Dusty Roads

My buggy arrived back home from winter storage and service yesterday. The weather has warmed up and I contemplated a short rideabout. I took pictures of a few daffodils that weren't opened the day before and by morning they were in full bloom. I cut a few for inside every year so I can enjoy their brightness from my chair. The others in this area have bloomed too as the weather was warm. I can no longer walk on unlevel ground so I did get the buggy out from the carport to shoot my own side-yardful. Then I took a ride and every car/truck/van that passed me dusted me terrible! However, mission accomplished and I now know that Mother Nature is springing into activity! 

Photo by Lori

The old (very old) flowerbed next to the cabin has many daffodils so I started with these. Mother planted them way back when....

Then I chose a few more to show you. Everywhere I looked there were daffodils in full bloom and dozens of them all alongside the roads too.

To me, daffodils represent new birth and new beginnings; a symbol of hope and joy. I love them. I also see that the very old fashioned purple iris are poking up and they are pleasing to my eyes as well. Soon......

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The township truck just made a couple of passes spraying the road so I'll probably take another ride later.

First Buggy Ride

It is a gorgeous day here! Temp up to around 60° so I got brave and tried out my new buggy. It steers easier, but rolls freely downhill and I don't know if it should, because I have to touch the brake. The older one didn't do that. The older one went only when I stepped on the pedal and held itself back, even downhill. Anyway, I rode around the lake and saw that there was a large amount of tree damage in resident's yards, some large and messy. I did stop out front to shoot my blooming daffodils. This is short, as I have to fix lunch now but just wanted to share my joy of a nice day.

Waiting for Real Spring

In the meantime I kept busy today - INDOORS! I awoke this morning to see that almost all of the dozen of daffodils I had cut as buds are open. In fact, later on they were ALL open and making me smile!

I went to work nipping the anthers out of the Easter lily as the pollen is affecting my nose! There are a total of five buds on this lovely gift and only two are open so far, so they have had their 'surgery.'

The next thing I did was shake the soil off of the amaryllis bulb. Unfortunately I found it to be soft and I think it is a goner. I'm drying it out more in front of the heater and will save it anyway.

The three hyacinth bulbs have now had the soil shaken off and are further drying in one of my special blue tubs on top of dry potting soil. Perhaps these will be ok - they are hard and the tops still need to dry more. 

So back to cleaning out a file or two. See YA!

One Day at a Time...

Well, the white hyacinth blossoms have died and I put the plant outdoors to finish off so I can store the bulbs for replanting. I have had a lot of short breath and coughing lately and have had to resort to Coricidin-D for relief. It helps and I really think the pollen from indoor plants with flowers might be my problem.

I received 5 little bulbs with sprouts in the mail yesterday. The soil in front has thawed and the daffodils are poking up so I planted them there. These are special because they came from a family I met in SC who have now moved to the far western part of VA and are building their homestead. Meg found the flowers last year growing "wild" on the property and shared them. Here is one of last year's pictures she sent me.

Of course I then had to research this yellow beauty and here is what I found.

I sure have high hopes they will thrive and join the daffodils for me!

In the meantime, I designed and painted an Easter egg yesterday, using the application on which that I have been trying to improve my skills. I first painted my egg and then resorted to photomanipulating to be satisfied with the results. It is just a hobby, but I like a challenge and will keep trying to paint better projects.

Well there you have it...I'm hangin' in and I'm hangin' on.

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To Do's are Dun

What a list I had for our yard guy this year!  See below. We thank him for being so faithful and dependable which keeps us afloat; there is so much that we are unable to do now. James is drying after receiving his coat of preservative after his fine repairs were completed. I will dig out the flowers for his garland to be worn on the final weeks of May and through June. The daffodils are finished blooming and now will go through the process of rejuvenation of the bulbs. The blooms and stems will be removed in the beds near the porch, but the ones up in the old rock garden will just have to survive without interference. Why do I leave the unsightly foliage in place? Well the leaves absorb energy from sunlight, and through the process of photosynthesis, the energy is converted into chemicals that produce sugar - the food that keeps bulbs blooming year after year. If I remove the foliage too early the bulbs will be stunted which results in smaller and fewer blooms in the following year. It is an ugly mess for about SIX weeks! I still need to buy a few flowers for the front porch plantings. 

                                 Repair James - materials and labor

• Clean out ditch behind cabin so water can run freely
• Clean out debris behind shed to keep away from wood structure
• Clean out catch drains corner of cabin, side of carport and road edge
• Blow out all leaves from carport
• Rake stones in carport to break up mud accumulations
• Rake stones from grass both sides of driveway
• Blow or rake debris from flowerbeds around cabin
• Rake all lawns and remove debris including pine cones
• Put winter shovel and supplies from carport into shed
• Store snow blower in shed - bring tractor forward  
• Power wash 4 porch chairs
• Help uncover porch swing and golf cart + AC - store in shed
• Gutters-twice for leaves & then for squigglies
• Apply ant spray all around foundation

Daffodils

 "Daffodils"

~By William Wordsworth~

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Every year I cut a few for my one and only indoor bouquet. They give me pleasure to know that the original bulbs were planted by my mother, oh so many years ago!

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Repairs

James was drawing several gawkers yesterday as they passed by. The reactions were a treasure, especially when I watched two ladies stop, look, and chatter with hand hands going and heads shaking. The discussion would probably have been interesting. You see, our yardman had just completed filling the holes that the bees, bugs, and woodpeckers made last late Autumn when I wasn't paying enough attention to James and his comfort. It's now time for a fix. A little plastic surgery. The first step was to fill the holes. Well, after that operation some seeped out and it looked like he was spewing nasty stuff!

The good news is that the excess material has been removed today and the project will soon be completed with wood putty and stain. That's the plan. Then he can be dressed in his Spring Glory attire! A bluebird came and sat on his head after he was cleaned up so that is a great sign that all will be well.

Speaking of Spring Glory - the daffodils in the old-old rock garden have started to bloom. The ones in the flowerbeds around the front porch haven't. The porch area only gets a few minutes of sunshine in the early morning at this time of year. It's a waiting on Mother Nature Game! She always knows what she's doing.

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Hooray!

I gave up waiting for Mother Nature to open my daffodils so I cut a bud and stem and brought one in yesterday. TODAY - I have a perky flower and it really makes me feel good. The ones outdoors in front still haven't bloomed but the buds are becoming larger. It was actually snowing a bit this morning and the temp was 32° at 8AM so this must be a lesson in patience. (The leaves behind are a tuberous begonia that I started from a cutting last autumn.) 

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The clusters of daffodils that live up in the old rock garden still haven't bloomed but their many buds promise lots of yellow beauty soon. They are precious to me and are a symbol of renewal.

Back in Business

Well I'm feeling back to normal now so no more word sillies. An almond pound cake was baked.

I took off James' scarf and holiday bells this morning. Still frozen but drying out in front of the heater.

I took pictures of the daffodils that are poking up through the frozen soil. Then I looked back two years ago and was quite surprised that the season this year is very different than the past. Every spring I take pictures of these old bulbs bursting through the frozen soil. You see, my mother planted them when the cabin was first built and they have survived for almost 60 years.

 March 9 this year 

March 9 last year (2019)

March 17 two years ago! (2018)

March 15 three years ago! (2017)

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And so it goes...62° 3:45 this afternoon!

Celebration - Diamonds and Daffodils

Anything to brighten the day! These do it very well. My daughters were cleaning out an apartment after a death in the family and gave this to me, knowing how I love crystals and bright things. I set it on a bottle neck in the kitchen window for now. It is a Tiffany & Co. crystal faceted diamond-shaped prism paperweight. It's marked Tiffany & Co. on the side, with a monogrammed title "New York Times Magazine" on the bottom. It weighs about 1.25 lbs. and measures about 4 inches tall with 3.25" diameter. 

I found some very nice pictures of this exact piece on the internet!

 Don't ask me its monetary worth - I don't care. It brightens my life - just like the dozen of the very first daffodils that bloomed up in the old rock garden yesterday! My mother planted them MANY years ago and there are hundreds more to pop open.

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Bummer

Just as things were looking up, things are STILL not in tune with the date. I have half of a mind to cut some of my daffodils and bring them indoors. I KNOW they will bloom then! The seedum are all doing fine but just look at the sorry shape of the daffodils that are in front of the cabin. The ones up in the rock garden are looking worse! Today wasn't too bad, but more rain is expected for the next several days. 

Now I'm thinking about baking a large pan of Zucchini Supreme tomorrow; will post the recipe. It is very tasty and then maybe this idea will hurry the season along, ya think? When all else fails - - - BAKE! At least I can control whether to make Zucchini Cake, Zucchini Cheezy Casserole, Zucchini Pineapple Bread or Zucchini Supreme. These are all tried and true favorites and making room for an upcoming summer supply replacement may be a good idea.

I can't control the blooming of the daffodils.