Close Encounters.....

......with hummingbirds!

I took this photo on May 11th.

The little guy just sat there and let me get really close. It was the neatest thing.

I love the way they're so unafraid.They seem as curious about us as we are of them.





I took the next three photos this afternoon.

There were two males chasing each other at the front feeder. They would almost collide with my head as they zoomed about. They're so loud as they buzz by my ear!





We only have the ruby throated hummingbirds here in the Northeast. I've seen a female at the feeders too.

The light has to hit the bright red throat just right for it to show up.

I am so awed by these tiny little birds.

We finally have our sun back after reverting to winter over the past several days. The cold was very hard to take after a nice taste of warm temperatures.

Thank the Lord for sunshine and warmth!

Tulip Mania!

I've taken so many tulip photos these past few weeks. I hope you won't mind if I share a few more of them with you.





These orange & yellow tulips were magnificent



A very bright and cheery combination!



Up close and personal with the lovely pinks



That pretty fringed tulip keeps jumping in front of the camera!



The pinks and reds again



This picture is for Friday's Child. She likes the tulips closed, so I thought of her when I took this.



I loved seeing these pinks coupled with the yellow of the daffodils



The delicate colors in this double tulip are quite a contrast to the rest of the vivid colors



Buttercup yellow!



The bright blue of the grape hyacinths makes a lovely contrast



While I was lying on my back trying to get this angle, a friendly feline settled herself on my stomach. Such a big help! :)

Our weather has been discouraging this weekend, with rain and cold winds. This afternoon there were even some big fat snow flakes mixing with the rain. It's impossible to get any planting done with all this wet weather we've had recently. Enough already. We need sunshine!

I hope you had a lovely weekend whatever your weather.

Ross says thanks so much for all the birthday wishes.

Happy Birthday!

....to Ross (Dean)!

On Sunday, May 21st

That's Ross on the right in the first collage picture, with his brother, Mark. Two cute little boys :)


Former Marine, Vietnam Veteran, Cornell graduate, dairy farmer, wonderful husband, father, and grandfather.

You bring joy to every day!

Baling hay



With Andrew in 1976



With Kathy and Kylie in 2002



First grandson, Corey! 2001



Second grandson, Kyle! 2004



Bedtime story for three-year-old Corey, 2004

We all wish you a wonderful,

happy birthday!

They're Not Redbuds!

Well, we now know for sure what these two trees are, thanks to Annie in Austin (Texas), who very kindly let us know in a comment on this blog yesterday.
Hubby and I were just making our best guess after trying to find some good pictures and information that might help us remember what we planted way back then. We found written information in a file that named 2 redbuds, among other trees, that we had planted approximately 16 years ago, so we just assumed that's what these were. The order listed ten flowering trees from the Arbor Day Foundation. I’m noticing now that 2 flowering crab trees (Malus sargentii) are also included in the list. Hmmm. We didn’t realize that crabapples could have red flowers. We were thinking, since the flowers are red, they must be redbuds. Spring being a very busy time, our research wasn’t very extensive. Next time I’ll be more thorough.
I‘m learning a lot this spring! In previous years I haven’t really taken the time to notice the trees so much. I’m rather clueless as far as knowing their names. Blogging has made me notice so much more this spring and my plant encyclopedia has had lots of use! I will do better with my research in future!
Over the years the rest of the trees we planted back then have succumbed to various fates, including the lawn mower, driven by a teenage son!
So these are RED FLOWERING CRABAPPLES! Sorry about the mistake everyone. Thanks so much Annie for correcting my mistake!! And thanks to everyone for visiting and commenting. I'm always so pleased to have you stop by.

The Redbuds Are Blooming!

One of our 2 redbud trees (cercis canadensis) is blooming beautifully for the first time in its 16 years of life!! There has been the odd blossom before, but this year there are lots! The flowers are so pretty. There are just a few blooms on the smaller tree.

Here is the biggest redbud tree. The smaller one is at the right of the picture.

The flowers are a beautiful pinkish red.

The leaves are a dark red so it's a bit hard to distinguish between the flowers and leaves from a distance. They blend into each other.

I love the rosy red color of the beautiful blossoms!

This is my favorite of the photos.

Colors of Spring

I hope all you mothers out there had a very Happy Mother's Day!

The iris are blooming! This rich shade of purple is so lovely against the green leaves. Those are the fringed tulips again.



Don't iris have a fascinating shape?



Creeping phlox (subulata I think). A friend gave me a whole lot late last fall and they all survived the winter. I'm so pleased!



Salmon tulip....delightful!



Sweet-natured Grady showed up in our barn at the beginning of winter. He's a neutered male and must've been someone's pet because he certainly loves to be loved! He's always with me when I'm in the garden...along with a few other feline buddies.



These lovely late tall white tulips have a decidedly lemon tinge. I've never noticed that in previous years. The new camera is causing me to notice so much more detail!



The deep pink shade of these tulips just takes my breath away!



Spring colors...a pretty combination!



I like the shed in the background with this pinkish red tulip.



The lovely reds again. It was really hard to choose which photo of this group to post. I'll probably put more photos of the reds in another post. They're so photogenic :)

Gardening In Comfort.....

Relatively Speaking….

I've had a chance these past several weeks to try out the 'garden hopper' that my hubby gave me at Christmas time, and I promised to let you know how I liked it.

I can honestly say I love it! At first I was skeptical as to how comfortable it would be. Sitting and bending over to work wouldn’t seem to be a comfortable position, but surprisingly it is! The little hopper moves effortlessly on its wheels, so I’m able to nudge it along as I work at the edge of a garden. That’s what I’ve been doing lately….edging the gardens. It’s a tedious job, but I haven’t actually minded it now that I have the garden hopper to ‘help’.


I keep my camera, wrapped in a small towel, in the tool compartment under the seat….so it’s always handy!
The cats seem to think the hopper is their very own ‘new toy’, and they gave me ample opportunity to catch them in some good poses when I first began using it. These photos of them enjoying some games in it were taken in early April. They keep me smiling :)


The hopper doesn’t work for everything. When there are weeds to pull in the middle of a garden bed I have to get off and go in after them! If you had some space in between plants then it could possibly work, but my gardens are full of perennials and there’s very little space. My next job is to thin some out. Finding friends who are willing to take some off my hands is quite easy, I’m pleased to say. I hate to throw plants away! There’ll be room for a few new ones then.


So I would highly recommend the hopper for giving you another position to garden in. Not having to get up and down off your knees constantly is certainly a plus, and it’s nice to have a lap for a kitty to climb into for the occasional cuddle :) Once in a while I take a break and just sit and contemplate my surroundings, while soaking up the sunshine!


We bought it at Amazon.com for only $18.00. It even had free shipping if you spent over $25, so you don’t have to invest a lot of money to buy this neat little thing. I’m not sure what it would cost in other countries, or if it’s even available, but you could check. Maybe the overseas postage from Amazon would be prohibitive. Anyway, I’ve found it to be a good little addition to my garden tools, and if anyone else tries one I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!


These photos were taken a month ago when the daffodils had just begun to bloom.



Bending over to dig out weeds, etc. while sitting on the hopper is really quite comfortable!



Toby thought this was a cozy place to curl up.



Zoey liked climbing in and out.



Zoey and Pete think it's a great place to play hide and seek.



Pete decides this will be his spot but Zoey thinks she should have a turn.