Garden stuff: 2008.

Summer is officially here. I'm starting to get some morning glories. I took these pictures just before work this morning.

Right now they are at a manageable size - but they are extending their vines, reaching out as we speak.

I tie up strings so they can grow up over the garden fence they are on.

They end up covering the corner of my garage and the same with my side porch.

More pictures as they progress. I like them at this size because you notice individual flowers more, but as they grow bigger, then you notice all the color at once. It's a trade off I guess.

Corner of my side porch where the morning glories are already reaching the porch roof.

This is a good place for revolving plants in and out of the sun. I switch them all every couple of days.

I was standing on a lawn chair, tying up strings for the morning glories to climb on.

This was shooting over my head and over the edge of the porch roof - right into afternoon sun.

Worked out fine. I was even lucky with the focus.

Also just off the porch, I have some red lily flowers growing. Aimers gave me bulbs a couple years ago.

Each year they get bigger and prettier. Wish I knew the name of them.

Nice thing about them is I don't have to dig them up in the winter.

Must be because they are close to the house and don't get as cold / frozen.

Monday Night Pictures.

Liatris spicata. If you knew great. I didn't. Actually they are tall stalks of purple flowers about two to four feet tall. I took a picture looking down at a short one.





Phlox from the garden. Purple, white, and red flowers seem to be flourishing this year. Except for the sunflowers, all my yellow flowers are taking a beating. It seems cyclical. Some years it is the opposite.




I'm still trying to get the aperture mode right. On my old camera it was set the F-stop, focus and click. This one keeps trying to autofocus / adjust settings on it's own. Even with auto turned off (I think). Anyway, I want to give the impression of tons of them growing together. I'm impressed they all have come back from seed the last couple years.




Cubbie follows me around all over the yard and garden, and who do I take a picture of instead? Bob (the cat). He didn't even notice me.

Murphy and more.

Thanks for the idea Deb. Ha.

Clint's new puppy Murphy.

Bad picture - I didn't want to wake him with the flash. Mix of black lab and ?? bulldog, maybe? A cutie.



Cubbie watching Rama. Whom is watching for young birds to take a tumble from a nearby tree.



Bob (the cat) watching our other flank. There have been coyote sighting lately. He's got to be careful.



So simple: I hang tray from one nail (one on each side of the pillar of course). Tray hangs crooked all year dropping potting soil when it get splashed.



Young unfettered mind: Clint hung the other tray on the other pillar. Two nails on each side. One in the bend - to the left. One above the hook. Hangs straight. (By the way, the two marks in the hook are old nail holes I made from last year.) Ha.



Mother's Day Flower. What a disaster. I took it back, got credit for another and got to keep the remains. Never throw anything out. I'll plant the good part somewhere.




New replacement. Someone help me out with the name. Starts with "N"?

I really like these but every year I forget they exist. I buy all the flowers I need earlier so by the time these bloomed and were ready for sale, I didn't need / or have any room for them.

Same this year. These are going to Mumsy.

15 second video. Saturday planting with Wilco.

Peace.

Excuse the lack of enthusiasm in my voice. Planting flowers is relaxing but also a long drawn out task. This was after about 2 hours of cleaning out / digging out areas for bulbs. Amy always gives me too many things to plant - she has a terrible concept of gardening space (room). I always make them fit somehow. Ha. She just enjoys the cuttings later in the year. Kids.



NPR is my station of choice on Saturday afternoons but it also scares me a bit because I used to associate it with older people. Saturdays have Car Talk, Whad'ya Know?, 3 hours of Blues from Northern Illinois Dekalb, Prairie Home.

Anyway, maybe its catching up with me. Wilco (described as a Chicago alt band - with the "alt" out of touchingly mispronounced as "alt" in altitude) was featured on A Prairie Home Companion. That made me feel better - I catch so much crap from my kids when they hear one of the "banjo" or "fiddle" type groups that are more the norm.


Happy Mother's Day to all it applies to. I'm walking over two yards to celebrate Mumsy's at my sister's house in about an hour. Hope it warms up some. I'm feeling guilty being inside but I needed to let my deviled eggs warm up to room temperature. Sooo good. Sooo bad for you. Or so "they" say - I'll still enjoy them with potato salad and burgers today.



Rock and Roll Mumsy 5-13-2007.