The grands spent the afternoon with us. They love to help in the kitchen. Today we made bread.
And they helped clean out the mixing bowl, too.
~~Rhonda
The grands spent the afternoon with us. They love to help in the kitchen. Today we made bread.
And they helped clean out the mixing bowl, too.
~~Rhonda
The wren is singing loudly outside the kitchen window and the trees look like they are “clapping their hands” in the breeze (Isaiah 55:12). A beautiful Sabbath morning.
The garden gives a glimpse of God’s creation as it moves through the spring bloomers. Color and beauty. Amazing plants and flowers. Inspiration at every turn.
Peonies are some of my favorite flowers and they are beginning to open. Looking through my pictures, I see that the first peony out in 2008 was ‘Lavender Lady’ and she opened on May 18. That must have been a late year, because we usually have peonies the first week of May. This year they are quite early!
‘Sorbet’
‘Krinkled White’
‘Buckeye Belle’
‘Lavender Lady’
I used ‘Lavender Lady’ in a bouquet for church this morning. The lilac is a later blooming one called ‘Miss Kim.’
‘Miss Kim’ is a Korean lilac. She blooms a few weeks later than the larger lilacs in our yard which extends the lilac season nicely. The leaves and blossoms are smaller than the large lilacs and the scent seems more spicy than heavily sweet. The buds are a dark lilac and open to a soft mauve. A great little lilac.
She’s maybe five feet tall. Perhaps a few inches shorter than that. I’ll have to check next time we’re outside. The shrub is planted where we can catch the scent from the both the front and the east porches.
There’s a large patch of Johnny-Jump-Ups in one of the front yard beds. They always remind me of my Grandma Ashby. She had them in her yard on the farm.
Along with the Johnny-Jump-Ups are the Star of Bethlehem. They began popping up in the yard this week.
We dig the little white star out of the beds, but allow it to come up in the grass and around the benches. It can take over in no time, if not held at bay. But it’s so pretty and has that “surprise” element by popping up almost overnight after the leaves begin to fade. We wouldn’t want to be without it.
The only daffodils still blooming are the last of the Poet’s.
The hostas are responding well to the early warm temperatures we’ve had this spring. In this bed, left to right are ‘Golden Tiara,’ ‘Sea Fire,’ ‘Lime Twist (small almost hidden one), ‘Allan P. McConnell,’ and ‘Stiletto.’ I love the rippled, long, thin leaves of ‘Stiletto.’
‘Samurai,’ with the evening sun behind it, glows with bright yellow green this time of the year.
I keep taking pictures of ‘Sagae’ because it looks so pretty with the Sweet William blooming next to it.
Yesterday, DH dug trees out of the flower beds. A perpetual problem. He potted up nine redbud trees. Anyone interested? He planted tomato plants and covered the bed with straw. Zak thought the straw was provided for his amusement.
Earlier this weeek, Zak was intent on watching something. He is a great mole catcher, but I think he may have been listening for the little garter snake that lives along the driveway. That’s one snake I hope he doesn’t catch.
One last picture…I captured this photo of the late blooming dogwood with the setting sun behind it. It brought out the faint pink cast of the blossom.
I hope you are getting outside to enjoy a garden. Or gardens! Or you can go online. It is Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day over at Carol’s May Dreams Gardens. Check out the beautiful gardens there.
Come back soon. We’ll have more pictures!
~~Rhonda
The cooler temperatures haven’t bothered the garden. Things are growing beautifully.
Hosta ‘Samurai’
‘Liberty’
Peonies are beginning to bloom.
‘Festiva Maxima’
‘Flame’
The iris show is beginning. ‘Raspberry Blush’ is one of our earliest.
DH did a lot of mulching this week.
And we enjoyed our first lettuce and spinach from the garden.
Yum!
I love this time of year. Everything is fresh and lush and the temps are enjoyable. I hope you’re able to get out to putter and work in a garden.
You can visit other spring time gardens, or post your own, at Tootsie Time.
~~Rhonda
I tried this recipe today and it is a keeper!
This is the link to the site where I found the recipe for Crock Pot Brown Sugar Chicken. Below is the recipe with the changes I made.
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and six boneless, skinless thighs
3/4 c. white sugar
1 T. unsulphered molasses
2/3 c. white vinegar
1/4 c. Sprite [Next time I will leave this out and add 1 tsp. lemon juice.]
4 minced garlic cloves [Could have used more.]
2 T. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Place the chicken in a greased crock pot. Pour the other ingredients over the chicken. No need to stir. Cook on high for four hours. It could be cooked on low for 8 hours. Serve over rice. The chicken would be delicious served on sandwiches.
If your family likes sweet peppers, I think those would be great in this.
To make the rice, I put the liquid from the crock pot (liquid measured 4 cups) in a saucepan. Added two cups of rice, covered it with a tight lid and brought it to a boil. I immediately turned it down to a bare simmer and let it simmer for 25 minutes without lifting the lid. So good with the chicken!
A green salad and some crusty bread would round out a great meal. The recipe is so easy to make and very good. DH commented several times on how much he liked it. He also mentioned it would be great to take to a church dinner, so maybe some of you will get to try it soon. 🙂 Definitely a keeper.
By the way, I don’t buy brown sugar anymore. I just add some molasses to white sugar. Same thing. Maybe I should change the name of the recipe…
~~Rhonda
I am enjoying watching the Decorah eagles. The first eaglet hatched yesterday and the second one today. One to go.
The parents are very attentive, feeding bits of fish to the babies today.
This is a wonderful opportunity to watch an amazing process up close and personal. You can view the eagle cam here.
~~Rhonda
While enjoying the east porch Saturday afternoon, the girls discovered a line of small ants moving across the railing.
“Look at the baby ants!”
Fascinating!
Having the ant crawl over her fingers and hand didn’t bother her at all. Different story for her sister.
Had to show it to Pa.
Putting the ant back “so he can go home and find his Mommy and his Daddy.”
Long after her sister lost interest, she kept watching and playing with the ants. Her ability to focus on one thing over a long period of time always surprises me.
~~Rhonda