A Second Look

 If you read here, years ago, I did a weekly feature to see what was happening around my yard. I called it a Second Look. (Here's the post that started it all.) I did modified versions of it after we moved, but our new yard didn't seem as interesting, so I gave up on it. But it seems that's the kind of posts I'm doing recently, so I'm bringing back a Second Look.

BTW, still busy here, but hopefully next week, after things slow down a little, I'll check back in with more news. But until then, here's this week's Second Look.

All of our dianthus died over the winter except this one little clump
with this one little flower. 

Remember the fig tree that grew wildly last summer? We transplanted it in the fall from the pot it was in to this spot. I think the transplant went okay, but the branches did not survive the single-digit temps we had in December. However, we are getting growth from the roots. Apparently, this is typical for figs in our area. So, if all goes well, we will have a healthy fig bush instead of a dead fig tree.

We have two poppy plants that the previous owner planted. However, the spot they are in is now shaded and covered with ground cover. Last year, we had no blooms, so I didn't expect any this year. But a few days ago, I spied a spot of red in the bed and found we did have a bloom. However, I missed its peak, so you see a picture of a faded bloom.

We've been having some haze and redder suns from the wildfires in Canada.

I am particularly happy we have our first blooms from these Siberian irises. We had a lot of these at our old house, enough so that I gave a bunch to a friend. She grew them for a while and then gave some back to me. So, these were originally mine. This house is a much better fit than our old one, but I miss the yard and flowers we had there. So having a bit of the old at our new house makes me happy.

A surprise azalea bloom.

Bachalor's buttons

Robins have been building nests on top of our porch support columns for a few years. They had returned this year to spruce up their old nests. However, one morning we found three of their nests on the ground, mostly intact. Still trying to figure out what kind of animal did that. 

The robins immediately started to rebuild. However, on this spot, a wren has taken over. You can see that a robin uses mainly grass, while a wren uses primarily sticks.

Until next time...

Hello, Again.

Hello, again. Time for a quick check-in.

 I've found plenty to keep me busy here with outdoor projects when the weather is good and ongoing indoor projects when the weather is bad. Per usual, I'm behind where I want to be on getting veggies planted but making progress. I hope to get tomatoes planted in the next couple of days, including moving volunteers to a more desirable location. The real question is, where do I want to plant the wildly growing cherry tomatoes. We like to eat them, but they take up a lot of room. 

But the outdoor work will have to wait because today is grocery shopping and cleaning because we have company coming tomorrow. My nephew is getting married on Saturday, and family is coming to town for it. First up is to find out what is causing the smell in the office. So far, haven't found it. And, of course, Ward doesn't smell it. But the cup of coffee he is drinking may have something to do with that.  

Also, here's what's blooming in the yard this week.

Coral bells. Even though these are pink, every time I see them, I break out in song with "White Coral Bells."

The first iris has bloomed.

Salvia

Honeysuckle. Honeysuckle can take many forms, including as an invasive vine. However,
this is a bush and well-contained, so we can enjoy the heavenly smell without the aggravation.

The lily of the valley is fading.

There is one lone bachelor's button blooming. 

Amsonia. We moved these last fall, so I'm happy to see that they are doing well.

This rhododendron bush did not come out of the winter well and is looking scraggly. I hope it bounces back because this was a bush we planted in remembrance of my mother.

Another rhododendron in another part of the yard is doing better.

Vinca groundcover

A few phlox are still blooming.

The last of the azaleas.

Until next time...

And Then There Was One

Our cat, Leo, died today. I had four cats when I started this blog, and now the only one left is Leo's sister and litter mate, Annie. Leo lived a good, long life. He would have been 20 years old at the beginning of September. 

We got Leo and Annie at a Petsmart adoption day. I wasn't sure we needed two more cats (they wanted them to be adopted together), but I finally agreed to take them. The rest of the family were thrilled. Leo and Wally were still at home and were very excited about the idea of two more cats joining Lucy and Lucky. Lucy and Lucky weren't too happy with the new arrivals but eventually adjusted. 

Leo and Annie were around 4 months old when we got them. They had been in foster care since a very young age until they could be fixed. The story we were told was that they were born to a barn cat and the only two surviving from a five-kitten litter. Supposedly, a young child in the family had killed the others. 

We used to call Leo our puppy. He adored Ward and followed him wherever he went. When Ward would come home from work, Leo would come from wherever he was and jump up and greet Ward - very much like a dog. Leo was more mellow than his sister and loved to be held. When he was being held, he rewarded you with the biggest purr. 

Leo was also laid back and didn't always seem to be the smartest one of the bunch. But he was much brighter than he let on. He was the only one of our cats who figured out how to get over the barrier we installed in the basement to keep the cats out of Theo's workshop. We found him repeatedly on the other side, and we couldn't figure out how he accomplished it. So we would rearrange things and make things higher and tighter, but we would find him on the other side again. Repeatedly. We never once figured out how he did it. Eventually, we gave up and took the barrier down. Luckily, he didn't play with any of Theo's things. 

Leo, you will be missed.

I know that this is part of owning a pet. They don't live forever. But this part sucks.

Leo is the one standing up.

That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles

For Christmas, Theo got me a gift card to Crumbl Cookies, which specializes in fresh-baked cookies. Crumbl is a franchise company that started in Utah in 2017 and rapidly expanded during the pandemic. There have been mixed reviews about the company, but here was my experience when I recently visited them.

The store was bright and clean. There were eight people working behind the counter; some were waiting on customers, some were mixing and baking, and some were filling orders. Our order was taken and filled with little waiting. The menu featured seven different kinds of cookies and changes weekly. The cookies are big, thick, and chewy; each was about 5" across and weighed about 1/4 lb. As you might guess, they weren't cheap, but not too bad when you compare them with other bakery items. We got four cookies for about $16. 

Cookies and cream milkshake

As for the taste, we all thought they were very good and were sorry when they were gone. However, they were big enough that they lasted a few days because a whole cookie was too much for one setting. (Well, I could have eaten a whole one at once, but I would have been on sugar overload.) 

Classic chocolate chip

Would we go back? Yes, especially since I still have some money left on my card. But I would also go back and spend my own money on a special treat or occasion. 

Chocolate chocolate chip with 3 kinds of chips

Buttermilk pancake (sugar cookie with maple and buttercream frosting

 Thanks, Theo, for the gift. It's one that I probably wouldn't have gotten for myself, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Until next time...

Note: I probably should have washed off the counter before taking pictures. Oh, well. I can't do them over because the cookies are gone. :)

Just when I thought it was okay to go into the water...

 

The dogwoods are the last spring flowering trees to bloom and my favorite.

Or, to say it another way, just when I thought it was okay to put out sensitive plants, we had a freeze. Technically, our last freeze date is not until May 15, so this was not unheard of, but I got fooled. February was warm instead of snowy, and last week we had temperatures in the 80s F. Some plants were covered for the frost and did okay, and some were uncovered and had damage. Oh, well. However, the grass is happy and growing like crazy. It's definitely a busy mowing time of year.

As far as vegetables go, I bought broccoli plants this year. I have always had better success with plants from a nursery than those I have started from seed. We shall see how these do. Also, I've planted radishes, beets, and carrots using old seeds. I sewed them liberally, hoping for enough germination to make it worth the effort. I'm also nursing along some volunteer tomato plants. In a few weeks, after our last freeze date, I will plant the warmer-weather veggies. Some years, I start seeds ahead of time, but not this year. However, if truth be told, I usually wait for extras from friends who start a lot of seeds and have more than they can use. It's a win-win situation. They like to see their plants get used, and I am happy to get them.

And speaking of starting seeds, I will be doing a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) program in May on plants. As part of that, the kids will start bean seeds in plastic bags. Prepping for that, I've been starting seeds every week, so I can have examples at various stages for them to see. I am having fun watching the details of the emerging plants. The beans came from the grocery store, and so far, great northern beans sprout faster than the pinto ones. And the pinto beans' stems twist more, causing problems sometimes. This exercise is meant to see how seeds germinate and plants develop, but starting the seeds in the dirt would probably be better for growing them to harvest. The transplanting has not gone very well so far.

Otherwise, April seems to have evaporated. I'm not sure where all of the time has gone, but Easter and Wally's birthday celebration took up the first part of the month. Also, April is the time for several annual/semi-annual appointments, such as the dentist. Perhaps I need to better organize them and spread the appointments over the year. And let me just mention again I am very blessed to have good insurance. My job doesn't pay much, but it has good benefits. I do not take this for granted.

We took a hike on a local rail trail as part of Wally's birthday celebration.

And when the weather is not cooperating for outdoor work, I am continuing to work on the tribute/this-is-your-life for my father-in-law. And as these projects go, I spend more time than I would like with computer issues than with actual content. The latest has been trying to get PDF files into another format so they can be used by another program. That is, trying to do that without paying for the expensive ADOBE software.

Anyway, we just keep plugging along here with everyday stuff.

Until next time...