Thankful Sunday

 

I am thankful for rain.

We have been suffering from extreme temperatures and bad air quality from the Canadian wildfires. We had a couple of days of Code Purple for air quality. I guess I'm lucky that I didn't even know that there was a designation beyond Red before this. However, yesterday a series of storms moved across the area and cleared the air. So, today I plan to be outside and enjoy the sunshine and plants around me. And for that I am thankful.

Speed blogging. It rained!

My timer is on 13 minutes today from whatever I was timing previously. Let's see where my stream of consciousness takes me for the next 13 minutes. 

Not from my yard but from our early morning walk in Frederick last week.
The coneflowers in our yard are being eaten by some hungry insects as soon as they bloom.

It's a quiet Sunday morning. Ward is still sleeping, and I miss having fussy cats yelling about their breakfast being late - no matter what time it is. A peek out the window reveals puddles in the driveway. Glorious puddles! We finally had real rain last night - over an inch. Hurray! The thunder started to rumble at bedtime, but I didn't mind because along with it came a real downpour. With the heat and no rain, we've been watering, trying to help the plants cope. For the first time ever, we emptied our entire rain barrel. Now, they have gotten the deep drink they deserve.

Also, from our walk. Our Black-eyed Susans haven't bloomed yet.

More storms are predicted for the afternoon. I think it will be a good day to focus on things inside. We've been using early mornings to work in the yard. We're making good progress on the two-page list we have. Trees have been trimmed, flowers planted, beds edged, bushes trimmed, beds mulched, and plants watered. Despite attention, some plants, including the grass, look pretty stressed from the heat. The heat has turned much of it brown, and the twice-a-week mowing has turned into no mowing. That's one reason we have had time for some of the other yard chores. I have a feeling that last night's rain will change that. 

Another picture from our walk.

In the garden, I have pulled the broccoli and peas. Ward built a nice frame around the broccoli to keep the cabbage butterflies out. Didn't work. They found their way in anyway. Luckily, we got good heads off the plants before the caterpillars started feasting. The side shoots were not so lucky. Oh, well. It was getting too hot for the broccoli anyway. 

I also pulled the pea vines. We got a good crop of peas this year with a couple of meals, and I froze some. We have small zucchini forming and many green tomatoes. And true to form, the deer found the tomatoes and carefully pruned the top 1/3 of all the plants. If that's all they do, that's okay. I'm willing to share. Like I have a choice. :)

Well, there goes my timer.

Until next time...

April Showers

 April Showers Bring May Flowers, 

or April Showers Bring April Flowers

Here are some photos of April flowers around the yard this week.

Grape hyacinth

The sunshine and warm temperatures brought out the bees.

While some daffodils have faded, others are in full bloom.

This is a first time bloom for these. I planted the bulbs from a friend several years ago and they have only shown anemic growth of the leaves. What a special treat to find these blooms.

Wallflower

Violets

The peas have finally come up. Time to put the garden fence up before the rabbits find them.

Our little apple tree is blooming.

As well as one the bigger apple trees.
However, we have never gotten more than an apple or two from it.

The cherry tree is blooming, but the wind is causing its blossoms to rain down.

Another daffodil.

The phlox is in full bloom.

Are April showers bringing April showers where you are?

Until next time...

Weather and Other Things

We've had over 1 1/2 inches of rain so far today.
(Looks like we need to fix the time and date.)

 You know what they say: if people didn't talk about the weather, they wouldn't have anything to talk about. That rings very true to me because the first thing I thought about when beginning this post was to describe the weather. And that's what I'm going to do.

It is a cold rainy day. It's been raining for a few days and will rain for a few more. This afternoon, the system that caused the devastating tornadoes in the Midwest will be coming through. We are told to expect wind, rain, and hail, with a chance of a tornado. As the system moves north, Mary Ellen, who lives in ME, said they expect 2 feet of snow. I know that I am lucky that we will probably not suffer either of these extremes here. I wish strength for all who are dealing with them.

Because of the weather, Ward and I have postponed the errands we had planned for the day. None are urgent, so there's no need to go out in the mess. Instead, I'm puttering around the house, and Ward is in his shop working on a table he is making. He hopes to get some work in before the storms this afternoon.

Miss Landers made a bunny cake for Easter dessert.

However, the weather on Easter Sunday was beautiful. It was a warm, sunny day with temperatures in the low 60s. A perfect day to spend time outside with our company. We had a small family gathering (10) for Easter lunch. We made a few dishes, and others brought the rest. 

I am slowly making progress on our spring yard cleanup. However, we are entering the stage where it is hard to outpace the weeds as we are clearing the dead foilage. I planted peas a couple of weeks ago because the forsythia was blooming—a general rule of thumb for when to plant this cool-weather crop. However, the weather has been cold since then, and I don't see anything sprouting yet. I hope the seeds don't rot in the ground before it warms up.

What's the weather in your neck of the woods?

Until next time...

Thankful Sunday, August 2, 2020

I am thankful for rain.

We got measurable rain last night--a whole 1/2 inch! I'm so happy. I've never lived in an dry climate and don't know if I could. There is something so refreshing about rain--especially when it's been scarce (no measurable rain for weeks here). And to top it all off, we got our new rain barrel installed just in time to get it filled up with the latest rain. The barrel is located close to our vegetable beds, so this should make watering them easier. So for rain along with a full rain barrel, I am thankful.

Day lily

Chrysanthemum 

Caladiums 

Iris leaf with Creeping Sedum

Fig tree

Cucumber

Pool of water in squash blossom. There was a very disappointed bee that couldn't get to the pollen here.

While the rain was going on, baby house wrens were hatching in their dry nest box.

The rain barrel was made from an old olive barrel.

Thankful Sunday, January 6, 2019

I am thankful for returned phone calls. 

And the rain came tumbling down. And down. And down.

2018 was a rainy year. Average yearly rainfall for this area is 42 inches. During 2018, we had over 70 inches and this caused some problems for us. Namely, water in the basement and a leaking roof. But we were not alone. Water was showing up for the first time in many homes and the repair people had more calls than they knew what to do with. Including ours.

During one of the heavy rains we had water seeping into the bedroom where Theo sleeps in the basement. This is not a frequent occurrence in that it has only happened once in the two years we lived here and only a couple more times since the house was built according to the neighbors. However, we don't want it to happen again. I will spare you the details for now but we have been working on getting this addressed since July. Right now we have work for a new drainage system scheduled for the 16th of this month. This will be a major project which involves totally tearing up the room and surrounding area and then putting it all back together with new drywall, flooring, painting, etc.

A couple of months ago, Ward noticed a leak in the corner of the laundry room ceiling. The roof is only four years old and to our untrained eyes still looks brand new with nothing amiss. So I started calling roofers. And call after call, I got the same answer. The rain had gotten them so far behind in their work that they were not doing any repairs, only installing entire new roofs. I was starting to despair, until the 7th company said they would send someone out to look at it. It may be a few months before the whole process can be completed, but at least we have someone who is willing to work with us.

So for the companies who returned our phone calls and have said they will help us, I am thankful.

Thankful Sunday--June 28, 2015

I am thankful for rain.

In some places, there has been no rain. In other places, when it rained, it poured. But here yesterday, I found the rain just right. 

In the morning we had a steady, warm rain and I decided it was perfect time to wash the lawn chairs. So with my water shoes, a raincoat, and a hose, I washed away. And when it was all over, I was wet and smiling. It was like being a kid again and playing in the rain. And this time, I got to make some of my own puddles. :)