One Day at a Time

Last evening I prepared parmesan roasted potato halves and parmesan roasted asparagus for supper. Easy and tasty meal. A fellow blogger said she never heard of pickled asparagus. Well, guess what? I researched the internet and there are multiple and different recipes for them, so I might just try fermenting a few! (Tips only, I think.)

This morning I took a short ride about and it is "the time of the iris."

My own are blooming, an old heritage bearded iris variety that my parents planted here at the cabin, but the neighbor had some very large white ones. (They don't photograph very well, as the whiteness takes over and I was disappointed with my results, but......)

Even the small dark beauties were not in the mood to pose, showing off their true beauty! Or - maybe it was me. 

So down the road I rode and was made happy to view all of the wild and multicolored Phlox. They are everywhere and this photo doesn't do them justice — at all! Purple, pink, blue, cream and white they are precious in my sight........

please click on image to view larger

Yellow

I rode around for over an hour today, avoiding the nasty potholes that are filled with muddy water from last night's downpours and I didn't see single critter or bird or different variety of flower, wild or cultivated. As I was returning home I remembered to capture a few from the beautiful garden of the yellow Iris that I didn't shoot yesterday because the man of the house was working in his yard. Yellow is a favorite color of mine and one of my best friends loves yellow. I even made a video slide show around 8 years ago all about Yellow, using my photos.  See link below. 

This was by their wishing well but I don't know what it is. It looks similar to wild columbine ?????

please click on image to view larger

Link to Yellow

Colorful Explosion

Today my rideabout was fruitful - no! Flowerful! The Rhododendron shrubs are in full glory with their rounded clusters of showy pink, red, purple and white flowers.

I also saw that some of the multi-color Iris have opened, and Poppies are popping. I'll show them in a later post, along with the invasive yellow pond iris. 

The fungus grows in the white pine tree graveyard.     Please click on an image to view larger 

Clear Day

After two nearby counties had disastrous damage due to tornadoes last evening, we have a clear day today. It is very windy however and I'm working on a short video to show you at another time. 

The lake entrance sign was being spruced up by a resident volunteer team this morning.

A neighbor has luscious Iris in bloom among her other stunning garden pretties. Mine are hidden in weeds this year.

The poppies are out by the road next door. What color they have!

Thimbleberry blossoms then berries if we can beat the birds!

 And the sky is blue with a hearty cloud too!

 please click on image to view LARGER!

Rideabout the Lake

Since it is difficult for me to walk a distance, I commandered the Mister to drive me and my "camera buddy" around the lake because I wanted to take pictures of the many rhododendron bushes that property owners have planted through the years. I have none here - what everyone has I don't want. It's a "Gere thing." I already missed taking shots of the beautiful lilac blooms in a neighbor's yard because it has been raining and windy all week. Now they are gone.  

"The rhododendron (rhododenron maximum) is undoubtedly the most conspicuous understory plant in the mountain forests of Pennsylvania. In ravines and hollows and along shaded watercourses it often grows so luxuriantly as to form almost impenetrable tangles. In June or early July, large clusters of showy blossoms, ranging from white to light rosy- pink, appear at the ends of the branchlets. People travel many miles to witness the magnificent show which is provided by the rhododendron at flowering time."

Link for more info.

These are my rideabout results. Next door they are deep pink. The white ones in the middle of the bush haven't yet opened.

Down the road on the backside of the lake are a couple of lavender bushes.

And back on the homestretch are two places with a mixture of pinkish red and lavender plantings.

Closer to the cabin you will see more humble flowers such as wild phlox and little buttercups. The best part for me is my beachfront with the iris.

And one VERY THIRSTY Fuchsia. It drinks three cups of water every day!

To top it off, the Canada Goose family is doing very well.

Don't forget to click on an image to view all larger!