it's that week

There is a week, every spring, that I devote 100% to my yard. I prune, plant, dig, trim, and fertilize everything in sight. During this week, things like my blog, house cleaning, shopping, reading, socializing, etc. get put on hold. Needless to say, this has been that week. While I have managed to take a few pictures along the way, pretty much everything else in my life has been put on the back burner. Monday should bring a clean house, a re-stocked refrigerator and a week's worth of new blog posts. Until then.... I could sure use a hot, relaxing bubble bath:)  

may day

I just have one question... where did April go?  Is it just me or are the days and weeks going by faster than ever?? I haven't blogged for days and I'm not sure where those days have gone. Note to self: Mom was right about time going faster when you are older.

May greeted me this morning with a small dusting of snow. That's right, snow in May. I've seen people planting flowers and veggies in their gardens on more than one occasion during the past couple of weeks. Each time, I have thought to myself, 'better to wait until after Mother's Day' (another thing I learned from my Mom.) Turns out that advise still holds true. With temperatures dipping down so low, there is bound to be a few young, tender plants that got nipped this morning.

I just wanted to pop in and share this little photo of a sweet bird that was perched in a tree outside my window this morning. He seemed to be a little thrown off by the snow too. 

I'll be back tomorrow with my April Instagram wrap-up, and Friday with a new health challenge for May. Until then.... Happy May Day!

little things :: 1

I'm starting a new series of posts today called 'little things'. These posts will be about some small, simple thing in my life that brings me joy and make me smile. I'll be doing posts whenever something comes to my attention. I'm mostly doing it to remind myself of all that I am grateful for. The older I get, the more I realize that it's the little things in life that truly make me happy.
Today, I'll start off my series with these cute little flowers that grow in my yard in the Spring. They are called Aubretia. They grow in low-spreading mounds and I have them in several of my flower beds. What makes them so cheerful? Mostly, its the purplish-blue color that I love so much. I'm not sure what the technical name for the color is.... maybe cobalt blue or periwinkle? I'll just refer to it as burple. They come in other colors too, but burple is my favorite by far. They are only around for a short time, but when they are in full bloom my heart sings!! In my mind, they are right up there with the equally precious forget-me-nots. 
And so, I dedicate my first 'little things' post to my beautiful burple aubretia. Happy Thursday!! 

pretty in pink

Ahhh..... all of the sunshine we are having this week has caused my cherry tree to break out in gorgeous pink blossoms. I'm giddy!! Things like this thrill me to no end. To make matters even better, this tree sits right outside my kitchen window where I can see it every time I'm in the kitchen. (which tends to be often) I thought I would just share this little photo today. Hope it brightens your day as much as it has mine.

room with a view

I recently spent more than a week in this lovely spot, catching up on all of my school work. I thought I was going to come home and take a break for the Spring and just enjoy some time away from my computer. I was wrong. When I got home, Brooke introduced me to an online class in HTML and CSS. I couldn't resist. Needless to say, my blogging, spring- cleaning, gardening and exercising has all taken a back seat for the past week. Not necessarily a good thing. I finished up over the weekend and decided to take that long-awaited break. At least for the rest of April and May. I have too many springtime activities to enjoy. This is one of my favorite seasons, and it goes by too quickly as it is. Yes, now is definitely the time to take a break and spend some time outdoors. 

rainy days and mondays

It's been a somewhat soggy week this past week, with more to come for the next few days.  I put away my "warm" running clothes on Saturday, only to pull them out again this morning. I had so much I wanted to accomplish today, but when the skies are gray and dreary, I just want to bundle up and stay inside. Luckily, this cute little cluster of died-off berries beckoned me outdoors to shoot a few pics, proving once again that you can find beauty in anything. That's the thing I love about photography, it causes me to look a little deeper at things. And when I do, I always find something worthwhile.  A good life lesson, I think. Particularly when it comes to people. Happy Monday.

the waiting is over

I've been waiting for just the right time to photograph my tulips. I thought they were going to bloom last week, but the cooler temperatures kept that from happening. I've been ho-humming around impatiently looking out the window several times a day in the hopes that I can capture them at the perfect time. Today, I came across the little quote above on Pinterest and it made me think. Am I guilty of this? Especially in my photography? Always waiting for the planets to line up to capture that perfect moment, which often times never comes. And then I started thinking about other areas of my life and realized that it's a fairly common thing for me to put off things until another day "when the weather is better", or "when I have less to do", or "when the timing is right." I have come to the conclusion that this is something I probably need to change. I tend to be a bit of a scheduler. I like to make a plan and stick to it. (My kids will laugh when they read this post) Spontaneity is not one of my strong suits. However, I am surrounded by family members who thrive in this area. I also have several close friends who fly by the seat of their pants on a daily basis. I am constantly in awe of their ability to just drop everything and do something on the spur of the moment. After a couple hours of mulling this over in my mind, I've come to this conclusion: Life is short. Don't wait around for everything to be perfect. It seldom ever is. I've also taken my own advise and shot my tulips just the way they are. True, this may not be a traditional tulip photo, but I like it. It has personality. I even managed to capture a little bokeh.

happy spring

Spring is finally here, and along with it comes my seasonal bucket list. Nothing fancy or too adventurous, just some simple things I want to accomplish between now and summer. I've left a significant number of things off the list such as going to the park with my grandson and playing tennis with my daughters, but those things are pretty much a given:) I'll probably try out a couple of new recipes as well. And, much to my chagrin, a little spring cleaning.

nearly here

My first tiny crocuses popped up over the weekend, signaling that spring is almost here. There's something about spring that gives me a rejuvenated feeling. Along with the flowers and trees, I sort of 'come back to life'. It has seemed like a longer winter than usual for me, and I'm looking forward to milder temperatures and sunny skies. I also have big plans to fly a kite this spring:)

they're back

The long awaited day has come. Be still my heart. The robins have finally come back to usher in Spring. I wait for this day every year about this time. Today my trees were filled with all kinds of birds, plucking off the last of the berries on the trees. I captured this little guy as he was just taking a berry in. You can even see his tongue. Who knew birds had tongues? I am giddy with excitement for warmer weather to come, and for the snow to melt. Seeing the robins in the trees today means it won't be long now. 

Color My World

I took a little turn about around the yard today 

to check out all of the beautiful spring blooms.

Things were looking so fresh and colorful...

a far cry from how it looked 

a few weeks ago.

Color makes me happy:)

Undercover Tulips

Spring is just around the corner.

 Which means one of my favorite things
is also just around the corner.

Tulips.

Tulips in all colors.

I just can't get enough of them.

They make me happy.

And so, this morning I was so happy to look out

and see this:

because I know they will soon look like this:

Hurry Spring!!

Birds, Chicks and Rabbits

I'm starting to notice a few early signs of spring,

namely,

moss growing in-between my garden stones,

buds on the trees,

the first spring bloom in my yard,

white, puffy clouds in the sky

and birds flying north.

Is it just me,

or did that sky look like a

bag of Brach's Chicks and Rabbits?

Which reminds me of another sign of spring . . .

Easter candy!

Spring Planting

This Spring was a crazy one. I usually spend the second week of May planting flowers in my yard and vegetables in my garden. Everything is usually planted by May 15th. This year was different. Too much rain and cold temperatures kept me from planting when I usually do. I didn't even start my planting until after Memorial Day.

I went to Lambert's, which is my favorite nursery, and loaded

up with a great variety of plants.

Dallin and Brittany helped me plant the flowers in the beds.

The new flowers looked so small next to my larger spring perennials,

but it won't be long until they fill in.

We planted most of the garden in our garden boxes.

I planted the extras in my flower beds.

I've tried it for a couple of years and it seems to work really well.

It actually makes my beds look fuller and more lush.

This year Britt planted all of my pots.

It was her first time and I gave her free reign to do whatever she wanted.

I think she did a fabulous job!

With any luck my yard will look beautiful this year.

More pics to come!!

Has Spring Really Sprung?

I'm confused . . . what season is it????

Spring Pruning

Well, today is the day. My cute not-so-little lilac bush has been

waiting patiently for 2 weeks for me to prune it.

I have enjoyed the smell outside of my bedroom window every morning.

There is nothing better than the smell of spring!

But . . . the blooms are spent and the time has come.

As you can see it has grown taller than the roof and

just blends in with the tree behind it at the moment.

The flowers have lost their smell and their vibrant color.

I Googled "pruning lilac bushes" and found out that I should

only have 8 to 10 main stems in my bush.

If I have more than that I should cut the oldest off and

also any small new ones.

I only had to cut off a couple of stems so that was nice.

Next I cut approximately one third of each branch off.

There went all of my flowers:(

It seemed like a lot to cut off,

but I know it will look beautiful next spring.

I'm pretty happy with the results. I'll miss the smell in the mornings,

but it sure looks cute!

Mission Accomplished!!