Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Ah! Spring!

I must say that I do love spring! The flowers, the green, the smells, etc. Judy's gardens are beginning to 'color-up'. (Yes, I made up that word. Good, huh?) I just had to share some of the pictures. The grass (my job) is about half-way in the greening process. Just turned the sprinkler system on last week, and this week we are getting rain. No better watering system than what drops from the sky. God is the best at watering and growing.


Here you can see the light green Lamb's Ear along the sidewalk. It really does feel soft and fuzzy, just like a lamb's ear. At the far right is white Candy tuft. At the corner is a pink dogwood. She planted the dogwoods when they were about 2 inches high, so after 3+ years, the first one of them bloomed (6 pink blooms). If you click on the picture (to make it bigger) you can see her cinnamon stick fern between the red azalea and oak tree. Of course the big red bushes are azaleas. The hydrangeas are not yet blooming, but you can see them just to the left of the oak tree. And there are hosta plants all along, as well.


Standing in the street, you can see yellow irises, some red flowers that edge the garden (we can't remember what they are called. Anybody know?), some small clumps of daffodils called Lauras, some pansies, and of the course, the youpon holly bush standing up in the center of the garden. It is beautiful in the winter with all its red berries. In a few weeks, this round garden will be edged with white alyssum. And soon, scattered around both gardens, the foxglove will bloom with whites and pinks and yellows. (Foxglove is what is used to make digitalis for the heart, but can be poisonous if eaten in this stage.)


Just a last shot, standing in the yard. All along the sidewalk edge, Judy has planted small impatiens which will grow to give a nice red edge to the garden. Watch the growth of her garden throughout the summer, right here. And maybe I will be able to include her backyard gardens and vegetable plots in days to come. Also, my apples, pears, blueberries and kiwi.

Friday, April 09, 2010

Springtime notes

Hallelujah! It is spring! My favorite time of the year. So much is happening to bring life again to the earth. Our yard is beginning to fill with flowers, the grass is turning green, etc. My blueberry plants are putting out. I am happy about this because I wondered about their survival through the winter, but all three made it. My apple trees are in full bloom (could be a bumper year). My pear tree is absolutely loaded!! The above picture is the Texas Red Quince in my backyard. It is one of our first flowering bushes to show out. Judy's 4 baby dogwoods are doing well, and one of them is actually blooming this year - a pink one, with 5 blooms! Our baby red bud is blooming for the first time. And after 5 years of waiting, our Kiwi vines are going to give out fruit. Wow! It is so exciting!

Here are some of my babies off to school. Olivia and Ava are with us at present. So they are enrolled in Muskogee schools. It is so much fun to get them ready and drop them off at school. They are so delightful, no real problems, always so cheery. They love to do everything for themselves, so they are no trouble at all. We enjoy Kari, their mother, having an extended stay with us, too.

Now who is this young group of men? Well, the skinny guy at the piano is yours truly. Hmmm.... Yep, after 40 years, the bass singer contacted me and sent me this picture along with about 5 of our songs that we recorded in our college days. When I learn how, I will post a few of our quartet songs. Really they are pretty good for kids (you can kinda hear the piano in the background). To name the guys, they are from left to right, Jim, CK, Dan, and Rick. Of course, in my mind they are all young still. My hair is thin and white, and I am not so thin anymore. Still have the serious face. And after 40 years, even I think my piano abilities have improved.