Annual Visit to the Iris Garden

We make an annual visit to a small Iris farmette in Deming.  The grower fills a small plot with hundreds if different irises.

The weekend we chose to visit was the perfect time of first bloom, plus the sun was shining and everything looked and smelled wonderful.

You can take a check list and wander through the rows of flowers and pick the ones you want to order, and in the autumn you will receive a phone call that your iris tubers are ready for pick up.

So many colors to choose from.

The grower is dedicated to her flowers - always keeps the plot looking fabulous.  She has open house on weekends during bloom time.

All the irises are labeled so you can make your choices.  Even if you are not buying, there are always photographers taking pictures, and artists with their easels and paints.

It is a fun trip, not far from home, and I'm glad we didn't miss it this year.

Old Houses and Barns

An old house - once someone's new and shining home.  I often wonder why some homes go to ruin, and others, built at the same time, are still well maintained. What happened differently to the houses?

And old barns - sometimes cared for - and sometimes not.

I can hear the echos of the people who came before - the good times and the not so good - the triumphs and the loses - the celebrations of life.

Eagles in Hay Fieds

Haying season is a great time to find Bald Eagles.

The crows like to dive bomb the eagles.  The eagles don't seem to care.

The wind ruffles the feathers.

Sometimes there are tussles among the eagle population.

An eagle on the farmer's barn.

Sitting on trees watching the farmer mowing.

Have you ever seen a flock of eagles in a hay field?  It is most thrilling!

Spring Birds that Visit

One day a crow landed on the bird feeder, but couldn't get any seeds as it is a squirrel-proof and obviously crow-proof feeder.  The chain in front of the crow is from a hanging bird bath.

Varied Thrushes come through every spring.  They love the seeds on the dried flowers in the planters on the deck.

Several hummingbirds overwinter here and we keep the feeders full for them.

Black Headed Grossbeaks migrate through every spring and autumn and I was lucky to catch this one at the feeder.

And this squirrel thinks he is a bird - he "flies" over to the feeder from the deck, but never can get any seeds.  He is persistent and tries every few days.

What birds come through and visit your yard every year?

Spring Babies

It was a surprise - we weren't expecting it when we saw this little Canada Goose family.

 Mom and Pop and two babies

Have you seen any baby birds this spring?

Crocheting Hats for the Homeless

While I've been recuperating from my 10 days in the hospital I eventually had enough energy to begin crocheting again.  So I picked up a crochet hook and began on my project of making hats for the homeless in our town.  

 These are a few of the hats - so far I've made around 70 hats this year.

 I decided to make some pom-poms from some of the hats with the little scraps of leftover yarn.  And then some of my bears decided that they needed to wear hats, because they are sick and need to go to the doctor. They think they get candy when they go to the doctor - silly bears.

 The moose is the doctor - he has a badge and a shiny sequin stethoscope.   

 Buddy E, the frog, is the nurse and he hops about taking care of the "patients"  He thinks he gets candy for taking care of patients.

The bears finally took off their hats after a very long wait at the doctor's office, and went in search of some candy - I can hear them rummaging around in cupboards and drawers - oh well.

Mother's Day Gifts

We celebrated Mother's Day a little late - but it was super fun! 

One of my gifts was this fabulous Heron outdoor hanging.  Our son-in-law Jason designed and made this.  He based it from a photo that I took.  The outer ring is designed to represent the shutter of my camera.  It hangs above the double living room windows.  It is about 2 1/2 feet across.

This is the photo I had taken several years ago that Jason used to design the heron hanging.

He has amazing talent in design and in making up what he has designed.  When you need something designed - signs, stickers, flyers, 3D modeling and printing or laser cut projects, he is the one!

Visit his website Dauntless Design Works and find out the fantastic things he can create.  You'll be glad you did!

Another great gift was from our son and his family from West Virginia.  A big gift certificate for Uber Eats.  We get to pick  a restaurant in our area and have our meals delivered.  Hmmm, what shall we order?