Late to the June Party

The two Hawthorn Trees have bloomed and gone and I have yet, to post them on the blog. Many apologies, it's been very busy and I had to decide what was to be attended first. Obviously, the blog fell behind.

All the pictures are essentially from the month of May save a few that bloom in June. I hope you enjoy them half as much as we have.

After the Daffodils came the tulips and now it is the Columbine flowers taking center stage.


The Hawthorne Trees were spectacular this year. As soon as the flowers start to fade, it drops about three-fourths of its leaves. It left a bit of a mess on top of the solarium and sides. Everything has been early this year.

A walk down the hill and one can see a better view of the two trees.

Our only Rhodie in the back yard went into bloom as well. This picture is deceptive as to the size of the bush. I would guess it is about ten to twelve feet high, perhaps, even taller and a generous thirty feet or more long. ( wide, depending upon your angle. )

Here, I'm trying for an "artsy-fartsy" view of the patio adjoining the solarium and upper yard.

In the distance is our decorative Plum Tree and to the foreground, our Rhodie's in the front yard. The Bumble bees love these blooms and I startled an Humming bird the other day as I was walking up the walk.

Here's a closer view of the flowers.

Steam wafting off the roof when the sun comes out in the morning or after a rain fall.

Here are some Iris' and Wisteria on our property line. Our neighbor planted these a few years back.

The tall, damaged and very old bushes are gone. They became an eye-sore and were affecting the miniature crab-apple trees, not to mention the Lilac Bush on that side of the driveway. What a difference it makes when one is backing out of the drive-way hoping there are no cars coming from that direction. Now, there are no worries and the view is much better.

This year the city had to tear up our street and lay new pipe for the new water main being worked upon in our neighborhood. We and our neighbor sawed each of those trees down and cut them again into smaller and easier to handle, pieces. During this time one of the medium-heavy equipment operators mentioned he could pull those tree trunks out of the ground in seconds for us if we liked. ( we liked. ) So, within a matter of ten to fifteen minutes, he had the trunks pulled from the ground and they hauled them away. We were grateful for them helping with an huge project. They didn't have to.

A late bloomer to the back yard. This picture is recent.

A final picture of it blooming.

Thanks for stopping by, as I will try and blog more. I don't know where a month went by without any updates. I hope we're all enjoying the different weather patterns Mother Nature has sent our way. Keep some kind thoughts in your heart for those who make their living in the Gulf as they watch their livelihood disappear. It is doubtful if this dead zone will change for the next two generations. It is unfortunate when greed and deregulation work hand in hand, nothing of any worth ever comes out of it for the common man.

Have a wonderful June and I hope to see you soon. - Butch

April showers bring May flowers.

This Ivy stayed out all year and has never looked healthier. I usually would bring it in and keep it in the solarium for the winter months but, it was on the deck, under the eves and well protected from frost. It seems to like this corner as well.

" April showers brings May's flowers, " or so it is said. Our yard has started to become more colorful with the addition of the flowers.

This flower box has been very busy these past weeks and there is more to come.

The Wedding Tree ( Weeping Cherry Tree ) has already bloomed and once that happens, the leaves come next. Under neath the blue bells are making their appearance.

They're really beautiful this year.

The Blooming Magnolia Tree

One day, they were buds and in a blink of the eye, they came into bloom.
Our Magnolia tree bloomed a few weeks early this year.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

1 ) - This is a picture of an octopus. It has eight testicles. (Kelly, age 6)

2) - Oysters' balls are called pearls. (Jerry, age 6)

3) - If you are surrounded by ocean, you are an island. If you don't have ocean all round you, you are incontinent. (Alex, age 7)

4) - Sharks are ugly and mean, and have big teeth, just like Emily Richardson. She's not my friend any more. (Kylie, age 6)

5) - A dolphin breaths through an asshole on the top of its head.. (Billy, age 8)

6) - My uncle goes out in his boat with 2 other men and a woman and pots and comes back with crabs. (Millie, age 6)

7) - When ships had sails, they used to use the trade winds to cross the ocean. Sometimes when the wind didn't blow the sailors would whistle to make the wind come. My brother said they would have been better off eating beans. (William, age 7)

8) - Mermaids live in the ocean. I like mermaids. They are beautiful and I like their shiny tails, but how on earth do mermaids get pregnant? Like, really? (Helen, age 6)

9) - I'm not going to write about the ocean. My baby brother is always crying, my Dad keeps yelling at my Mom, and my big sister just got pregnant, so I can't think what to write. (Amy, age 6)

10) - Some fish are dangerous. Jelly fish can sting. Electric eels can give you a shock. They have to live in caves under the sea where I think they have to plug themselves into chargers. (Christopher, age 7)

11) - When you go swimming in the ocean, it is very cold, and it makes my willy small. (Kevin, age 6)

12) - Divers have to be safe when they go under the water. Divers can't go down alone, so they have to go down on each other. (Becky, age 8)

13) - On vacation my Mom went water skiing. She fell off when she was going very fast.. She says she won't do it again because water fired right up her big fat ass. (Julie, age 7)

14) - The ocean is made up of water and fish. Why the fish don't drown I don't know. (Bobby, age 6)

15) - My dad was a sailor on the ocean. He knows all about the ocean.. What he doesn't know is why he quit being a sailor and married my mom. (James, age 7)

The Wedding Tree - March 2010

This is the "Wedding Tree" that we planted in 2004. It has been blooming for three days so, I waited until more of the blooms had opened before taking the picture. It is called a "Weeping Cherry" tree. I think we are a few weeks early for the flowers and some of the plants to be bloomng this soon. We've had some warm weather, which hastened along the growing cycle.

A February Surprise

There have been some plants in the back yard fooled into thinking it must be Spring.

Yesterday, I looked out my kitchen window and saw a few hints of yellow in these plants.


Today, when I glanced out the window again, there were blooming flowers. What a surprise, I thought it would have taken another few days before they blossomed. These are our first flowering plants of the year. Hopefully, they are a sign of warmer days to come.

Minnesota Clydesdale

This wonderful beast was abandoned by its mother as a calf and this Minnesota farmer raised it to adulthood among his work horses. The moose is tame and has learned to pull lumber along with the working horses. This farmer says it actually pulls the logs better than the horse teams and seems to enjoy doing its job. The farmer mentioned that the moose takes off for a few weeks during mating season and comes back faithfully every year.

I never realized just how large these animals were until this picture of the farmer hitching the moose up to his next pulling job.