Coming Soon to a Garden Near You

Tis the Season...

There Really is a Spring This Year

I went for a little stroll yesterday and look what I found.  Yes, there is still melting snow too but this gives me hope.

From my Yard

End of the Poppies

Inside an Iris

Poppy Pods in Sepia

More Pretties in my Yard

Beauty in death

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

A Mystery

I wandered out into my yard over the weekend to see what I could see.  Most was as expected.  The hyacinths are finished blooming.  The daffodils, tulips and other early bulbs are fading.  The iris are starting.  The poppies are budding.  The lavender is sprouting.  The summer amaryllis are in serious need of separating.  We won’t talk about the strawberries.

And then there was this bloom.  Never saw it before and I’m positive I didn’t plant it.  It’s obviously growing from some sort of bulb.  I went out later and discovered that the blossoms close up at night.

The flowers are similar to star of Bethlehem only the configuration is wrong so I have no clue what it is.  That’s okay.  It’s pretty and it seems happy to be in my yard so it can stay.  I love when this sort of thing happens!

In My Yard

Playing with the Primrose

Even Though It's Going to Snow...

Know that spring has made it to my yard.

More Spring

Or perhaps I should say Fall, since this primrose has been blooming since September. Yes, that's how mild this winter is. Winter... Bah. It's in the 70's again. It should still be snowing. Have I mentioned how much I despise summer?

Pretty in Purple

Depressed

It wasn’t a bad day. Or it didn’t start out that way. There’s a mini daffodil blooming outside the window where I have my lunch so today I went out and sat with it. It was 68 and sunny. In March. So wrong but I’m dealing with it. The flower makes it worth it.

And then I got home to find a statement from my health insurance people. A few weeks ago I went off for a mammogram. I’m old and they tell me it’s necessary. Not fun but not the most awful experience ever.

My employer has us pay a portion of our insurance costs as just about everyone else who is employed does. On paper, it looks okay. Average. Could be better. It could also be much worse.

I opened the envelope and had to read it three times before it sank in. My routine test, a covered test, performed by an in-network provider is going to cost me $546.31. Yes, that’s correct. Not a typo. $546.31.

The mammogram was in preparation for my yearly check-up. Nothing fancy. Just the standard female stuff. I’ve already gone off and had it done. Now, after seeing that, I’m dreading the next envelope. Breaking out in a cold sweat just thinking about it. Getting more depressed and panicked by the minute.

But I went over to the corner bar for dinner anyway. Hey, everyone deserves a decent last meal. I see many, many more marshmallows in my future. I’ll have to stock up after Easter when the nummy flavors are on sale.

My Yard

Happy Saturday!

Happy Easter

Not much today. I spent the morning getting my yard ready for spring, yanking the old plants that I left for the birds to pick at throughout the winter, pulling the weeds that are already growing, planting some new bulbs that I don’t have room for. It’s okay though. I had a chat with the yard spirits that watch over things for me and they assured me all would be fine. Early purple daylilies, mid-summer Mexican daylilies in shades of pink that shouldn’t grow in this region but will since I consulted the yard spirits and some late summer fire flowers in red and yellow that I’ve never seen before but look like they’re in the lily family.

At the moment I have a bright yellow primrose carpet, assorted daffodils including mini ones and pink ones, multi-colored hyacinths and grape hyacinths. My red tulips have buds, the old-fashioned orange poppies will soon and the shades of purple columbine and coreopsis are sprouted. And some of the annual pinks from last year survived the winter so they’ll be blooming very early. Keep in mind that my entire yard would probably fit in an oversized living room so I have way more stuff than I should. All it takes is some friendly yard spirits and everything grows beautifully.

Okay, it’s a holiday so I think I’ll spend the rest of the day on the porch reading while by fur babies do some bird watching. Have a wonderful day, whatever you do.

I have the Lopsy Lyles

That's what my dad would have called this severe case of inertia I'm suffering from today. He had all sorts of names for things. I've always suspected he made them up as he went along but if he did, he was good at it. Once a term was used it was repeated with the same meaning.

So what's my problem? Dunno. Maybe I don't have one. Hm, that seems too easy. Maybe I'm bored. Okay, boredom. So change something.

I went outside earlier, actually took out the trash. See? I haven't stopped entirely. I'm still doing necessary chores, just nothing that's good for me. I walked around my yard and looked at all the pretty flowers. For a moment I considered grabbing my gloves and readying the ground for planting annuals next month but then I rejected that notion. I have a month. What's the rush?

I looked in my book room. My neverending project of organizing my books is still stalled. Yep, books and boxes stacked everywhere. No order to anything. Have I mentioned that I have roughly 10,000 books? They don't all fit in the room. The rest are scattered about the attic. One room up there is wall to wall, floor to ceiling bookshelves. The other is storage and yes, most of the boxes have books in them. Surprisingly I have a general idea of what I have. And I do think I could find a particular book, should I ever rediscover the ability to read. In the meantime, why bother sorting through them when I have little interest?

I debated on taking a walk. It's overcast and a bit chilly but the sun pops out occasionally and I do own jackets and sweatshirts. It really is a pretty spring day. Only problem is I don't really feel like going alone and the friend I used to walk with is having personal meltdown and has no time for mundane things such as a walk with me. Nope, no time for a little laughter that could actually improve both our moods. Nope, much better to wallow in a bad situation that doesn't stand a chance of truly improving. Oh, it may look like it but we both know it'll be on the surface only and with no lasting effects. But okay. Delude yourself if you have to. Just don't be surprised to find that I'm not sitting where you left me when you're done.

Okay so maybe I'm not completely inert. Maybe I'm a little mad, or even a lot mad, and that has me too preoccupied to be productive. Oh the other hand, maybe I simply care and being forced into the role of doing nothing when I know my friend is hurting is really bothering me. I put the offer to help however I could out there and that's all I can do at this point. Right?

But I digress. What was my point? Oh yes, the Lopsy Lyles. Seems I have quite a case of them today. I really have to shake them because I'm getting tired of living like this. As you go about your day, please keep one thing in mind. Your actions, no matter how inconsequential they seem, do effect others. Think carefully before acting or speaking. I'm not suggesting you live your life based on others, just that you're aware of how you impact those around you.

Spring

Tomorrow is the Vernal Equinox. The first day of Spring. This means different things to different people. What about you?

To me, it means spring flowers. I love the riot of color that seems to appear out of nowhere. There's a courtyard outside my window at work and I've been watching one of the daffodils. If it's sunny tomorrow it might just make it.

Spring also marks the beginning of migraine season. The temperature will soon be rising above 60 which is enough to make me hurt. Then it'll get humid which will make it even worse. Now isn't that something to look forward to?

One other thing about tomorrow...it's one of the two days you can easily balance eggs on end. The other is the Autumnal Equinox. If you've never done this, give it a try. It's so cool when it works. It's also a great way to entertain your kids and amaze your friends.