit tree that requires the most work each year, so I like to tackle it first! :) I have to admit that I love this time of year when the days are getting longer and the yard calls to me again! :)

 I have a long way to go, as all the fruit trees, and grapes, need to be tended to!

The flower beds are begging for me to get them cleaned, as well, and like the fruit tree area, I've only just begun! :)