June 28, 2014

The day I became an auntie

At our office we used to have a huge mimosa tree outside the back door. It began to cause a lot of problems for us by dropping all that fuzzy stuff into the gutters and blocking them, so eventually it had to come down. (What a shame!) But I used to stand outside and look up to its very high branches and see swarms of yellow swallowtail butterflies playing and fluttering all over its pink fuzzy flowers. 
It might seem irrelevant, but I remember so clearly that the day my nephew Brendan was born, that that tree was in full bloom outside the back door as I rushed to my car to race up to the hospital and meet him. That was twelve years ago. And every year when these beautiful trees bloom, I remember... 
it's time for the birthday of the boy who made me an auntie.

Then.......
 
...and now.
Happy birthday, Brendan!!  XOXOXO


June 27, 2014

Fun With the Urchins

The other day, the kids were in Bardstown and I got to spend a few hours with them. 
We went to the public library first, where Molly looked for books on princesses, 


and Benj scoured the shelves for his favorite Transformer books.


After that we went to visit my friend Lori Schroeder and examine her sea shell collection. Lori even let each of them hold a very precious and BIG shell so I could take a picture. Wow! 


June 21, 2014

Weeds, Glorious Weeds!

I am a person who likes to notice the order in which the flowers appear. First come the crocuses, and then the daffodils, one of my favorite flowers. After that it's the tulips and the lilac blooms, and then the peonies and the poppies, then the roses. It's fascinating to me that this order never varies from year to year. Spring can come earlier or later, but the order is always the same.

The same holds true with the weeds that thrive everywhere during the spring and summer. They bloom in a certain order, too. I like to drive to work slowly sometimes and notice the scenery and colors along the way. Today I got a few pictures of June blooms. I have such a beautiful drive to work. Most of the photos are of the weeds that are in bloom right now, but they are beautiful!

This first bloom is not a weed, of course. These are magnolias. We didn't have these where I grew up in the Midwest. It's a southern thing... and one which I find particularly lovely.

Another thing that's in bloom right now is the wild roses. 
Can you spot the horses in the picture?

 The wild roses can be a rather washed-out looking pink, but these were particularly colorful.

I've been enchanted with this field full of Queen Anne's lace together with these glorious bright orange flowers. I don't know what they are, but the two colors together are stunning.


I also found this flower on the other side of the road. 
Again, I don't know what it is, but I loved it.

Then these gorgeous trumpet-like flowers tumble all over fences and fence posts during the summer. I once tried to pick some to put in water, but they wilted immediately. So I just have to leave them where they are and admire them that way. There's some poison ivy in there at the left.... watch out.


This field looks like it's edged with lace!


Here is this wonderful combination of orange and white again.

Now here's an interesting tall weed. 
Its leaves are fuzzy and soft, like those of the lamb's ear plant.

This photo isn't the clearest, but I had to capture some pretty black-eyed Susans.


Up north they would say the corn should be "knee-high by the Fourth of July." Well, here it's already as tall as I am, and it's not even July yet! In this picture, some wild white morning glories appear in the foreground. 

I grew up in a place that was very flat.  I love living here in Kentucky because I love hills and mountains.  I do very much miss being near water (Lake Michigan). But the scenery here is just breathtaking. I am glad Kentucky is my home. 

*Not* Living in the Moment

Wow, it sure has been a long time since I posted. I had to share this display I made for my desk. The wise say that you should live in the moment, but I am finding I need to look at my summer as a whole in order not to double book myself. Look at all the highlighted areas! I have a very busy summer ahead! Some days even have more than one event on them.