Mamma Mia Days

One of Life's Pleasures

2012-01-19T07:52:00.000-06:00

Storefront sign in downtown historic Cedarburg, WI.

"I could give up chocolate, but I'm not a quitter"

(Borrowed from Virtual Chocolate's Quotes)

For many more signs, visit Miss Lesley at signs, signs.

Temperature Does Matter

2012-01-11T08:13:00.000-06:00

I bought a small Aeonium Decorum at a succulent class back in April, 2011. It's a plant native to the Canary Island of La Gomera. I wasn't able to duplicate the tropics inside my house, but it did survive until the warm weather of May arrived when I put it outside in a container along with an Escheveria Princess Katena, the taller plant in the back. There's also a small donkey tail in the pot. As the temperature and sunshine increased, so did the rosey-pink edging of the leaves. It quickly became my favorite new find for 2011.

Fall arrived and the temperature started to drop. I brought it back into the house, but between our cat and the lack of bright sunshine the pretty plant started to suffer. Last week when it became clear that it wouldn't make it until May, I set it back outside to let nature take its course and it did just that.

So Sad!

If you have an interest in succulents, here's a very "sweet" blogger who knows a lot about them and her photos are great, too. Visit Candy at Sweetstuff's Sassy Succulents.

The Coo Coo Kid is busy with fourth grade, but still has time for fun. Here he is eating cotton candy at the Harlem Globetrotter basketball game. Everything about this child makes me happy.

My first time to upload a video to a post. Looks a little distorted, but guess I won't know until I publish it.

I hope that 2012 has been good to all of you, so far.

Keep The Kids Home

2011-12-01T07:06:00.000-06:00

Another day another sign. To see more, visit Lesley at signs, signs.

Note to Self:

Remind the kids to stay out of the park!

My First Time

2011-11-17T07:55:00.000-06:00

My first time to participate in Lesley's signs, signs.

This is the sign in front of a haunted house not far from my house. It's in a 1920s school building that's next to a church and a graveyard. The school was used as a morgue after an influenza epidemic in 1929 left many people dead. Mysteriously, the deceased bodies disappeared and zombies took over the building and continue to live there today.

The official hair stylist for the zombies is also my hair stylist. This fact both fascinates and frightens me!

The Pinhead and Her Fungus

2011-11-08T15:05:00.000-06:00

I've been referred to as a pinhead before, but never has it been more apparent than in this photo of my shadow. Here I am with my big body and little head flanked on both sides by a couple of mysterious-looking fungi. I know nothing about mushrooms/fungi, so maybe someone can identify them for me.

Here are some close up shots. I'm really curious about them. They're even bigger now than when I took the pictures.

The bucket garden has been put to rest for the winter. Gardening this way was both fun and successful and I'll do it again next year. I grew tomatoes, watermelons, cucumbers and 3 different kinds of pumpkins. Will add a couple additional buckets next year.

Not many blooms left this time of year.

This is about all I have left for color and they've

been moved to the back of the house for the winter

along with all the other containers.

The pretty colored leaves are gone, too,

but the big, brown Oak leaves hang around forever.

The Coo-Coo Kid is still a big part of my life.

He talks about working on his blog,

but wants to include YouTube videos.

Trust me...the videos are not about gardening:)

We're still debating the issue.

He makes me HAPPY!

Try To Remember.....

2011-09-10T14:24:00.000-05:00

"Try to remember the kind of September

When life was slow and oh so mellow

Try to remember that kind of September

When grass was green and grain so yellow....

A September day at Kimberly's Point with my mother.

Bless her!

Try to remember the kind of September

When you were a young and callow fellow

Try to remember and if you remember

Then follow--follow, oh-oh."

Try to Remember, Lyrics by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt

A random fellow at Riverside Park.

He used his wheelchair to reach the water.
Bless him!

Remembering 10 years later....

9/11 World Trade Center Memorial

Green Bay, WI 

Pumpkin Pleasure

2011-09-06T19:40:00.000-05:00

Who knew I'd be the recipient of so much pleasure attained simply by growing pumpkins. My blogger friend, Julie, gave me the idea of growing vegetables in 5-gallon buckets. You can find Julie and all her good ideas in Florida at A Succulent Life.

There are three different kinds of pumpkins; Super Freak Goosebumps, Connecticut Field and Rockafellow. We'll be cutting them from the vine before the first frost, which will be soon. Each bucket needed a couple gallons of water a day because of the hot summer we experienced, but it was worth the effort.

My bucket garden also included Early Girl tomatoes, 3 kinds of peppers, Iznik cucumbers and Shiny Boy watermelons. Everything was delicious although the 4 watermelons haven't been harvested yet. I've been tapping and listening for a dull sound, but not hearing it. The spot where the melon touches the ground is turning white/yellow, so maybe we're getting close.

The buckets are white and printed with

these words in green & gold:

Green Bay Packers
Super Bowl
XLV
Champions

No wonder my bucket garden was a success!

It's Been So Long......

2011-08-20T09:42:00.000-05:00

It's been so long since my last post that I barely remember the process and can't think of anything clever or amazing to share (not that I ever did), so I shall just jump in with something. That something is the first bloom on my Morning Glory 'Flying Saucers'. The vine covers an old bench that sits in the front yard and is one of the first things I see when stumbling into the kitchen for my morning coffee.

The Morning Glories started out with seeds planted in a container on May 22. Also planted Moonflowers, Star Gladiolus, Iron Cross Shamrocks and lettuce in containers.

It probably wasn't ideal to plant Star Gladiolus in a container, but it worked better than anticipated and produced about 3 dozen blooms. This was the first. The first bloom on any plant is always my favorite.

The Iron Cross Shamrock has been a container favorite this summer. The green clover-like foliage with purple cross-shaped markings intrigues me and the pink flowers are pretty. This "good luck plant" will be in my garden again next summer.

Back in early June, Debbie, passed along to me a flat of Oxalis plants. I forgot to ask her the name of them, but judging by the bright pink flowers they might be 'Rosea'. Because she was generous in sharing so many plants I was able to give some to my gardening neighbors. Thanks, Deb! My plan is to surprise her with some of my Iron Cross Shamrocks next spring. Of course, it won't be a surprise if she reads this.

Are you in the mood for wine? Then you're sure to enjoy this Oxalis 'Charmed Wine' as much as I do. They're really much prettier than how they appear in this photo. The photos are from earlier in the summer and the plants are bigger now and very impressive with the burgundy foliage and delicate white flowers. They are drought tolerant and require no deadheading which makes them a true Proven Winner. I bought them in 4" pots back in April at a greenhouse and grew them as houseplants until late in May. Plant stand, courtesy of neighborhood yard sale - $1.00.

The container grown lettuce has been eaten and I'm still waiting for a flower on the Moonflower vine. The book The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton turned me on to wanting my own plant.

Hey, it feels good to be back in blogland. Be looking for me to visit you soon. I've been having trouble leaving comments on some blogs where I used to comment on a regular basis. I need to check that out and get it corrected. Or maybe I'm just out of the club!

The Heart Of Mayflower Greenhouse....Gone!

2011-05-11T13:11:00.000-05:00

The heart and soul of Mayflower Greenhouse died on May 7. When Jan Wos moved to this area from Poland, he bought a very small greenhouse and, as stated on the website, he transformed it into a garden center that combines old world European charm with zestful creativity. He will be missed by family and friends from around the world.

Back in early April my friend, Debbie, and I took a "Fun With Succulents" class lead by Jan. In addition to being smart and creative, he had a great sense of humor and it was my pleasure to be part of the group that evening.

These photos are from that night. I don't usually include this many in a post, but am making an exception today.

An example of Jan's creativity.

Color everywhere at Mayflower.

Plants and containers.

My very delightful friend, Debbie.

She knows more about gardening

than I can ever dream to know.

An important aspect of a garden center

is the accessibility of wagons.

How else does a gardener transport all

of his/her plant loot to the car?

Memories of Jan Wos will make people smile.

That's a good thing!

Slow To Grow

2011-05-01T11:17:00.000-05:00

The growing season here in Zone 4 has gotten off to a slow start, but that doesn't mean I've lost hope. There are a few lovelies making pretty in the yard in spite of the weather.

These are a beautiful white crocus known as 'Jeanne d'Arc'. They are supposed to have a pencil-thin purple line running up from the base, but even with a magnifying glass I don't see it. I planted the bulbs (or are they corns?) last fall and I'm thrilled to see them bloom for the first time.

Glory-of-the-Snow is an early bloomer that appears not long after the Snowdrops. The blue flowers are star-shaped with glistening white centers. The plants are only about 6-8 inches tall and require very little attention. Deer and rodents do not find them to be tasty.

I've lost track of the name of these daffodils. Mount Hood, maybe? Or Ice Follies? Very pretty, no matter the name.

These yellow daffs I recognize, Dutch Master. They were planted in 2005. All of my spring bulbs would benefit from some fertilizing. Should they be fertilized after flowering or in the fall? I am careful about not cutting away the foliage until it's turned yellow.

One of the smallest daffodils grown is the Tete-A-Tete, the flower stems are only about 3 inches tall. Planted nearby but not in the photo is another hardy spring flower that's not yet blooming, Muscari armeniacum. They are a small grape hyacinth with a height of 6-8 inches. Would be really pretty if they bloomed together, but they don't and so I enjoy them one at a time.

The critters must have been hungry because they feasted on some of the Asiatic lilies, Cote d' Azur, that had just started to show new growth. Last summer these plants stood tall in the garden and had pretty pink flowers. I've not seen any rabbits this spring, but we do have a pair of Mallards hanging around, so maybe they are the culprits.

I know a lot about eating rhubarb, but not much about growing it. Our neighbor gave us a couple of transplants last year. It survived the winter, so that's a good thing.

This Mourning Dove was sitting on our deck railing wishing it would stop raining. Cool fact that I found at http://www.birds.cornell.edu. "Mourning Doves feed their nestlings crop milk or "pigeon milk" which is secreted by the crop lining. This is an extremely nutritious food with more protein and fat than is found in either cow or human milk. Crop milk, which is regurgitated by both adults, is the exclusive food of hatchlings for three days, after which it is gradually replaced by a diet of seeds."

Milk-White Flowers

2011-04-15T06:51:00.000-05:00

The Garden Snowdrop is such a pretty little flower. According to The Plant Expert, the flowers look like three drops of milk hanging from a stem. This accounts for the Latin name Galanthus which means "milk-white flowers". I found this one blooming on April 4 in the natural area on the west side of our house.

Crocuses are very popular and with good reason. They come back year after year, slowly muliply and come in beautiful colors like purple, yellow, white, mauve and blue. These have been in my garden since 2008. They started blooming about a week after the Snowdrops. Last fall I planted white crocuses that haven't bloomed yet, but I'm looking forward to the show.

No, I didn't climb the tree to get the photo of this nest. I used my zoom...being the zoomer that I am. We were driving along the Fox River and spotted this nest up high in a very tall tree on the river bank. It's common for bald eagles and ospreys to nest along the shores of Lake Michigan and the Fox River. I can't say for sure that this nest belongs to either one of those birds. It's just my guess. Darn birds...they could at least put out a sign identifying who lives there.

The Coo-Coo Kid had a birthday last weekend. His sweet mother made this Dirt Cake for his friend party on Saturday. She served it up with a plastic shovel and the kids loved it.

The next day the family gathered to celebrate our much loved brown-eyed boy and there was another cake. It was his ninth birthday. He asked recently if anyone had left a comment on his blog. I told him that he needed to publish a new post in order to get new comments. He has something in mind. Stay tuned.

This Is No Joke

2011-04-01T06:34:00.000-05:00

Today is April Fools' Day, but this is no joke. We still have ALL this snow in our yard. No, that's not a movie star in the photo. It's me standing out there wondering what happened to spring. Covered with snow and waiting to make an appearance are daffodils, muscari armeniacums, hyacinths, glory of the snow, anemones, allium, camassia quamash and crocus.

This picture of my mother was taken on March 17. It was a mild day with a light rain that was washing away the last of the snow. We were leaving the nursing home after visiting my dad when she spotted this plastic Frosty buried in a dirty snowbank. She's had a rough nine months, but still manages to smile. One week after this photo was taken, we had another 17.8 inches of snow.

Let the mating season begin! For wild turkeys, that is. I found this male courting a hen. The males are polygamous and will form a territory with as many as five hens. The eggs are incubated for about 28 days and hopefully for the little poults the snow will be gone by then.

Lots of leaves.

No flower stalks.

Poor me.

What did I do wrong?

Don't Be Fooled. It's Not Over.

2011-03-09T10:00:00.000-06:00

Winter should be over when you've

worn out the knees of your snow pants.

When your mittens fall apart,

that should mark the end of winter.

But it's NOT gone. It hangs on!

There ought to be a law against the

view from our front porch looking

like this on the 9th of March.

Hungry for guacamole?

Come back in four years,

when our tree sets its first fruit.

Pretty sad situation when my only gardening topic is an avocado pit. It could be said that in the month of March gardening in Zone 4 is the pits.

This Is What The First Day Of March Looks Like

2011-03-01T19:41:00.000-06:00

This is what it looks like in my neck of the
woods on the first day of March.

The closest thing to spring

was this bit of melting taking

place in the downspout.

Lovely, isn't it?

Most everything is still blanketed in snow.

The tall grasses are struggling

with the wind and snow.

The Coo Coo Kid escaped to a
warmer land where he was able
to leap over sand castles.
No wonder he has no time
to update his blog.

Between Friends

2011-02-23T10:41:00.000-06:00

Between Friends

by Sandra Bell Lundy

Nothing alarming happened today to make me post this. No need to worry, it's just another way for me to remind myself to live in the present. Wisdom is all around us, even in the comics.

What's a Zone 4 Gardener To Do?

2011-02-17T16:53:00.000-06:00

Wait - Plan - Dream

That's all this gardener can

do in the month of February.

"One little chickadee sitting all alone.

He flew away and then there were none."

(From a preschool nursery rhyme)

Black-Capped Chickadees are

year-around residents in Wisconsin.

This one was basking in the heat

being radiated from the sun-warmed

bricks on our house.

A Red-Bellied Woodpecker is
checking out my homemade suet cakes.

Doesn't absolutely everyone have a

cat sleeping in their bathroom sink?

Big Time Herb Gardener

2011-02-03T18:51:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's true that I'm into herb gardening in a big way. Take a look. Okay, to be truthful it's herb gardening in a small way. Chives and parsley seeds planted in two-inch pots.

Another fun project enjoyed with P3 last weekend was making homemade suet cakes for the birds. Here's the secret recipe that's been in my family for generations. Not really, it was in the newspaper a couple of weeks ago.

Homemade Suet

1 C. crunchy peanut butter

1-1/2 C. minute oats

1-1/2 C. cornmeal

1C. lard

1C. white flour

1/4 C. sugar
Soften the peanut butter and lard
in the microwave until soupy.

Mix in flour and sugar.

Add cornmeal followed by oats.

Put in 8-by-8 inch container and refrigerate.

When suet hardens, cut into pieces to fit

your backyard suet holder.

P3 doing the mixing.

After all that seed planting and cooking for the birds, we capped off the day by going to a GB Gambler hockey game. It was the 12th Annual Teddy Bear Toss. Bring a new teddy bear to the game and throw it on the ice after the Gamblers score their first goal. All bears are given to young patients in our area. It was announced that 7,066 bears were collected. How'd they count those so fast?

Oh, Mandy.......

2011-01-22T11:19:00.007-06:00

Oh, Mandy, you came and

You gave without taking

But I sent you away

To live in the bathroom that

Has gosh awful 1980s pink wallpaper.

A silly play on Barry Manilow's lyrics.

‘Alice Du Pont’ made her way home with me from the green house in late June. It was my first time to have a Mandevilla. The plant was small. There were a handful of leaves and a couple of buds, but no blooms. In a matter of days, there were several showy flowers.

I moved the pot off the deck onto the ground and the vine made its way around the railing. This tropical plant looked pretty first thing in the morning and equally as beautiful in the early evening after a light rain.

I don’t normally overwinter plants, but in late September an exception was made and I moved the plant into a sunny bathroom. Butterscotch immediately thought that ‘Alice Du Pont’ was placed there purely for his entertainment.

This last photo was taken in late December. I’ve kept the plant on the dry side and it’s only lost a few leaves. There’s a small newspaper article taped to the plant stand that says if you’re going to overwinter a Mandevilla and don’t want to wait until the following August for it to bloom again, do NOT prune it any later than February. I’m interested to know what you might have to say about caring for a Mandevilla that’s been brought inside for the winter.

I’m sure many of you have grown Mandevillas that make mine look puny, but I thoroughly enjoyed this plant and will most likely make sure that there’s always one in my summer garden. How do you like the pink wallpaper? It's old, but not as old as Barry Manilow's song.

Take A Tip From Lucky

2010-12-19T06:19:00.000-06:00

Feeling frazzled? Take a tip from my friend, Lucky. Grab your favorite toy, hold it in your mouth and roll around on your back in the snow. This method is guaranteed to release your body of the holiday tension that builds up during the month December.

Whether you're celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday or as a time for family to come together or both, I wish all of you many happy and warm moments. It's always a pleasure to visit your blogs and see what's growing in your part of the world. You're terrific people, as well as great gardeners.

Time Travel In My Garden

2010-12-03T07:34:00.000-06:00

I didn’t get to do a lot of blogging back in the summer, so please join me as I travel back in time to visit my garden.

Euphorbia marginata, or Snow-On-The-Mountain, was looking pretty in August. They are showy plants that brighten up any area of the garden. Euphorbia marginata is native to the Midwest and regarded as a pest in some areas because of its tendency to spread.

Blooming starts in mid-summer and lasts two to three months. Each female flower becomes a pod containing one seed which “pops” open and flings the seed several feet. I’ve had these plants for a few years now and only have two or three plants come back each spring, so being invasive has not been a problem for me.

Warning: All parts of the plant are poisonous if ingested. Handling the plant can cause skin irritation or an allergic reaction, especially when touching the white milky sap substance. Be careful to keep it away from your eyes. I’ve not experienced any problem with it and only recently became aware of the warning.

Every spring I plant one pot of Dragon Wing Begonias and then when August arrives, I'm left to wonder why I didn't plant a dozen containers because they are so pretty, bloom continuously and tolerate heat and drought.

The Black-Eyed Susan's make me happier than almost any other flower I grow. Cheerful is the best word to describe them.

This picture of P & C was taken in August, just a few days before school started. They were talking about Justin Bieber while enjoying an end of the summer Popsicle. Those are sad-looking New Guinea Impatiens in the pots. As the temperatures cooled in September, they picked up speed and put on a colorful show.

Please Pass The Turkey

2010-11-23T13:34:00.000-06:00

Wild turkeys are native to most of Wisconsin and very abundant in our neighborhood. I put some of my turkey photos from the last few months into a Smilebox slideshow. It's my way of wishing all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. As Erma Bombeck used to say, "Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not a coincidence."

This photo slideshow generated with Smilebox

Delicious Autumn!

2010-11-16T04:31:00.000-06:00

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." - George Eliot

When I was younger and would see the leaves change color, I'd try to remember exactly how photosynthesis worked. As the years passed, I stopped trying to figure it out and decided to just let the fall colors surprise and delight me.

October 5

The fall color in my neighborhood is bright and brilliant.

October 11

Our front yard.

The color is fading and

the leaves are falling.

The bushes and plants have all been
pruned or cut down and have
begun their long winter rest.

October 15
Meadowbrook Park.
A thicket of orange and yellow Sumac.
The photo was taken at night while walking
wooded trails lit only by jack o lanterns and luminaries.

October 23
It's getting harder to find pretty color,
but tan's not a bad color when it comes
in the form of these showy grasses.
We have four clumps of them,
two on each side of the driveway.
Not sure of the name.......
Maiden Grass, Eulalia, Chinese Silver Grass?

October 30

I've no idea the name of this ornamental tree,

but to be this pretty in late October is amazing.

The pink makes it look like spring.

It's in a neighbor's yard.

November 11

This small building has made

other appearances on my blog.

No matter the season, it catches

my eye as I drive by it.

In case you wanted a better look at what's
in the second story window, here it is.

November 11
And now we're down to this.
One solitary red apple.

Holding Hands

2010-11-12T06:48:00.000-06:00

Sharing life for better or worse

Their hands,

worn of work and care,

have earned a living

have cooked

have wiped a feverish brow

have waved goodbye

have guided

have held on

have let go,

rest now in the comfort

of each other.

Author - Richard Sidy

To read the complete poem, go to Life's Lessons.

This is a photo of my mother holding my dad's hand in hers. It was taken during a Veteran's Program at the nursing home where my dad now lives. I don't know exactly what the future holds for them, but yesterday was a good day.

Kong - The Sunflower

2010-11-02T19:27:00.000-05:00

The story of Kong started in April,

with seeds from the Jung Seed Co.

The seeds found their way into these

plastic cups filled with potting soil

where they grew until May, along

with pumpkins, peppers, cucumbers,

zinnias and nasturtiums.

May offered warmth and sunshine.
The two strongest little Kongs
moved outside where they shared

space with the newly planted rhubarb.

The time came when a decision had to be made.

Only one plant could stay.

I wasn't disappointed with my choice

because by July, Kong was five feet tall.

Kong grew to ten feet tall,
the leaves were getting huge
and a flower head was now visible
above the top leaves.

On the morning of August 30, I was
greeted with this flower.

I was now officially in love with Kong
and two weeks later was pleased to
find all these flowers. The main stalk stayed strong,
but the stem on the first flower was drooping.

Green darner dragonflies and bees visited often.

As a reward for reading to the end of the story,
please help yourself to a Johnsonville bratwurst.
For my vegetarian and vegan friends, I promise
to have something for you next time.

Some Days Are Tough

2010-10-15T15:40:00.000-05:00

Some days are tough and other days are just about perfect, like the one that Phillip and his friend recently enjoyed at Meuer Farm. The photos are compliments of my lovely daughter-in-love.

That's a bottle of homemade root beer in Phillip's hand,
not a bottle of Miller High Life, in case you're wondering:)

It's always nice when a boy's dad
joins in the fun.

When your mom steps outside of her comfort
zone to shoot corn cobs with you, then
you know it's been a good day.

Hope you are all having a happy autumn.
Life is slowly getting back to normal around here.

The Place I Want To Get Back To

2010-08-26T07:21:00.000-05:00

The Place I Want To Get Back To

is where

in the pinewoods

in the moments between

the darkness

and first light

two deer

came walking down the hill

and when they saw me

they said to each other, okay,

this one is okay,

let’s see who she is

and why she is sitting

on the ground, like that,

so quiet, as if

asleep, or in a dream,

but, anyway, harmless;

and so they came

on their slender legs

and gazed upon me

not unlike the way

I go out to the dunes and look

and look and look

into the faces of the flowers;

and then one of them leaned forward

and nuzzled my hand, and what can my life

bring me that could exceed

that brief moment?

For twenty years

I have gone every day to the same woods,

not waiting, exactly, just lingering.

Such gifts, bestowed,

can’t be repeated.

If you want to talk about this

come to visit. I live in the house

near the corner, which I have named

Gratitude.

- By Mary Oliver from Thirst -

This white-tailed deer stepped out of the woods early one morning while I was visiting my Secret Garden. We stared at each for a minute and then she raised her tail showing me the white underside and ran back into the trees. The white underside of the mother's tail helps her fawns follow her.

My family and I have been on a medical merry-go-round with my father for the last month making it impossible for me to spend any time in the world of blogging and I've had no time in the garden. You all know what happens to a garden when it's not watered, fertilized, deadheaded, pruned, talked to and loved on a regular basis. It's not pretty.

This post has been in draft form since July. This morning I decided to go ahead and publish it. I hope the month of August has been good to you and your gardens.

My Secret Garden

2010-07-27T07:43:00.000-05:00

My Secret Garden is four miles from my house. It’s the place where I relocate all the chipmunks that fall prey to my Havahart Live Animal Trap. It’s a lovely spot that includes a thick forest, an open meadow and a refreshing pond.

With camera in hand, I always take a walk after releasing the chippies and have fallen in love with this peaceful landscape. A large field of Common Milkweed grows there. The plants are about 48” high and bloom in June and July. Monarchs are especially fond of the nectar and their larvae eat the leaves. Milkweed is also a source of nectar for hummingbirds and many other butterfly species.

I literally see dozens and dozens of Monarchs fluttering from one milkweed to another, but never get close enough for a good photo. But….I did catch this one drinking nectar from some red clover.

The flowers growing there are as pretty as the ones blooming in my garden at home.

I see a lot of dragonflies and because they have excellent eyesight, I was surprised to get so close to this Widow Skimmer. Dragonflies are the fastest insects in the world, reaching speeds of between 19-38 mph.

White-tailed deer are often meandering around when I arrive, especially if it’s early in the morning. I’ll be posting about deer at a later date. For now, I’ll leave you with this deer footprint, which to my eye makes a heart-shaped track.

The novel, The Secret Garden, was published in 1911. Even back then, Frances Hodgson Burnett understood the healing power found in all living things.

Beautiful, Exotic and Easy to Grow

2010-07-21T18:13:00.000-05:00

Jean from Dig Grow Compost had a recent post titled, The Lilies of Buffalo. She has recently returned from Buffalo, NY, where garden bloggers from all over the country met up and toured the city and many of its beautiful gardens. Visit her blog. You'll be in for a treat.

Last September I bought a few Asiatic Lilies from a local greenhouse. They were deeply discounted and couldn't be passed up. I didn't get them in the ground until October and didn't hold out much hope for their winter survival.

Now I'm not saying that any of my lilies compare to the ones in Jean's post, but they have surprised and delighted me. These 'Sunny Sulawes' bloomed just two days ago and I can't stop looking at them.

These yellow and purple lilies were in a container labeled Purple Asiatic Pot Lily. I was thrilled to see the colors that bloomed.

'Tiny Nanny' white lilies. Different than the white lilies in the first photo. The leaves on these are narrower and the flowers are smaller. After these bloomed, something came along and ate the foliage down to the ground.

Stella d'Oros are growing all over our yard. They are definitely the golden stars of the garden. A very dependable re-bloomer when provided with adequate moisture and deadheaded. I wouldn't be without them.

These Ed Murray daylilies don't show up well from a distance and the camera never does them justice, but up close they are amazingly beautiful, especially when the sun shines on them. They bloom after the Stellas.

In this part of the country, we are lucky to have Baltimore Orioles nesting in our tall trees and visiting our various Oriole feeders, or in this case the hummingbird feeder. I think this is a 1st year Oriole although it could be a female. It was raining outside, but that didn't keep him/her from the sweet nectar.

Slowly but surely

I'll make my way

to your blog.

I go out of my way

to read every word

and study every photo.

And as you know

I luv to leave comments.

Sometimes I'm too wordy

but I can't help it.

See you soon.

It's True What They Say

2010-07-14T07:47:00.000-05:00

It's true! Plant it and they will come. In 2008, I planted the Echinacea hybrid 'Big Sky Summer Sky'. My feelings about these coneflowers have been lukewarm until the day this Monarch landed on one of the flowers. At first, I thought it might be a Viceroy, but my Audubon Butterfly Pocket Guide confirms that it's a Monarch. The Guide mentions that there are attempts underway to designate it the national insect of the United States. Do any of you know if that was successful? Guess I could check that out myself.

I've been away from blogging for a while. This brief post is an attempt to get back into it on a regular basis. I may be blogging about my summer garden well into winter, otherwise what would I do with the hundreds of photos on my computer.

Hoping to visit all of you soon.

I Don't Grow Irises

2010-06-01T20:32:00.000-05:00

I don't grow irises, but that doesn't stop me from almost driving my car off the road due to iris gawking. Instead of causing an accident, I parked my car and took pictures of these irises blooming in an unknown gardener's yard.

The name "iris" comes from the Greek word for "rainbow" because of its exceptional colors. This must be true because I read it on the internet!

All Things Seem Possible In May

2010-05-23T07:12:00.000-05:00

Foamflower, Tiarella 'Pirate's Patch'

A plant that tolerates dry shade.

That makes it a favorite of mine.

Pale pink, fragrant flowers in late spring.

The green leaves have dark center patches.

Fall temperatures turn the leaves to burgundy.

These Mount Hood Trumpet Daffodils were planted last fall. They were very slow to appear this spring and then when they did, they were short and didn't look like they'd have flowers. All of a sudden they shot up and produced these white blooms, which are just now beginning to fade. This particular daffodil is sometimes referred to as "The Second Snow", since it adds white to the landscape after the snow is gone. Mystery astilbe growing in front of them.

I've wanted to add some whimsy to my yard.

Nothing too showy or too colorful, but

I like that in other people's gardens.

This piece seemed perfect for me.

Last Sunday morning, Phillip and I made another visit to Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve. We were looking for frogs by this pond, but didn't see a one. But we did find turtles galore all out sunning themselves on the fallen logs. We did a quick count and came up with about 75 turtles.

I don't know a thing about aquatic plants,

except that they grow in water:)

These were in the pond by the turtles.

I imagine they are some kind of water lily.

I went on a bird walk at Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary,

binoculars, bird book & camera in hand.

By the time I figured out what tree the bird was in

and focused the binoculars, the bird was gone.

After two hours, I broke off from the group

and made friends with this goose.

Mr. and Mrs. Robin seem to trust me.

They let me take this photo.

Just to be safe, I wore protective head gear.

Yesterday, I went to a perennial sale here in our neighborhood and bought six plants. Also went to Phillip's flag football game and then to his house to do some container planting. Today will be a day of planting at our house, containers and in the ground. The weather is perfect and I plan to enjoy every minute of it. Thanks for stopping by to see what's new around here.

"The world's favorite season is spring.

All things seem possible in May."

-Edwin Way Teale

Do You Think The Rain Will Hurt The Rhubarb?

2010-05-14T18:56:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, my Uncle Jim would ask the above question as a way to change the conversation topic or when there was a lull in the conversation. Even today, I'm not sure what the question means, but the answer is, "Not if it's in cans." All this to say that we planted a rhubarb plant this week, our first ever. A neighbor dug it out of the garden at a home he has for sale and gave it to us. He doesn't know what kind it is except to say that it makes great pies. That's all my husband needed to know.

Mayapples grow in the wooded natural area between our house and the neighbor's. Some of them have moved closer to the flower beds which is fine with me. They are part of the Berberidaceae (Barberry) plant family and appear in forested areas before the trees have leaves. Sometimes they are referred to as the umbrella plant because it looks like a closed umbrella when first emerging and then opens into an open umbrella shape. Second year plants produce a white flower beneath the leaves and then that bloom turns into the "apple" of the plant.

Our resident robin is taking good care of her eggs and she's very possessive of the area close to the nest, but she did give me permission to stick my camera in for a quick picture. We're thankful that the nest is in the cedar tree and not on top of the light fixture next to the front door.

Many of the shrubs in our yard give us nice color even before they start to flower. Our yard might look too tidy and manicured for some gardeners, but it works for us and we like it. I find myself attracted to yards and gardens where everything is able to grow freestyle, but it's just not me. Maybe in my next life.

Spring-Blooming Groundcover

2010-05-08T21:54:00.000-05:00

Our neighbors have this Sweet woodruff growing as a ground cover under a big shade tree in their front yard. The plants are actually herbs that become invasive with too much moisture. When planted in dry shade, they're easily contained in a certain space and deliver a wonderful sweet aroma. The leaves are often used in sachets and potpourris and it's also a natural insect repellent.

These old-fashioned lilacs

have been growing in my parents'

yard for more than 50 years.

They've never once been pruned

and have never failed to deliver

beautiful flowers for all to enjoy.

This sign at a local landscape center

caught my attention and made me

think that the world still needs help

in the "get along" department.

I can still hear Rodney King

saying these words in 1991.

Phillip planted these flowers

last weekend and will give them to

his mommy tomorrow.

Have a beautiful Mother's Day.

May - The Growing Month

2010-04-30T20:55:00.000-05:00

"You are as welcome as the flowers of May"

Charles Macklin

The flower in my blog header is a Trillium grandiflorum. It's a native plant that grows in the natural area on the west side of our house. They do well in wooded areas with dry to moderate moisture. The blooms are found May-June and the large white flowers turn pink with age. They're blooming early this year, like almost everything else.

My lovely Lamium 'Beacon's Silver' with its pretty pink/purple flowers and silver/green foliage spreads nicely, but never too aggressively. It's my pleasure to have it in the garden.

Muscari armeniacum, winter hardy and

easy to grow. Lovely fragrance.

The day after this photo was taken,

50 mph winds blew the bench

over backwards on top of the flowers.

They survived.

Blue River, Keukenhof Gardens in Holland.

I bet my friend Dagmar from

Barefoot from Heaven has seen this drift

of Muscari armeniacum in person.

The photo is from The Plant Expert.

False Rue Anemone?

Wood Anemone?

I'm not sure which one, but they grow

in the natural areas of our yard

and I'm always happy to see them.

Does anyone know what these are?

It's hard to see in the photo, but

they are about to produce pink flowers.

I didn't plant them, they magically appeared.

The beautiful Brunnera macrophylla 'Variegata'

continues to show off it's blue flowers.

The foliage prefers a rich, moist soil,

but will tolerate dry conditions.

I discovered this newly built robin's nest

in one of our cedar trees. Is it my

imagination or is it heart-shaped?

A couple of love birds about

to lay eggs and raise a family.

Ending this post on a comical note.

Doesn't everyone have a pink, concrete

pig sitting out next to their antique tractor?

Sweet White Violets

2010-04-23T20:34:00.001-05:00

Sweet White Violets (Viola blanda Willd)

Viola is the classical Latin name for violets.

Blooms April - June.

I found them growing up against these

old, cracked, concrete blocks.

Look carefully where the grass meets the building

and you'll see the Sweet White Violets.
Deep blue/purple Wood Violets are common in

Wisconsin and have been the state flower since 1949,

but I very seldom see the Sweet Whites.

I looked in the window and liked what I saw.

Moving on to my bathroom.

You're thrilled, right?

Pumpkins, cucumbers, peppers,

zinnias and nasturtium.

All thriving in the sunny bathroom.

Planted the seeds in clear plastic cups

so that Phillip could see the roots

and understand better what goes

on down there in the dirt.

This lazy duck was sitting in the

middle of the road enjoying the sun.

The honk of my horn got his

attention and he was on his way.

Made me smile.

Maybe I share too many turkey photos.

I can't help myself.

They beg me to photograph them.

In case you're wondering about the header photo,

that's my shadow standing in the

ditch with the Marsh Marigolds.

They are one of the first flowers

to bloom when spring arrives.

Also known as Cowslip.

Caltha Palustris is the botanical name.

They grow in low-lying, wet areas.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

2010-04-15T05:48:00.000-05:00

Andy Williams was referring to Christmas when he sang "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year", but the beginning of each new season always feels like the the hap-happiest season of all to me.

Today is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day -- a day when garden bloggers from all over the world share what's blooming in their gardens. It would be difficult to find a nicer garden blogger than Linda at Slow Growing in Scotland.

I went back and checked my GBBD post for April '09, and found that the none of the daffodils or hyacinths had bloomed, the anemones had no flowers and there was only one crocus bloom. The lungwort, brunnera, and glory-of-the-snow were barely out of the ground.

Come and see what's in bloom this year on April 15.

This is P and N's view of Star Apple Orchard.

Spring and summer will fly by quickly.

September will arrive and we'll be picking apples.

I know, I know...I'm rushing the seasons.

Please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to find out how to join in the fun on the 15th of each month. Carol is a great host and everyone who visits your blog will make you feel welcome. I read blogs for a long time before I felt confident enough to share my own garden. Some people may be thinking that I should have waited a while longer until I had something more substantial to blog about. So sorry, couldn't wait.

Before and After

2010-04-11T19:49:00.000-05:00

April 8 - Snow Day

April 11 - Day of Sunshine

April 8 - Snow Day

April 11 - Day of Sunshine

April 8 - Snow Day

April 11 - Day of Sunshine

We're back to spring and it's all good.

This brown-eyed boy turned 8 on Saturday.

April Is For The Birds

2010-04-06T16:38:00.001-05:00

I wondered if ducks were considered birds and the answer is yes. Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. So says WikiAnswers. Phillip and I were at Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary yesterday and while he was feeding the geese, I couldn't keep my eyes off this Mallard. As common as they are across the country from the wetlands to the city park ponds, I'm always in awe of the male's iridescent dark green head and yellow bill, especially in the sunlight.

Last year was my first time to have a bird bath in the yard. It's an inexpensive plastic model that I bought at Stein Garden Center. The birds didn't seem to like it and I was disappointed, but this spring they've shown an interest in stopping in for a drink and an occasional bath. It looks like there's no water in the bird bath but trust me, there is. They lowered the water level with all their splashing.

This male cardinal was nestled in behind some daffodils, sitting on top of what will soon be the Black-Eyed Susans.

It pays to make the bed in the morning and while doing so, take a look out the window. You might see a wild turkey walking through the backyard. Wild turkeys are native to parts of Wisconsin and are common to abundant in the northeast part of the state. Spring is a good time to see and hear turkeys because it's their breeding season. I think this is a young male, as he was traveling alone and had a twinkle in his eye.

First Day of Spring

2010-03-27T07:48:00.000-05:00

Some of you might be thinking/wishing that it was me who posted this sign. It wasn't, but Phillip and I kept an eye out for the camera while exploring the park on the first day of spring. Sorry to say that we didn't find it.

It was warm enough for this Mallard couple to be out in the sunshine doing their thing and they didn't care who was watching.

But it was still cold enough for there to be ice on Duck Creek, making for a lovely contrast to the above scene.

The sap is running!

A sure sign of spring.

Temps above freezing during the day....

Temps falling below freezing at night....

Makes the sap flow in the maple trees.

Wisconsin is a leading producer of maple syrup.

Cattails at the water's edge.

This is how we all feel about the arrival of spring.

Not sure why, but I had so much trouble

with alignment and spacing while working

on this post. I give up.

March Is What You Make Of It

2010-03-19T21:35:00.000-05:00

If you live in zone 4, it's hard not to notice the incredibily brown landscape we experience this time of year. I've often said that if I had the opportunity to spend some time in the sunny south, it would be for the entire month of March. Truth be known, I really don't want to be away from home for that long.

As I was driving today, there wasn't a single purple crocus to be seen, but I saw this small purple building on the grounds of a golf driving range. I've no idea why they decided to paint it purple, but I'm glad they did.

A little further on down the road, I spotted this yellow iron wheel leaning up against the weathered gray fence. Notice the white bird house with the red roof on the tree.

The first little town I came to was Freedom and it was here that I saw the yellow/gold dome of Saint Nicholas Catholic Church. Not exactly a daffodil, but pretty all the same.

I've no idea why the colorful t-shirts are painted on the side of this old building. Maybe they sell them when the weather is warm.

What started out as a drab drive in the country ended up proving that color can be found if you look hard enough, even in the month of March.

Did you hear about the Boulder, CO woman who has her neighbors complaining? The 52 year old woman was gardening wearing only a yellow thong and pink gloves. Apparently, it's legal under Colorado state law to garden outside topless.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - March 15

2010-03-15T05:34:00.000-05:00

The 15th of every month is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. If you think you'd like to join in, please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens and find out how easy it is to be part of the fun. We all appreciate you, Carol.

Hen and Chicks

Sempervivum

Waiting for the glacier to move through.

Produces 12" tall flower

stalks in early summer.

Sedum 'Autumn Joy'
There can never be too
many of them in the garden.

Yarrow
Achillea 'Pretty Belinda'
Grows well in poor soil.
That's why I love it so.

Rock garden blend of sedum.

Come back later to see pink and yellow blooms.

All the pots feeling ignored and

waiting for love.

Acorns in the wren house?

Interesting.

Can't wait to see what your garden looks like in March.

My Pledge To You -- No More Talk Of Snow

2010-03-10T15:47:00.000-06:00

This is the last time you'll see the word snow in any of my posts until the month of November. Even if we get another two feet of it, I'll be silent on the subject. It can't be avoided in photos, so just pretend the white stuff isn't there.

The warmer weather has gotten me out walking in the neighborhood again and that's a good thing because otherwise I might have missed seeing this unusual fruit tree. Does anybody know what kind of tree produces red fruit like this in the month of March?

Wisconsin has more than 65 types of wild birds and here's an unpleasant fact regarding these birds. It's estimated that 39 million birds are killed by cats each year in our state. Really now, how do "they" come up with these numbers? This pretty northern cardinal was sitting on the arborvitae in our neighbor's yard.

Meet Chloe. She's the guard dog who lives at my friend's house. Who needs United Security Services when you've got Chloe?

The common cattail is native to North America and it's not unusual to see this species growing in the wet ditches of our neighborhood. I was fascinated with them as a kid and I still am today. This particular stand is just down the street from me.

When it come to spring

all is not hopeless here.

The daffodils have made an appearance.

They're shy and only reveal a little

of themselves at a time.

This prickly pear cactus is hot stuff

and it's ready to come back to life.

Hard to believe that in three months

it will produce pretty yellow flowers.

Thanks for joining me for a walk in the neighborhood.

Still Having Fun In The Snow

2010-03-05T18:31:00.012-06:00

The calendar says that we're inching closer to spring, but when I look out the window it looks a lot like winter. Weekend before last, Phillip and I went to Pamperin Park to do some exploring. The first thing we did was make our way over the bridge that crosses Duck Creek .

We found this tree with big fuzzy buds. I thought they looked like the furry catkins of a pussy willow tree and he thought they looked like tiny rabbit's feet. I remember this tree having pretty white flowers last spring which makes me think it's some kind of dogwood.

Some green was spotted, so we pushed away the snow and found this moss. Green never looked so good to me. Wisconsin has about 400 native species of moss and I don't know where to begin finding out the name of this one.

This cedar tree has been attacked by a woodpecker and it's prognosis for a long life can't be good. Trees with wounds like this are susceptible to insects, diseases, fungi and bacteria. The woodpeckers that I sometimes see in our area are red-headed, red-bellied, downy, hairy, northern flicker and pileated.

These mossy-covered handprints were in the concrete near the bridge. We wondered who they belonged to and made up our own stories. Phillip thought it was a fossil and I thought maybe one of the workers building the bridge left the imprints although they looked small enough to be a child's hands.

Instead of making our way back over the bridge, Phillip convinced me that we should walk through the open water where it's only a few inches deep. We had fun, but our feet got a little wet and so we headed on home.

"It's spring. I feel it in me blood."

Ken Alexander

Dear March, Come In!

2010-02-28T13:06:00.000-06:00

Nature

To March

by Emily Dickinson

Dear March, come in!

How glad I am!

I looked for you before.

Put down your hat-

You must have walked-

How out of breath you are!

Dear March, how are you?

And the rest?

Did you leave Nature well?

Oh, March, come right upstairs with me,

I have much to tell.

....................

I know it's technically still February, but I couldn't resist posting the first stanza of this poem about March. You can go here to read the rest of Emily Dickinson's poem.

I'm hoping that as we move into March, one of my favorite garden centers will no longer look like this.

It's still cold outside....

So I had Phillip do a little planting inside.

Some basil, chives and parsley.

He included a peach pit that

he'd saved from last summer.

Many famous people were born on March 1. There's Ron Howard the actor/director, Harry Belafonte the singer/songwriter, Robert Lowel the poet, and Deke Slayton the astornaut. But none of the people born on the first day of March is more loved by me than my son who was born on this day in 1968. Happy Birthday to my favorite son.

A Day Late & A Lotta Blooms Short

2010-02-16T06:45:00.001-06:00

Here in the frozen tundra, I've got nothing in the bloom department to share for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. This red twig dogwood and the texture of the tree bark will have to do for the month of February. I often complain about the unruly growth of these shrubs in our yard, but they do serve a purpose in the winter and provide us with some pretty red bark against the white snow.

Couldn't find much worthy of GBBD while walking around my yard, so I decided to look up. I should do that more often because I saw a jet leaving a beautiful white stream in sky. The jet looked like a cross to me and it churned up a bunch of thoughts while I stood out there in the cold looking at it.

It gets necessary around here this time of year to look for color where ever possible. I was waiting for Phillip to come out of school one day and was struck by how the school buses and playground equipment were providing the only color in sight.

The young man in black is Phillip. He could use a colorful hat, wouldn't you say?

Carol at May Dreams Gardens is the host of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Go visit her and find out how you can participate on the 15th of every month. She's not only a good host, she's smart. Can't beat that combination.

It's Been One Year

2010-02-13T13:18:00.000-06:00

It was one year ago today that I published my first post. So, Happy Bloggiversary to me. I'm using the same photo I used on that first post because I'm short on time, I like the photo and it's a good way to wish all my blogger friends a Happy Valentine's Day.

Try Not To Miss Me:)

2010-02-07T09:12:00.000-06:00

Starting later today, I'll be without a computer for a while. Although I'll miss visiting all your blogs, it'll be interesting to see what all I accomplish with time away from the computer.

I couldn't resist changing the header photo to a warm, sandy beach scene. The picture was taken by Phillip's mother when they were on vacation a couple weeks ago.

These photos are from yesterday when Phillip was here. He and the two children from next door, Caitlyn and Joe, had fun the old-fashioned way.....they played outside. Lucky, the dog, joined in the fun. When they came in from outside, I made them hot cocoa using Hershey's Cocoa instead of the usual instant Swiss Miss cocoa mix. It was a hit!

What A Difference 5 Months Make

2010-02-04T11:23:00.002-06:00

This is how one of my favorite flower beds looked on September 19, 2009. Our average high temperature on this date is 69 with a low of 46. The record high for this date is 92, the record low 28. The first killing frost in Brown County usually takes place October 4-10.

Here's the same flower bed on February 4, 2010. Our average high temperature on this date is 26 and the average low is 9. The record high for this date is 44, the record low is minus 24. Typically our last spring frost occurs from May 10-16.

It's too soon for me to be feeling giddy about the prospect of spring, but I'm already thinking/dreaming about the new growing season. Until the snow has disappeared from the ground and melted off of the rooftops, I'll have to be content with visiting my blogger friends who are lucky enough to enjoy early springs.

Garden Bloggers' Muse Day - 02/01/10

2010-02-01T08:25:00.000-06:00

Carolyn at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago is home to Garden Bloggers' Muse Day. Post a poem on the 1st of the month and then leave a comment on Carolyn's blog to let others know you've done so. The best part of this day is finding all the wonderful poems and photos that others have shared.

This field is close to the library that I visit and I keep wondering why the cabbage was never picked.

I had to go in search for a poem about cabbage and found more of them than I imagined possible. This short, silly poem seemed perfect. It will never be confused with the other great poems found on Garden Bloggers' Muse Day, but still it's fun.

LOVE IS LIKE A CABBAGE

My love is like a cabbage

Divided into two,

The leaves I give to others,

The heart I give to you.

Author Unknown

A Winter Look At Trees

2010-01-28T07:39:00.000-06:00

Some people might say that trees look prettier in the summer, but on a sunny winter day when the sky is azure blue and the ground is covered with clean white snow, the trees have an interesting look that I find very appealing. Thank you to the Green Bay Botanical Garden for sharing your trees with me. Susan, are you reading this? I hope so.

The Gable's Weeping White Fir is a slow-growing fir with drooping branches that give it a weeping appearance making it a good choice as a focal point in the garden or yard. And it's even patriotic.

The huge pyramidal shape of this Whitnall Silver Linden caught my attention. It's a popular, long-lived shade tree.

This ornamental tree with cherry red fruit is the Anne E Weeping Crabapple. In the spring, the flower buds will be a deep red-pink and open to faded pink and white blossoms. The fruit turns a bright red in early autumn and persists into the winter.

Crabapple trees are a very popular tree in the Midwest. In addition to their beautiful spring blooms, they also provide us with visual interest the rest of the year with their textured bark, craggy branches and brightly colored fruit. The Ormiston Roy Crabapple in this photo has orange fruit although that's hard to see in the photo.

The day that I was at the Garden, the lights and decorations from the annual Garden of Lights event were being taken down and removed. This one was still up and reminded me of what a good time was had by all back in December.

Save The Karner Blue Butterfly

2010-01-21T21:19:00.000-06:00

This is the ominous sign that greeted me at the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary last night, but I didn't let it stop me from entering. The Northeastern Wisconsin Audubon Society holds programs there that are open to the public and on Wednesday evening Cathy Carnes of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service presented information on the Karner Blue Butterfly, a federally endangered species.

The Karner blue was federally listed as an endangered species in 1992 and it's rare to see them in most parts of the country, but Wisconsin is home to the world's largest population of this butterfly. The Karner blues have a wingspan of about one inch and the adult butterflies live only 5-7 days.

Karner blues can be found in seven states - Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, New Hampshire, New York and Ohio. These states have an abundance of open areas with sandy soils that support the wild lupine plant. The caterpillar of the Karner blue feeds exclusively on lupine leaves.

This photo was taken last summer and even though I own two butterfly identification books, I'm still not sure what species it is. My guess is a swallowtail of some sort.

I have a sudden urge to grab a butterfly net and run out into a field of wild flowers in search of butterflies.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - January 15

2010-01-14T14:44:00.000-06:00

In the fall, I remove all annuals and cut down all the perennials in my yard. This makes for an easy start in the spring because there is little or no clean up to be done. The problem is that then there's nothing sticking out of the snow to be photographed for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. So, off I went to the Green Bay Botanical Garden. Technically, it is my garden because I'm a member.

This bronze sculpture, Serenade, is in the Upper Rose Garden. It was a gift to the garden from the children of Marguerite and George Kress, as a tribute to their parents. Dee Clements was the sculptor. Morning Light Chinese Silver Grass swaying in the background.

In the summer, the Rose Garden is filled with colorful blooming hardy shrubs and hybrid tea roses, but on this January day rose hips provided the only color. Rose hips are the fruit of the rose plant and according to Wikipedia, rose hips are used for herbal tea, jam, jelly, syrup, beverages, pies, bread and marmalade. They are also high in Vitamin C.

Adam's Needle Yucca looks almost as attractive to me poking out of the snow as it does in the summer when it has a tall flower spike at the center of the plant that last for several weeks.

I think this particular grass is Karl Foerster feather reed grass. The foliage is dark green during the spring, summer and early fall and the flowers are pinkish in color. By late fall and into the winter, both are the color of wheat.

Do you know those beautiful Pinky-Winky hydrangeas that bloom in the early summer with cone-shaped white flowers that then turn to a pink color in August? This is how they look in January in zone 4.

This is the Nodding Wild Onion, a popular Midwestern prairie plant. In the summer it produces pale lavender flowers on a single leafless stalk and attracts honeybees.

This colorful frog sitting out in the snow made me smile. There is a special children's garden that includes a frog pond, but that's not where I found this one. It was sitting near one of the buildings where the classrooms are located.

As always, Carol at May Dreams Gardens, is our most wonderful hostess for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day and I thank her for doing so. Please do go to her most delightful and informative blog and see how you, too, can join in on the 15th of every month.

I used the new updated editor for this post and it felt awkward and unfamiliar and it seemed to take me forever to complete the post. And I never did figure out what happened to spellcheck.

I'm posting this one day early because tomorrow is my dad's 86th birthday and I'll be busy preparing dinner to take down to him for the celebration. Be looking for me to visit your garden when I get home.

No Wimpy Snowman For This Family

2010-01-10T16:42:00.003-06:00

Meet the Rougeux family from Neenah, Wisconsin. They have a snowman in their backyard that is 18 feet tall and measures 12 feet in diameter.

The photo is from the Appleton Post-Crescent and if you're interested in how the snowman was built, you can go here. The snowman was started in early December after the area received a 14 inch snowfall and it was finished two days before Christmas.

Frosty has his own Facebook page. It can be found by searching for The Snowman Project.

Now put on your snowpants and get outside and play in the snow!

San Diego Blooms

2009-12-29T18:32:00.004-06:00

When Susie from Poppy and Sage read that I was going to be visiting San Diego, she recommended I visit Cedros Gardens in Solana Beach which is 15 miles north of downtown. I never made it there, but did manage to take a few pictures of the flowers I saw on Coronado Island and at Seaport Village. Flowers blooming outside in December. Imagine that!

My rickety old computer doesn't let me leave comments on Susie's blog, so I read and enjoy and then feel frustrated that I can't blabber on and on with my comments. Leaving comments only seems to work for me if the blogger is using the pop-up window for comments, as opposed to embedded below post. Hint. Hint.

On Coronado Island, I saw all these poinsettias planted around all the big evergreens growing in the median on Orange Avenue. We were told that in the early years of the Island orange trees were used for landscaping along the avenue, but jackrabbits eventually ate the tree roots and the orange trees were not replaced. Trees less tasty to jackrabbits were planted, but the name Orange Avenue remained.

Something I learned about poinsettias while in San Diego is that the Paul Ecke Ranch in Encinitas, CA provides 80% of all poinsettias worldwide. I find that almost impossible to believe, but if they say it's true, that's good enough for me.

Birds of Paradise were blooming everywhere we went. Orange is not my favorite color for flowers, but I fell in love with these beautiful flowers and how they resemble a bird in flight. The glossy green foliage is also very attractive. They are native to South Africa and are sometimes referred to as Crane flowers. It's my understanding that they bloom September through May, so that explains why we saw so many of them.

At Seaport Village, there were many beds of white alyssum and red & white cyclamen growing outside the shops and restaurants. Beautiful, natural Christmas decorations. I only think of cyclamen as a house plant but it can be grown outside provided the temperature doesn't fall below 50 degrees. I've always liked how the stems hold the flowers up over the silvery marbled leaves.

There were also a lot of these bushes with blue berries that caught my eye. I don't know the name of it. Susie is a professional landscape designer, so maybe she can help me out.

These plants with the purple flowers were growing in containers. Although it looks familiar to me, I can't think of the name. Susie? Anyone else?

I also saw many trees that were very unusual and entirely new to me. I'll save those for another post.

In less than 48 hours, it will be January and my thoughts will start turning to spring. That's not necessarily a good thing because spring is still a long way off for all of us in zone 4, but that won't stop me from dreaming.

Happy New Year!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - December 15

2009-12-15T06:44:00.002-06:00

This was the view out the airplane window as we left the frozen tundra last Friday and flew off to San Diego. Fat chance of finding anything blooming down there or in my garden.

In a matter of hours, we were at the beautiful Hotel Del Coronado drinking hot cider, soaking up all the history and enjoying all the blooms.

Carol at May Dreams Gardens is the gracious and lovely host of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Be sure to visit her and see how you can join in and share what's blooming (or not blooming, as in my case) in your part of the world. It's fun, you'll enjoy it.

Guess It Will Be A White Christmas

2009-12-09T16:31:00.003-06:00

Pulled up the blinds early this morning to find 14 inches of snow decorating everything in sight. In this part of the country winter is harsh, but a fresh snowfall never fails to take my breath away.

More winter white could be seen out this window with Frosty providing just a touch of color.

Took this picture through the window in the middle of the night. The outdoor Christmas lights were still on and it looked magical out there.

We're leaving on Friday for a few days in San Diego. The SD weather forecast for the weekend is 60 degrees and showers. Know what? That's sounds mighty good to me right now.

Less Is More

2009-11-22T16:11:00.007-06:00

Sometimes less is more, like apple trees without the leaves. I think they look amazing. The bright red apples have the appearance of ornaments hanging in the trees. They brighten up the brown landscape and I can just imagine how pretty it would look if snow covered the orchard. All that fruit will provide food for wildlife. Blacks bears, red squirrels, deer, turkeys, fox, fishers, porcupines, bobcat and coyotes are all known to eat apples.

Star Orchard is located in Hollandtown, just blocks from P & N's house. The orchard can be seen out their windows and provides a scenic view all year long.

Wish I could muster up this much enthusiasm. Maybe I'll ask P & N for permission to jump on their couch and experience what it feels like to jump up to the ceiling.

Phillip has a blog now. If you're interested in what a second grader blogs about, you can go here to take a look. Having trouble getting this link to work. Hope I'm not driving you crazy with the edits.

A Birthday Girl Named Sue

2009-11-17T20:20:00.002-06:00

The older the fiddler, the sweeter the tune.

English Proverb

Sue, my birthday gift to you

is this tiny house.

I know you love them so.

I pass by it every week

on my way to Hollandtown.

It always makes me think of you.

Now, if only I could

move this tiny house from

north to south.

Happy Birthday far away friend.

You are someone special

who deserves the very best!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - 11/15/09

2009-11-15T05:07:00.010-06:00

If you came here expecting to find blooms in these containers, I'm sorry but you're about a month late. Here's where the pots spend the winter, the northwest corner of the house where nobody can see them. Kind of sad.

The ornamental grasses look as nice in the late fall as they do in the summer. Different, but nice. I'm determined to cut them down right after Thanksgiving because in my opinion, they do not provide attractive visual interest buried in snow and are a terrible mess to clean up in the spring. If Alley Cat wasn't part of our family, I'd consider bringing in some plumes to arrange in a tall vase.

Staghorn sumac is a decidious shrub that can grow to a height of 25'. Its leaves are very colorful in the early fall. The cylinder-shaped berry clusters are red and fuzzy looking and last through the winter. The branches have a velvet appearance that resembles deer antlers, thus the name Staghorn. Only the female plants produce berries which provide food for birds, especially game birds.

Our neighbors have this tangled conglomeration of yellow apples and red berries growing together in their front yard. I can't walk by it without stopping to admire it.

The very talented Carol from May Dreams Gardens is the host of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day and I thank her very much for doing so. And I thank YOU for stopping by Mamma Mia Days.

Closed For The Season

2009-11-13T18:36:00.019-06:00

When I saw all these picnic tables standing on end at Pamperin Park last Saturday, I figured that the park employees were sending the message that if we wanted to have a picnic in November, we should bring a blanket along. It's our largest developed county park and it's less than a mile from our house. The park is hilly and wooded and has the scenic Duck Creek flowing through it. I've been taking Phillip there on a regular basis since he's been able to walk.

There's not a lot of color to be found outside this time of year so when I noticed how amazing this little girl's hair looked in the sunlight, I couldn't resist taking a picture of it. She was unknown to me so I didn't photograph her face, but she was very pretty and seemed so happy to be at the park with all the other kids.

It's that time of year here in Wisconsin when the Asian lady beetles seem to be every place including on my water bottle. They're looking for places to hibernate for the winter and we find them both on the house and in the house. They love a warm southern exposure. Did I mention that they bite?

Near the end of last summer, my niece, the Garden Princess, was digging out some of her California Poppies and gave me a bunch of roots that looked dried out and close to death. I brought them home, planted them, watered them a few times and then forgot about them. I looked at them last week and found them pushing out some green. They like a lot of sun and do well in dry, sandy soil so I suspect it's happy where it's planted. They don't usually transplant well because of the long tap root and so it's best to sow the seed directly into the garden in the spring.

At first glance, I wasn't sure if I was seeing seeds in this pod or mouse droppings. Seeds, right? I've got mice on my mind because Alley Cat has been sitting and staring at the fireplace for long periods of time. We ignore her because he don't want to think that there are mice in the fireplace.

I still see a leaf now and then that grabs my attention, like this one. I've always liked the look of a lone leaf.

Not sure why our neighbors have left their red cooler sitting outside, but I take my shot of color wherever I can find it. They borrowed our wheelbarrow back in July and never returned it. Today I saw it in their backyard and wheeled it back to our house. I wonder if they'll even notice. They're a very nice family, but I hope they don't ask to borrow anything else.

Happy Weekend To All Of You.

Back In The Saddle

2009-11-06T05:46:00.007-06:00

I'm back to blogging, but this isn't me in the saddle. It's Phillip, horseback riding while on a family vacation to Yellowstone last summer.

It's true that all of our pretty spring, summer and autumn color is gone and we're left with mostly brown, but that's no excuse not to get outside with my camera and look for something that's still growing. If not growing, then at least something that catches my eye.

I took the camera along when I walked out to get the mail today and found both the Foamflower (Tiarella 'Pirate's Patch') and Heuchera (Coral Bells 'Caramel') wearing their fall colors and looking rather nice.

The Lamium 'Beacon's Silver' must like cool weather because it's still pushing out some violet-colored blooms.

We have several of these bushes in our yard that show off nice clumps of berries in November. I don't know the name of the bushes, but I like them.

Back in the summer, I grew a pumpkin plant that produced plenty of flowers, but not even one teeny, tiny pumpkin. I wasn't expecting one that weighed 1,232 pounds, but one pumpkin would have been nice. In the plant's defense, it suffered miserably from mildew.

I saw this colorful sign at the edge of a drab November cornfield. There was no sign of the dairy being under construction. Clever name.

Now that I've managed to publish a post, I'll be around to visit your blogs and see what you've been up to lately.

Thinking Of You

2009-10-31T07:35:00.001-05:00

Have A Weirdly-Wonderful,

Fiendishly-Festive,

Happy Halloween.

In case you're wondering, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth but I have been sentenced to 4 weeks of hard leaf raking/blowing. I'll be back to blogging soon.

Mushrooms Galore!

2009-10-20T14:15:00.006-05:00

Retired people have time to do things like sit in the grass and remove any fungi they see.

While sitting there, I looked around and everything looked so pretty. The fall color is past its peak, but still a sight that makes me glad to be alive. I went inside and grabbed my camera, sat back down on the grass and took a few pictures.

We do a complete clean up of everything in the fall and that includes four weeks of blowing/raking leaves. By the middle of November, I'm tired and feel ready to sell the house, move into an apartment and do my gardening at our son and dil's house. Come spring, I'm thankful we didn't move into that apartment.

Our Porch Swing

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - 10/15/09

2009-10-15T13:45:00.003-05:00

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is on the 15th of every month and is hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. It's a nice way to share what's blooming in your garden and a fantastic way to visit gardens all over the world. Thank you, Carol.

The only annuals that haven't fallen victim to Jack Frost are the various snapdragons that are in containers. They still look this pretty even though the temperature has been down in the 20's a few nights.

This tiny white phlox 'David' was planted about a month ago and is already rewarding me with blooms despite the cold weather.

This picture of impatiens and hypoestes was taken last Friday. They were dead on Sunday morning. I bought the containers at a yard sale last spring. Paid twenty-five cents each.

All of the sedum 'Autumn Joy' are looking picture perfect except for a few of them where the plant stems aren't strong enough to support the large flower heads.

These ornamental grasses (name unknown) are at the end of the driveway, on both sides. They are turning a pretty gold/orange and will be even more colorful in a few weeks. Note: They look prettier when it's not snowing and the sun is shining.

I hardly ever buy pumpkins, but my sister-in-law gave me this one and I like it a lot.

These are the same trees as in my header photo. What a difference a few snowflakes make.

Loving Autumn

2009-10-12T15:34:00.006-05:00

I took a short break from posting and reading blogs, but think I'm ready to jump back into it. I'm not especially good at posting, but I dearly luv reading all your blogs and have missed doing so.

Of all the lilies that bloomed this summer, none of them made me happier than this tough cookie that bloomed after the plant had been cut down.

This crabapple tree is outside my dentist's office. When I was there last week, I commented to the people working there how pretty it looked. They couldn't think what tree I was talking about even though they walk by it every day on their way into work. They went to the window to take a look and agreed with me that the orange fruit was very attractive. Interesting how we sometimes miss the beauty right around us.

I often drive by the Oneida Apple Orchard and never tire of seeing these wooden boxes filled with apples. And I never tire of eating locally grown apples.

The fall color here in northeast Wisconsin peaks about the middle of October. The new header photo was taken out my front door. The view brightens my heart every time I look at it, but sometimes an individual leaf makes a bigger impression on me.

I know how you've been wishing and hoping for another turkey photo and I aim to please:) All my turkey photos are taken from inside the car because once I get out they scatter.

Garden Bloggers' Death Day - 09/30/09

2009-09-29T19:33:00.004-05:00

Kate at Gardening Without Skills is full of good ideas. One of her ideas was to start Garden Bloggers' Death Day where on the last day of the month gardeners post photos of their "not so healthy" flowers and vegetables. Be sure to visit Kate's blog and leave a comment that you're participating so we can all stop in and see what's ailing in your garden. Sometimes, too much pretty can be a teeny tiny bit boring.

This is Phillip's houseplant garden that grows in one of the bathrooms at our house. It didn't always look like this. Up until a few months ago, the plants were thriving. Over the last year he learned their names and it's always his job to water them when he's here. He even came up with the idea to use his ruler to measure how tall they were, write it down and then measure again a couple weeks later to see if they had grown. In case you're wondering, going clockwise starting with the one in the basket; shamrock, grape ivy, spider plant and English ivy. He colored the picture that's on the mirror five years ago. Green must have been his favorite color when he was two.

Here's the culprit!

Oh, he looks innocent.

But we know what

goes on when we're sleeping.

We still love our Alley Cat.

This is being posted a day early because I'll be gone most of tomorrow.

More From The Door

2009-09-28T05:58:00.007-05:00

We know a very lucky couple who live in North Carolina and recently bought a very charming farmhouse with acreage in Door County, WI. They and their family will enjoy it as a vacation home. On our recent trip up there, we checked it out and I fell in love with everything about it.

On the drive there, we saw this hay sculpture. Or is it a straw sculpture? Since I live in America's Dairyland I should know the difference between hay and straw, but I don't? Anyway, it's nice to know that farmers have a good sense of humor.

I'm not including a photo of D & T's farmhouse for privacy reasons, but trust me that it's everything I'd want if it were mine. They do have this very old building on their property and I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Oh, the stories it could tell.

They also have their very own silo. Most of my adult life, I've dreamed about living on land that had a silo. Don't know why that's desirable to me, but it is. Not sure what's going on with the pile of gravel next to it. It looked like someone had been shoveling it into the silo.

There was something literally blooming all around the house and I could have posted a dozen photos of flowers. These were some of my favorites. Yes, they even have a white picket fence.

Oh, how I'd love to sit in these yellow chairs and enjoy some good conversation with friends. Actually, sitting out there alone with my own thoughts also sounds appealing.

D & T, if by chance you read this post, I hope you enjoyed seeing the photos again. If you need a caretaker to live there while you're in NC, give me a call:)

A Day In The Door

2009-09-26T05:47:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago we enjoyed a day trip to Door County, WI. Not a long trip, only an hour from our house.

The county has more than 300 miles of shoreline, more than almost any other in the country and is known as the Cape Cod of the Midwest. The waters of Green Bay are on one side of the Peninsula and Lake Michigan on the other. There are five state parks in Door County where visitors can enjoy hiking, camping, swimming, fishing and snowmobiling.

Door County has 12 lighthouses, most of them built in the 1800's. The Peninsula is also know for its cherry and apple orchards, wineries, fish boils, and shipwrecks.

This sign was posted at Cave Point County Park and I think it was meant for people like me who like to get too close to the edge of the cliff when taking pictures.

When I looked down at this big rock in the water, I could see a face. It looked like it was smiling and winking at me.

These beach chairs were on a beach on the Lake Michigan side of the Peninsula. The reason they were empty is because it was too dang cold to be out there lounging next to the water.

On the Green Bay side where it was warmer, we saw this couple enjoying some fishing. They looked so peaceful and seemed to be happy soaking up the sun while waiting for fish to bite. As nice at it looks, I don't think I could sit still long enough to catch a fish.

Cronenwett Farms

2009-09-22T16:09:00.002-05:00

I bought a container of grapes at the grocery store this morning. Ate almost all of them as soon as I got home. Left a few for this photo. They were very scrumptious. They were labeled as Table Grapes grown at Cronenwett Farms in Lawton, MI. I wanted to know more, so I went to their website. The farm has been in the same family for six generations and some of their grapes are used in Welch's juices.

This flower bed is still looking really pretty and I'm appreciating every minute because I know that it's only a matter of days before it starts going downhill. The photo was taken on Sunday. That's my Mumkin front left and Diamond Frost next to it. Please, may I remember to plant lots and lots of Diamond frost next year.

The shrub roses were cut back about a month ago and now they are blooming nicely again. This is the pink one. There are also red and white bushes.

Left to Right

Jack, Joseph, Phillip, Caitlyn, Ava

Lucky in the Front

Kids & Dogs Playing Outside - Luv it

We put out the fall decorations over the weekend and Alley Cat joined in.

You might be sick to death of my turkey photos, but here's another one. When we pulled up the kitchen blinds Sunday morning, there they were crossing the street from one neighbor's house to the next. Picture taken through the slightly dirty window.

Who's Been Eating The Petunias?

2009-09-18T19:42:00.002-05:00

These poor little purple petunias. Night visitors have been eating the foliage and the flowers.I picked up the pot and found these slimy slugs. There were also some earwigs but apparently they're camera shy because they scampered away.

I met up with this spider while making my way to the outside water faucet. He was kind enough to stand still for a picture. If I had walked into his web and he had ended up inside my shirt, I'm not sure he'd be looking this intact.

Our tomatoes are finally turning red but I'm not especially impressed with how they taste. I like the tomatoes my mom and dad grow better.

I saw a field of sunflowers as I was driving along the other day. I pulled over, got out of the car and very politely asked them to turn and look at me so I could take their picture. Very stubborn they were, kept their backs to me.

I often see Sandhill Cranes in the fields, but they don't let me get close enough for a good photo. They are always in pairs and they never both look at me at the same time. There are different subspecies of Sandhill Cranes varying in size and weight. I never get close enough to make a positive identification. All cranes engage in dancing which involves bowing, jumping, running, stick or grass throwing, and wing flapping. They have an unique call that I always recognize. I hear them flying overhead before I see them.