I snapped a picture this morning of Happy taking a snoozle on the arm of the recliner in the library.
She looked rather comical with all the fluff overflowing the arm of the chair.
~~Rhonda 🙂
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does this picture make me look fat?
May 23, 2008 – 4:13 pm
yard work
May 22, 2008 – 9:56 am
Wednesday DH and I were able to do a little yard work. It consisted mainly of cutting up and carting off the pear tree and the broken limb on the mulberry. We also mulched a couple of beds.
The pear tree fell over after the ground became saturated from all the rain we’ve been having. It had been listing anyway.
We’ll have to move the hostas sometime soon. Not sure where we’ll put them yet. The ‘Squash Casserole’ (the light green one) really liked it here. I hope moving it will not set it back any.
The mulberry tree is very old and the large limbs sink a little lower each year. Thankfully, it is a male tree so we don’t get the mess of dropped fruit. This picture was taken in October of 2006.
Under this gnarled and twisted tree is a quiet shady place that stays cool even on hot summer days. There is a tiny spring that seeps up through the ground here, keeping things damp. With the limbs hanging down, it’s like a quiet green room. But this year, one big branch actually cracked in half and fell. It will change the look of the “room” for sure. DH spent some time with the chainsaw and we cleaned up the limb and all the resulting debris. I wanted this done before the annual church picnic which will be held here on Sunday.
The mulberry tree is home for a lot of hostas. Not sure what we’ll do if we lose the mulberry tree in the next few years. It will be a lot of plants to move.
‘Thunderbolt’ is one of my favorites.
‘Wheaton Blue’ was planted in 2006 and has really thrived here.
‘Radiant Edger’ was also planted in 2006. It is a smaller hosta.
I really like the coloration on the leaves.
I was sitting on the lawn tractor under the pawpaw tree while DH loaded cut wood into the wagon and looked up to see there are a few pawpaw flowers still hanging on.
The pawpaw tree has grown up against the mulberry branch, which has made it lopsided. Now that the branch is gone, perhaps the tree will fill out.
In other parts of the yard, the irises are just about at peak. I’m posting this picture in a larger size than usual so you can see the beautiful “black” irises. These particular ones are showing their first blooms this year, though we’ve had them since 2005. Not sure why they didn’t bloom before! The one in the foreground is ‘Wild World’ and has an orange beard. The one behind it (which we plan to move because we don’t want two black ones next to each other) is ‘Dark Passion.’ It’s beard is dark.
One of the work horse irises is this old yellow one. You can see it in the background of the above photo. Not sure where we got it, but it blooms and blooms and blooms. It may have the longest bloom period of any iris we have.
I don’t know the name of these but they are stunning. This picture was taken in the harsh light of midday. I should get another one in the evening to do the color justice.
The fenced garden is changing. Gone is the white of the candytuft and the pinks and purples of the columbine are now showing off. The peonies are just beginning to open. The large light green leaves in the right foreground (inside the fence) are hollyhocks.
‘Sorbet’ is my favorite peony. It’s so big and lush and I love the coloring with the little fluff of cream between the pink petals.
The hosta ‘Blue Angel’ is looking pretty good, though I’ve noticed some little holes…we may have a slug problem. We’ll have to look into that.
Next to ‘Blue Angel’ is ‘Paradigm.’
Spring is my favorite garden season. 🙂 ~~Rhonda
our kitties
May 20, 2008 – 11:07 am
Someone said, “Dogs have masters, cats have staff.” Seems to be the case around here.
We started with Happy when DD was three years old. She is DD#3’s kitty, but she thinks she is DH’s cat. She loves him. When DH and I sit down to chat, Happy comes from anywhere in the house and sits between us. She is the jealous “other woman.”
Happy and DH share some nap time.
Happy used to be an indoor cat. She is timid and the outdoors frightened her. But she enjoys it now. She is not a friendly cat and will growl at strangers. The vet says we should put “Un” in front of her name. 😀 It’s funny, considering her personality, how much she loves DH.
We do have a cat who is totally indoors. Buttercup belongs to DD#3. Two years ago, on Good Friday, friends called to ask if DD#3 could come to the city park to play. Her older sister took her over and a few minutes later I get a pleading phone call…”Can I have a kitty??” The friends had six kittens they were taking to the animal shelter. I called DH thinking he would say no. He said yes! Oh, my. So DD brought home a cute little cat and promptly named her Buttercup. She packed Buttercup around for the entire Easter vacation. They SO bonded. We’re glad we agreed when DD asked if she could have the kitty. Buttercup is the best cat…sweet tempered, loving, adores DD, gentle at all times. She’s a great cat.
Buttercup slept with DD from the beginning and still does. She likes to put everyone to bed. She first goes to bed with DD and stays with her until she’s asleep. When we prepare to go to bed, she races to our room, jumps on the bed, and waits for us. After we’re in bed, she stays with us for about five minutes, then heads back to DD’s bedroom where she spends the night.
As you can imagine, the new cat did not sit well with Happy. This is when Happy began to enjoy the outdoors. Now she is an outdoor cat with indoor privileges.
Buttercup seems to enjoy being on her back. DD carries her around like a baby. She used to nap on her back a lot.
Now she’s a grown up kitty, but she still likes to snuggle with DD.
We had an outdoor cat named Holly. She was DD#2’s cat. Three years ago, she disappeared in March. That summer the yard was overrun with rabbits. We didn’t realize how well she had controlled the bunny population until she was gone. In a yard with as many flowers and plants as we have, that’s an important contribution. So, two years ago, we decided DD#2 should get another outdoor cat. She set off for a friend’s house where kittens were waiting to be adopted and came home with Zilli. When DH and I saw her for the first time, we said (in unison) “she’s too cute to put outside!” Zilli was only seven weeks old and tiny. Probably too little to be away from her mother. DD nursed her along for about a week and then she was fine.
She is still small, but she’s feisty. There is no contest about who the alpha cat is around here. If the male cats get in her way, she just slugs them and moves on. I should say, though, that Zilli is a friendly happy cat. She’s not mean. Just the boss. 🙂
Zilli is now an outdoor cat with indoor privileges. But she was an indoor cat while so small, so we decided we needed another outdoor cat and sent DD back to the friend’s house for another kitten. She brought home Zilli’s litter mate Zak. Zak bonded with me.
Zak is another outdoor cat with indoor privileges. He spends most mornings asleep on the living room sofa, but spends most of the rest of the day/night outside. He is a friendly happy kitty.
DD#2 captured this picture of Zak and Zilli in August of 2006. They still hang together, though Zilli is the boss.
Suddenly we were up to four cats. How did that happen?? Then we were adopted by Pippin. He showed up on the back porch one day in September of 2006, and it’s still his favorite place to be. He was weak and malnourished, limped, looked like he’d been in more than one cat fight, and his fur was falling out. Sad looking beast. Now he’s healthy and happy. Still limps at times. DH thinks he may have arthritis. He is DD#1’s cat. Totally an outdoor cat. He is only allowed in the basement during the winter when the weather is bad.
In May of 2007, we were again adopted by a stray cat. DD named him Oreo and claims him as her own. He was small enough when he came that it was obvious he was in his first year. Now he’s a large healthy outdoor cat. Very friendly. When he first came, we had to feed him on the east porch because Pippin wouldn’t allow him on the back porch where the other cats are fed. Now that he’s grown, he’s one of the gang and has no problem with Pippin.
I never dreamed we’d have six cats at one time, but somehow it has turned out that way. All the kitties are neutered and see the vet regularly for shots and checkups. They all wear collars and all but Pippin and Oreo have ID chips. We wouldn’t want to be without any of them. 🙂
~~Rhonda
sisters’ weekend
May 17, 2008 – 10:35 pm
I, my four sisters and our two sisters-in-law try to get together for a weekend every year or two. This is the weekend. 🙂
While we gathered in the motel room, waiting for everyone to arrive, Paula caught up on the local news.
Of course, as it usually happens when we have a family get-together, someone decided we had to make a Wal-Mart run. Why is that?? So off we headed for Wal-Mart, then picked up pizzas to take back to the motel. We enjoyed the pizzas while we watched the movie “Enchanted.”
Saturday morning, we went antiquing. We visited two antique malls. I will have to take pictures of the items I found. It’s always fun to look! Addyson slept through the first mall. Later in the day, her Grandma picked her up for the evening.
Margaret and Mary are the twins in our family. They are 18 months younger than I am.
Addyson had a little picnic (a few ounces of formula) and then we packed her off to the next antique mall. She was very agreeable to antiquing with her Aunt-iques.
In the afternoon, we drove out to the state park and enjoyed lunch, overlooking the lake.
Is she not the cutest thing? Looks just like her daddy, I’m thinkin’.
After lunch we retired to our rooms for a while. Some visited, some napped, I blogged part of this post. Later we met at our parents’ house, then took them out to dinner at a nearby steak house to celebrate Dad’s 75th birthday. I took this shot for 7 Days of Shooting for “Shiny Saturday”…my family reflected in a shiny ball.
Here they are for real. 🙂
There was some discussion about what to do next…take a walk? work on a craft project? play a game? We settled on playing “Apples to Apples.” If you don’t have this game, get it! Lots of fun, a great ice-breaker, a game that fits a wide range of ages.
Lots of laughter!
I even let Genny take a picture of moi.
Tomorrow AM, Genny and I plan to visit Dad for a while before heading home in time for church. We’ve had a fun sisters’ weekend, enjoyed beautiful sunny weather, and stored away another batch of family memories. I hope you’ve had a great weekend, too.
Next day…Goodbye! Sisters’ Weekend is over for another year…
~~Rhonda
quilt along ~ week 3
May 16, 2008 – 11:55 am
I quickly pieced the blocks for week 3 of Amandajeans’s quilt along this morning. I am attending Sisters’ Weekend with my four sisters and two SILs today through Sunday and wanted to get these done before I left. Done!
This is “Ohio Star” for the cottage quilt, for which I’m using soft colors.
And this is for the snowflake fabric quilt top.
I’m feeling better for being caught up and ready for block four on Monday. ~~Rhonda
around the yard
May 15, 2008 – 9:59 am
Last year we had a hard freeze in April that decimated the iris blooms. This year they must be making up for that as they are loaded with blossoms. If we get no rain next week, the yard should be gorgeous and ablaze with color.
The large lilacs are done, but the Korean lilacs and Lilac ‘Miss Kim’ are blooming right now.
Korean Lilac
‘Miss Kim’ is a very fragrant lilac and a bit later than the Koreans.
We’ve had a lot of rain the past week, with more coming today. Everything is soaked. When we walk across the grass, it squishes like a sponge.
Hosta ‘June’
The St. Louis news had a story about the trees that are falling over due to the complete saturation of the ground. Our pear tree has been slightly off kilter for some time, but today it has fully reclined. Just got too top heavy for the wet ground, I guess. DH plans to cut it down. We will have to move all the hostas.
The hostas are doing great so far. They grow quickly with all the rain we’ve had.
Hosta ‘Inniswood’ and Hosta ‘Gold Tiara’
Color is popping up all over the yard. This old yellow rose came from a plant that belonged to DH’s paternal great-grandmother.
Our first peony opened this week. This is ‘Illiani Warrior.’
‘Lavender Lady’ will be next.
I love the soft wooly grey of Lamb’s Ear.
The geraniums are beginning to bloom. This one contrasts nicely with the hosta ‘Pineapple Upside Down Cake.’
When DH gets home from work, the first thing we do is walk the yard. Have to see what bloomed today! 🙂
~~Rhonda
a little yard work
May 14, 2008 – 1:56 pm
Today is cool and cloudy, a little light mist. We did go out and do about an hour and a half of yard work, but when the mist came up it was too chilly to stay out. Temps are about 60*F.
DH moved the two Paradigm hostas that were sitting too close to the Blue Angel.
And he mulched them.
A few new irises are out today.
‘Holy Night’
This one came from my mother’s sister. Because we don’t know the name, we call it “Aunt Jane.” It has a smallish flower, but is intensely fragrant. The scent will carry quite a distance. Lovely!
Iris “Granny Ellis” ~ We were given this iris from the yard of a dear woman from our church family. Not knowing the actual name, we named it after her.
Just beginning to open is Iris ‘Fiord.’
I bought Iris ‘Clarence’ because that is my paternal grandfather’s name.
Iris ‘Sierra Grande’ is a beautiful blossom.
‘Michigan Pride’ opened yesterday.
As did ‘Mary Frances.’
‘Celtic Prince’ also opened yesterday.
I’ll post other pictures from around the yard later. Right now, I have laundry to do. 🙂 ~~Rhonda
flutterbies
May 11, 2008 – 2:37 pm
I always thought flutter-by was a better name than butterfly for these beautiful fluttering insects. Yesterday we went to the Butterfly House in Chesterfield, Missouri. As soon as we walked in, a large butterfly landed on DH’s shoulder.
The Butterfly House is in a large atrium, with butterflies everywhere!
At the far end of the atrium was a lovely little resting spot, overlooking the lake just outside the glass.
The house rule is “No touching the butterflies.” The butterflies operate under no such rule, though. They are free to touch you if they want to.
The nursery is fascinating. You can watch the butterflies emerging from the cocoons.
Look how big!
Besides the atrium, there were many displays to enjoy.
There were other insects to explore, including these millipedes.
DS#2 and DDIL joined us for the day.
DD particularly enjoyed the caterpillar sculpture outside the atrium.
After the Butterfly House, we stopped by the Container Store…at least DDIL and I did. DD and the guys went to Circuit City. 🙂 I had never been to the Container Store before. What fun! Then we made the required trip to the book store. Can’t go to the “city” without a stop at a bookstore. A fun day.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there. Enjoy! ~~Rhonda