Glad to be inside! (Thankful Thursday)

Rick brought in the last blooming gladiolus after digging all the glad bulbs. There *was* frost this morning, after all.

I'm very thankful for my husband's thoughtfulness. He never stops making me smile.

 

New and Improved Silly Caterpillar!

Edited and improved Silly Caterpillar!
Originally uploaded by sunspotting.

Now our silly, smiling caterpillar has an environment! See the grass, flowers, and mushroom!

Wow, this was so much fun. We learned a lot about building a good ecosystem for our little caterpillar. Sure looks happy to be there.

 

Pre-race Silliness

Pre-race Silliness
Originally uploaded by sunspotting.

Why the foamy stuffs? Mountain bike bling?

We saw this on our way to the start line. It just struck me as odd in so many ways; perhaps it's something a child made and gave the bike owner. It hangs so as to be a bit mechanically distracting to normal bike operations.

I don't know. If it were me, I'd want to rip it off after the first 12 miles or so. Lucky for the foam flower, it's not.

 

Hot weather produces great beauty.

Milkweed (Asclepias spp.) with milkweed bug (family Hemiptera, Oncopeltus fasciatus. Beautiful!

flowers for our 1st wedding anniversary

Just the way I like them, too: still in the ground and growing.

 

Hibiscus.

Earlier today, one of the very nice people from Heights Garden Center came over and complimented us on this lovely plant. How nice! Especially since WE didn't make it pretty. WE just dug a hole and put it in. It's been on its own ever since.

Red and Yellow Thrill a Fellow ...er, ME

The color in our front yard continues to amaze me, as does the staying power of these poppies.

The cranesbill (periwinkle-colored blooms just beyond the poppies) are no slackers, either!

Normally I'm not wild about pink, but...

...there always has to be an exception! These are the first hollyhocks of the season. In *our* yard, at least. I've seen them blooming in other people's gardens for about 2 weeks now, and I am delighted to have some blooms in mine!

The next bloom will be black, my favorite. It's extraordinary.

 

Inter-Hosta Spike

Nice. We are hoping this lupine will rebloom (is that a word?) this season. At least we are hoping for some multiplication. It's too nice an additon to our backyard to hope otherwise.

Front Yard Fancies

Geraniums. This variety grows wild in Ohio woods, and when they're seen in a wooded glade, they are called Cranesbill. But here in my front yard, it's another lovely purpley-blue flower that goes by the name 'geranium'.

Day's Eye

Our daisies are growing simply *everywhere*! This one is part of a clump that sprang up between our brick steps and asphalt (who's fault?) driveway. Persistent! And I love them.

Columbines!

They came back in droves to brighten our front garden beautifully this year. I love columbines!

Green Car? Hybrid? SOMEthing...

May I present (fanfare, please!) The Sproutmobile! Some mystery seed found a home on one of our VW Golfs. I'm not sure *what* that says. I *am* sure, though, that we won't let this odd sprout grow to full maturity just to find out what the screaming heck it is...

The Rabbit and the Wolf(flower)

I did NOT plant that lupine there to feed the local wildlife! That's for MY eyeballs!

Don't get me wrong. I love rabbits; the babies are extra cute. But come ON!! Nosh on the buttercups, for cri yi! There's tons of that. I've only got one lupine.

Please don't make me hanker for hassenpfeffer.

Thanks.

 

Color Swatch

Just a small taste of our developing front yard. The bulb plants and red ossier dogwood are done blooming for the season. The rudbeckia and cannas aren't anywhere near their full height, let alone blooming. So today there is beauty and drama, but there is promise of plenty more to come!

I have to give credit to my ever hard-working husband. The garden is his masterpiece. There is some naturalizing involved, but he has done all the digging and initial planting. He amazes me, and each year our yard looks more lovely than it did the last.

Dog's Eye View

Cleo and I are listening to an amazingly melodious robin in our tree (*OUR* tree! How lucky is that? It's a guarantee, like having 'The Robin Channel' on the radio!) and occasionally the visiting dog next door, who is (so far *only*) intermittently yappy. I love our little backyard.

Criminy. Not AGAIN. Not TWICE in a Day.

Criminy. Not AGAIN. Not TWICE in a Day.
Originally uploaded by sunspotting.

Well, now we know why I don't EVER pick the flowers from our yard for interior flower-strewing: they really WILL be strewn. Note the tasteful and artistic reflecting pond that cascades down the face of the dresser and moistens the table linens within.

Arrangement by Rebecca. REarrangement by Anonymous F*c%ng Cat.

 

I guess this makes me paparazzo...

...that's one of the baby bunnies. But probably not 'THE babies'. Check your local tabloid before freaking out...

The Grandpa Stone and the Allium

The flower is one of Rick's favorites, for how ethereally symmetrical and oddly perfect it is. But they are toxic for dogs, being part of the onion family, so it must be in the front yard to keep the back yard safe for Cleo. She likes its grass-like foliage.

The Grandpa Stone once was one of several lining the driveway of my Grandpa Kopsell's farm. Each spring they were freshly painted bright white. You can see the remnants of the last painting, done in his own hand. I am allowing it to weather; I don't care, myself, for painted stones, and as this stone is not being used as a guideline for nighttime drivers or widely-spaced tractor tires, it no longer needs to be as bright. The effect is appropriate.

When we grandkids were young, we would play balancing games on them, which was very challenging, given how widely spaced they were. We weren't supposed to do that; of course, we weren't supposed to play in the barnyard when the steer were out either...

(Simply amazing, isn't it, that any of us 'of a certain age', made it to maturity? Though there are those who make the argument that we've still got a ways to go.)

When he left the farm, the stones went with him. When he left this world, my mom asked for a stone for me and for my brother.

I treasure my Grandpa Stone and the still-vivid memories it helps me nurture alongside our plants in the garden.

Impressive Feat

Tired now, but resilient, these tulips have been blooming for almost a month. Love that azalea, too!