What Color is Spring?

How about PINK?

Summer Job

Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. ~Henry James
Summer has brought new blossoms...


And lazy days reading by the pool...the blow up kiddie pool in the backyard. This is my new summer job. Full time. Never enjoyed working so much.

I also am also supervisor over corn husking...

Can you see what his shirt says? He's the best little worker ever. I didn't have to lift a finger.

He's so good at his job he's also been promoted to raspberry harvesting...

Although nobody else ever sees any of the berries...

When we have time off from these grueling tasks, there have been glorious moments walking barefoot on the warm sandy beach...

OK, sandbox. A girl can dream...

And backyard smores courtesy of dad...

Some of us have acquired new skills. This means bike rides everyday. I had forgotten how good it feels to have the wind blowing through my hair while cruising down hill on two wheels. I am having more fun then him...

And another spray paint project...

These two decided it was totally uncool for the little guy to be riding around on a pink bike. So they took matters, meaning SPRAY PAINT, into their own hands. Without asking. This is the only spray paint project I've seen where the before was MUCH better than the after. Hmmm, wonder where they got this idea.

Hope you too are working really hard this summer!

Monsoon Magic

Brace yourselves for another exciting gardening post…

I was talking to my mom about blogging the other day (pretty silly) and I was telling her that some of my all time favorite blog posts are the ones I get the fewest comments on. I am totally cool with that – I kind of think it’s funny. This blog is supposed to be representative of the things that make me happy, and the truth is most of those things are not exactly exciting.

For the past couple of weeks, this is what I see when I look out the window...

Rain. Lots of rain. We have been experiencing a monsoon weather pattern with rain blowing in almost every afternoon. I love it. The air is cool and clean and everything green and lush...

When I am outside working in the yard, I feel alive. My head is clearer, breathing feels like a treat (especially after the rain) and all of my senses seem to be in better working order. I've noticed my kids are happier when they are outside as well. I love seeing their interest in nature grow. Love seeing them with potato bugs and worms in their hands. Love seeing them keeping tabs on certain plants or the baby robins who are just learning to fly. So not exactly exciting, but real.

*When blogger quits giving me fits I'll tell you the names of all the above plants

More Pink

The Bechtel Crabapples are blooming...

Come on baby light my fire...

The Prairiefire Crabapples are in bloom. I'm sure I took way too many pictures, but I just can't help myself.

We have a couple of these trees in our backyard and I seriously LOVE them. Looking out the window and seeing them in full bloom has made my week! I can't tell you how many times I have gone outside just to admire them. And smell them. They smell really good.

Our trees are still small, but what they lack in height, they seem to make up in denseness. My little shadow is almost hidden in the below image...



There were a few low hanging branches that needed to be trimmed, so I was able to bring a bunch of blooming beauties inside. Now my house smells yummy too. The Bechtel Crabapples are next.

* You might have to bear with me for a bit, I am sure there will be more gardening posts to come. When I get spring fever it's the "flora on the brain" strain, and this year I seem to have it bad.

Pretty in Pink

Isn't she lovely...



Today was a day of wet and grey perfection. Rain. Wonderful spring rain. The kind of rain that harbors the magical powers of awakening. While at my in-laws today, I ventured out back for a brief moment during a break in the clouds only to be greeted by the beauty of my favorite flowering fruit tree, the nectarine, in full glory. It was just so pretty I ran to get my simple little camera (the fancy model is still on my wish list). The top picture with grey clouds in the background is my favorite.
And although we only live about 10 minutes from my in-laws (my parents as well), our nectarine tree (below, also taken today) is sadly behind the times. Why is it that the trees and bushes in older parts of town bloom sooner than their more juvenile counterparts? Is a matter of age or geography? Any horticulturists out there want to venture a guess?

Anyway... It's spring, and I'm loving it! Can't wait for the crab-apples to bloom.

I dream in Color

I dream in wildflower color...

Domesticated flower color...
And, I dream of the days when our flower beds looked like this, and the above flowers were in bloom...This bout of daydreaming has been brought on by the abundance of colorful seed catalogs in the mailbox of late.
My favorite is Wildseed Farms, where you can buy seeds by the beefy ounce (& even pound), not the usual flimsy envelope...

After gazing at all of this floral eye candy, I felt prompted to take a little walk around our own dreary yard. This is what I found. Hold on.... Do you see it?

A miniscule splash of breathtakingly, fresh COLOR, and this time I’m not dreaming.
***Beautiful photo at the top of this post found here***