Stormy Weather...

We had a few days of almost cloudless weather, and then the spring showers came along. It's been really good for the garden, not so good for the morning walks. 

 

The weather is capricious, this clear sky is what we saw as we went around the bend.

The cool of the night causes a light fog, and the warm mornings burn it off. About ten minutes after I took this picture, the low-lying fog was gone. 

On the way home, this rabbit stood and watched us for a few minutes. He was about ten feet away from us, and although both dogs were showing interest, the bunny didn't move for a bit, and then he casually hopped off, unafraid of the dogs. 

Buddy sulks when it's cloudy and rainy, he doesn't get to go for a walk, and often, he doesn't want to go outside if it is thundering and/or if there's lightning.

Of course, Christian loves it when we stay inside because of the storms, he gets to lollygag all over my desk, occasionally stirring to climb in my lap for a cuddle.

The phoebe chicklets are growing fast, here's all four of them (one is only showing tail feathers).

Richard is still archiving old photos (both hard copy and on digital media). He came across this one. This was taken in 1989. I think it's our last Change Of Command ceremony while in Guam, Richard is wearing his sword because he was the Officer In Charge for the ceremony. The tradition dates back to the old days, when a party of officers was attacked at a gathering, and none had weapons. It was then decreed that the OIC would always have a weapon...hence, the sword.

Around The Deck...

Every year, a little bird called a phoebe makes a nest up in the eaves of the covered part of the deck. When she is there, we cannot use the deck for two reasons - she gets agitated if we appear in what she considers her space, and...she poops all over the deck as she goes back and forth feeding her babies! We only have to wait a few weeks after the chicks are born to get the use of our deck back for a time...and then she builds another nest later in the year, and starts over with more kids! 

Looks as if there are 4 kids this year - I think the middle head is mama.

It's 83 degrees out there today, I suspect the little ones are getting overheated. For the past few years when it's been hot I go out there with the ladder and a spray bottle of water and soak the babies, the nest, and even the wood above them so they don't die of heat stroke. They look like fledglings, I expect they'll be flying off in the next week or so.

 

I'm trying to outsmart the deer and other wildlife this year.  I did it once before with a few pots, but this time, I've expanded my deck garden. Orange tree, lemon tree, tomatilloes, 3 kinds of tomatoes, 2 kinds of squash, cucumbers, bell peppers, jalepeno peppers, poblano peppers, strawberries up on the top rail, and 2 watermelon plants. FYI - I grew the lemon tree from the seeds of a lemon I bought at the store two years ago. It's now about 10 inches high.

This is the herb garden.  It grew like mad and I had to give all the herbs a haircut today.  From left to right, cilantro, basil, parsley, and oregano.

I read online that one can preserve both the flavor and freshness of herbs by putting the leaves in olive oil, and then storing them in the fridge. I found some little jars and did just that. Excuse the hillbilly redneck duct tape label, I couldn't find my nice labels.

A Perfect Horizon...

Usually, when we leave the homestead, the sun isn't visible. It's sunrise, but we can't see it due to the high horizon and trees. But occasionally, we leave a little late, and then we can see it.

 

Sunrise over our trees and driveway.

Going around the bend and down the hill, the sun disappears again, but leaves a coral glow in the clouds.

 

Sammy is so joyful about being out, that she and I run ahead of Richard and Buddy. But every few feet, she stops suddenly, and makes sure that they are still behind us. 

Every year the swallows nest in the crevices under the bridge.  When we approach, they start flying about, trying to chase us away. It's hard to tell in the photo, but there's a cloud of black spots in the air in front of the trees, and one swallow to the left, between the rail and the cement barrier. 

Pa has left a portion of his yard wild, a small patch we call the jungle. It is home to a host of birds, bunnies, and probably other wildlife. There were two bunnies, but one ran off. This one stood still as a statue for several long minutes. When my camera flashed, it took off.

Several turkeys nest just behind the parents' property.  Pa puts out corn for them daily. This young hen came up by herself yesterday. They usually come in groups.  

As we walk down my parents' private road, the scent of roses fills the air. These are wild multi-flora roses, they do not have the big, tight buds or numerous petals of modern roses. The scent is richer, with a slight cinnamon overtone, that accompanies us all the way home.  

We know Spring is here when the robins arrive. Usually, they are fat from winter feeding. As they take to nesting, the birds tend to slim down a bit, from all the work of building a nest and raising their young. This robin was hopping about the yard yesterday. 

We always have butterflies, and though I've seen quite a few, they've not been settling down so I can get pictures! However, this Red-Spotted Admiral finally allowed me to get a photo before it flew off.  

A late-blooming iris.  Just FYI - we planted only light lavender irises. I'm not sure what causes them to change color, but everyone up and down the road now has some white and deep purple irises, too. 

 

A walk about the property revealed that the lilacs I planted to honor the memory of Richard's mother, Alma, are finally blooming. One of them struggled for a couple years, but both are now doing well.

The potato bed is thriving. Yes, we know the bricks need to be re-pointed...all in due time!

The peach tree is thriving, we were worried about the late frost killing the blooms, but we covered it with blankets (and damaged quite a few blooms), and somehow, most of them have turned into peaches! Still have to figure out how to keep the wildlife from eating them before we can harvest!

1rst Week Of May...

We've been taking our daily walk with the dogs, stopping in to visit with Mom and Pa and taking pictures of the scenery and the wildlife. We're working on a number of things in preparation for the visit from family this summer, doing some building, and also planning some surprises for various people! :) There's always a birthday or anniversary to celebrate.

A few years ago, Pa planted a whole bunch of light purple irises along their driveway. With cross-pollination of our local bees, some of the irises have changed colors as the years go on. In this picture there are three colors - dark purple, bi-color, and a golden iris. None of these irises are the original light purple that Pa planted!

The golden iris.  You can see streaks of purple through the petals.

The bi-color iris. 

 The dark purple iris.

The valley we walk through on our way to the bridge has a hay meadow for the neighboring farmer's cows. We've seen lots of critters in the field, skunks, possums, and rabbits, mostly. Occasionally, we are surprised to see low lying fog as we go by, and when we turn around to come home, the fog has burned off  already!

Buddy enjoys the sunlight at the bridge.

Sammy snags a snuggle from Richard at the bridge.

A gathering of daisies in the ditch.

The Missouri primroses are blooming in the rocks and poor soil.

A monarch landed in our yard!

Sammy Takes A Walk...

Richard and I have had an exciting couple weeks.  We were invited to two revivals (and went to both). We've been working inside and out, Richard mowing and cleaning out ditches, me cleaning, writing and even a little sewing.

In the course of talking  with one of our neighbors she mentioned her German Shepherd was jealous of our walks to the bridge with Buddy, so of course, I said I'd be more than happy to walk Sammy with us! Today was the first day Sammy got to walk with us, since we've had rain all week!

Spring is definitely springing, we've had some wild visitors and the green things are growing. 

 

Vanessa Atalanta dropped by. We've had painted ladies, checkerspots, duskywings, swallowtails, a few I don't know the names of, and even a Monarch. However, Vanessa is the only one who stayed still long enough for me to grab a camera. 

 

A blue jay hides in the pines.

     

There's a woodpecker nest to the left of the bird.

 

The irises bloomed.

My peach tree has fruit! We had covered it for the unexpected frost but were afraid we'd lost the blossoms anyway.  Apparently not! Now, if I can only harvest before the deer get the ripe peaches!

 The potato be Richard planted in mid-February, we weren't sure they'd made it through the surprise frost a couple weeks later. They did, and we have very healthy plants growing!

   

Fog drifting in the valley as we walked to the bridge a few days ago.

 

 

Sammy gives Buddy a kiss at the bridge. She enjoyed the walk very much and we'll be walking her with us a lot more often. 

Sunrise And Some Wild Life...

We take our walks early in the morning, often walking out of our driveway before the sun is fully up. The pink stretch is the sun below the horizon, glowing off the clouds. 

It's an odd thing, but through the mile to the bridge, the sky changes colors, and the surrounding area can look completely different in the light just a few yards away as we walk.

 

Pink sky at morning.

 

As we continue down the road, the sun starts comping up.

 

Halfway down the road, the sun plays peekaboo.

 

Along the way, the domestic life takes a peek at the strangers in their midst.

 

A ground web is covered in dew.

 

Not sure of the genus just yet, I'm guessing it's a duskywing, but I'm awaiting confirmation.

I Moved The Furniture Around...

The animals all got discombobulated and had to try everything out as if it was all new!

 

Buddy tests his couch to make sure I didn't do anything to it. 

 

Christian and Emmy have the same body language and expression!

 

Then they settled on the other couch.  Of course, Christian has to stretch out. 

 

This is a rarity - Emmy and Dinah usually fight with each other. 

 

Emmy is a Daddy's girl - she loves Richard.

 

She is more shy around me, but she loves my fuzzy fleece jacket.  

 

Richard was doing something with the tools and Dinah did NOT approve of him setting his drill on her bed. 

And then there's Christian, doing what he does best...napping! I leave these pictures to speak for themselves...