February 24th

Sunday, February 24th, 2019

I forgot to mention in previous posts that one of the first things I said after walking outside at the airport was “it smells alive here!”

Theresa may have thought I was a tad crazy, but I could smell the greenery. The air held moisture, so it smelled like things growing.

That became the running joke of the weekend, so to further my excitement about things being alive, Emily suggested that we go walk the arboretum.

Not only were things alive and growing, but trees and flowers were BLOOMING! Skies were blue, birds were singing, bees buzzing, turtles swimming.

It was simply wonderful.

As if things couldn’t get any better, Kya and I were able to sit by the pool this afternoon after our arboretum visit as Emily and Theresa got some of their own things done.

So so wonderful.

June 6th

Wednesday, June 6th, 2018

Remember how I said all of my plants in our landscaping are all blooming and full? Well, add my peonies to that bunch!

They bloomed on my birthday last year, and they aren’t far behind this year. Only this one has started to unfurl so far, but it is glorious!

May 17th

Thursday, May 17th, 2018

I never imagined that I would be this excited about photographing a skunk.

But folks, I am so pumped!

My neighbors have gorgeous apple trees, all in peak bloom right now, so I wandered down there this morning to photograph them. My neighbor, Jeannie, came out to greet me, and to warn me about the skunk in their backyard.

So naturally, Courtney peeks around the corner of the house, sees the pretty light, and runs for her camera and toward the skunk.

Skunks have an exceptional sense of smell and hearing, but very poor eyesight. They can only see about 10 feet, hence the reason they rely on their spray as protection. However, this guy was not concerned about me at all. Out for breakfast, happily scrounging around for bugs and worms.

In fact, he acted as if I wasn’t there at all (although I’m sure he heard and smelled me), until I whistled at him, hoping to get him to lift his head and look toward me. Instead, he hustled into the tall grass, and into the protection of the trees.

Once he left, I came back to my main objective: the blooms.

I don’t know about all of you, but the blooms I’ve seen this spring have just been spectacular. Trees absolutely full, bursting, with blooms.

These didn’t disappoint.

May 15th

Tuesday, May 15th, 2018

BLOOMS!!!

So incredibly pumped that I was home for this!

It was so hard to choose only one! To see more, head over to my Facebook Page.

May 11th

Friday, May 11th, 2018

With spring getting a late start this year, and us heading to Hawaii in a couple of weeks, I’m a little bummed thinking I may miss one of my favorite parts of the year – spring bloom on the farm.

My parents have Flowering Crab trees, Lilac trees, and three other pink kinds that I don’t know the name of, and they all bloom right around the same time and it’s GORGEOUS! They were in bloom exactly one year ago today, and with everything being two weeks behind, that puts it right at Hawaii time. I’m hoping that the warm temperatures and sunshine will help speed everything along; even just by a couple days would be lovely.

However, at least their Hydrangea tree always buds and blooms early, so that I got to photograph today!

The other thing that were out in full force one year ago today? The bees. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen any yet this spring; I’m hoping this winter’s cold temperatures and late snowfall didn’t damage too many of our local colonies.

Time will tell!

May 11th

Thursday, May 11th, 2017

More blooms and more bees!

April 20th

Thursday, April 20th, 2017

“When nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.” Harriet Ann Jacobs

I was up at the farm this afternoon helping my mom spread mulch in their landscaping when I noticed this beautiful tree. A Hydrangea Tree. Just on the edge of blooming, these fuzzy buds had an incredible array of color and texture in them. I love this time of year!