Tantalizing Tulips!

Most of our tulips have shed their pretty petals by now, with the exception of a lovely late pink clump, but I wanted to show you a few of the many pictures I took of their colorful, cheery blooms.

They began blooming on May 6th, while the daffodils were still putting on their show.

The colors of this beauty are really striking.

On a cloudy day the blooms stay closed, but still look pretty.

Here's a long view of our north lawn.

Rosy red!

I love all their beautiful, bold colors.

This bright red clump began blooming around May 9th. They've been coming back for years, while some peter out after just a year or two.

The last of the daffodils and hyacinths were still hanging on bravely here (Picture taken on May 10th).

Looking south

I love to lay on the grass and photograph tulips from below. People driving by must think I'm quite mad! :)

This lovely couple are the last surviving Red Emperors.

They're bold and bright with their black throats

I'm sad to see only a few purples left. I'll have to plant more in the fall.

The yellows are very consistent and don't seem to diminish as the years go by.

As I'm not a big fan of red and yellow together, I actually like the reds better without the daffodils. This photo was taken on May 14th. There were still a few daffodils blooming in other gardens.

The reds bloom for quite a while.

But the fringed purplish-pink tulips get the prize for the longest blooms! They finally lost their petals just a couple of days ago.

And finally we have this lovely late pink clump, blooming with the creeping phlox (subulata, or moss phlox).

I think I planted 8 of these bulbs last year. They've multiplied well.

There are many other things blooming at the moment and I've been having lots of fun with the camera. The lilacs are gorgeous this year, but there are no blooms at all on the red crab apples. The apple trees had very few blooms too. We must've had a killing frost at a crucial time, which killed most of the buds.

The Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra) are out of this world this year! I'll post pictures of them next time.

I hope all my fellow Americans had a happy Memorial Day

Morning bells sound their call.

Pause and say a prayer for all -

All who served valiantly

that men might be ever free.

Kate Englehardt Clark

I offer grateful thanks to all our heroes, past and present,

who fought, or are fighting, for our freedom.

God bless America!

Wild and Tame

Yesterday, about mid-morning my hubby came to the back door and called, "Put on your boots and bring your camera!" I hurried out to find him waiting on the tractor. He drove up behind the barn and showed me what he'd found in the long grass: This beautiful fawn!

We took a few minutes to locate it because it was well hidden. Actually he found it in the first place because he'd almost run over it!

Isn't it the sweetest thing?

Of course, the poor little baby was afraid, and ran away from me.

It didn't get too far before it flopped down again.

What a face!

You can imagine the urge I had to pick it up and cuddle it :) I didn't, of course, but I couldn't resist a few strokes on that sweet little head. It "bwaaed" at me a couple of times, but seemed to calm down pretty quickly when I talked quietly to it.

I took about 30 pictures before I managed to tear myself away and leave the dear little creature alone.
Nature is wonderful, isn't it?

Here's where the fawn lay in the grass....not far from that post.

You had to be right above it to spot it.

When my hubby drove the tractor up behind the barn today, he saw the mother deer pop up out of the grass and run away, so she and the fawn must be hanging out there.

Maybe I'll be lucky enough to get another look at the baby before they move on.

Looking back toward the barn

Old machinery decorates the pasture here......like this unhandy rake, that is no longer in use.

Some of the machinery is still used, and some isn't.

******************

On the way back I stopped to check the hay mow (top floor of the barn).

Sheba, one of our barn cats, had 3 kittens about 6 weeks ago but she hid them after 2 days and I haven't been able to find them.

Here she is with the kittens and Chloe, her mother, who is about 13 years old.

Newborns

This was my lucky day!

I called Sheba and she jumped over a low partition. When I checked the area she'd come from there they were!

This little girl was not afraid at all, but the other two (boys) were scaredy cats, although I did manage to pick them up and cuddle them. It'll take a little while to tame those two.

The little boy who looks like his sister (the other is pure black) wanted to escape and ran away from me after I put him down. He climbed up on a window, which is actually just a rectangular hole cut in the barn wall, so there's no sill. I didn't dare walk toward him for fear I'd frighten him and cause him to fall out the hole. Suddenly he slipped and hung outside by one paw, meowing in panic! I ran over and thankfully, was able to reach out and grab him.

Good grief...talk about a heart attack!

After apologizing for nearly scaring the poor little kitten to death, I left him and the others in peace.

I hope Sheba brings them downstairs soon so they can begin eating with the other cats, and I can work on taming the two boys.

I must say all in all, it was a great day!

And I might add that we've had two beautiful, sunny days with temperatures in the 80's (26ºC)!
Who could ask for anything more?

My husband says thanks so much for all the birthday wishes.

I really appreciate each and every one of your comments. Thanks for visiting!

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to my dear husband!

He's the littlest one on the right.

He's sitting beside his brother here. Aren't they a cute pair?

I think this photo could be classified as vintage :)

He's a little older now.....

Sweeter as the years go by....... :)

And a pretty nice grandpa......

Who loves spending time with "his boys".

He's been doing some field work these past couple of weeks....planting oats and corn.

Here he is disking the ground (breaking up the clods of dirt) after it has been plowed. It's then dragged (smoothes the surface of the soil a little) and planted.

He's very happy to have it finished now so that he can plant his vegetable garden, and do the myriad other jobs that need doing around the farm in springtime. There's always SO much to do all at once at this time of year!

On Mother's Day he went outside early and came back an hour later with this sweet little trellis that he'd made for me from a couple of saplings.

The Carnaby clematis had divided itself and I needed to give the new plant a trellis of its own to grow on. Now, thanks to my hubby's ingenuity, it has one. I love it! I was tickled pink to have such a thoughtful present.

I'd also like to wish our daughter-in-law a very happy birthday for tomorrow.

We hope you have a wonderful day dear DIL! xoxox