Lavender Skies & Fern Valley

Guess what it is doing outside...very light showers

off and on today.....except for one "sudden down pour"

.....which caught me by surprise!

I had just finished planting

tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini,

squash, basil, rosemary, parsley, and cosmos...

when I became drenched in no time.

.

We accomplished a lot this week...besides buying

the plants mentioned...Herhusband bought strawberry

plants for a rather large planter box he had made.

Over on the hillside near the path our grandchildren

use...I helped him remove a fallen tree that was

just barely resting on another...it was an accident

waiting to happen...

.

Here he's throwing a looped rope over it...

He attached it to the tractor and successfully

pulled it down...Safe for now!

Then I went in and made Strawberry Bread.

It was good...but I think I prefer Zuchinni Bread!

Earlier in the week we had a pinkish lavender blue sunrise.




These colors stood out to me in other places too...
in this patch of Wood Sorrel...




...but not in this Lilley of the Valley...

...but here it is in the Red Bud trees...

...but not...of course...in the Dogwood!

Over on the hillside...

while removing the dangerous dangling tree...

I spotted this single purplish blossom on a

small Paw Paw tree!

So...while we're here in the woods... follow me to

Fern Valley.

It has a few magical looking trees and things...

...to see...

...like this tree with it's two main trunks...with

arms reaching as if it were trying to escape...but can't...

...because it's tied down with vines!

You can see a strange orange fungus...and

if you click to enlarge you can see a tiny-tiny snail!

In Fern Valley...

you can see dead trees...

that look like towering steeples...

or scary faces...that look somewhat evil!

But in Fern Valley...

there's also trees...in this world...

that look just like

a

Dancing Girl!

Also in Fern Valley...

you may see a cat in the clouds.....

...sometimes...

Video of lavender skies and birds at dawn!

In The Yard

Most sunrises this past week have been very bright...

with very little coloring...almost white.....

I'm of the nature that I prefer getting up before dawn.

I like having my coffee and hearing the "noise" of the song birds

break the silence of morning...while the sun rises .

I am often out very early...either walking in the woods...

or working in the yard...with temperatures close to 80

this week...the yard work was done early...while

the shadows were still long...[that's the only time I'm tall.]

Herhusband managed to place the cover on the gazebo...

while I brought the furniture from the shed in a wheel barrow.

.

We've only sat under it once so far...but that will change...
there's plenty of time...after
.

we plant a small garden...

continue to pick up brush from winter...

and spray a few plants to keep the deer from
feasting on them...like they did the

Yucca plant this past winter.

I may spray a harmless concoction to keep the deer off...
but I don't spray the dandelions in the yard...
they are as welcomed as the wild violets in the yard...




These are wild flowers too...that find a home here
on their own...in the yard.




The Trillion though.....prefers to stay in the shade
of the woods and stay really wild and untamed...




almost as wild and untamed as a wild boar...

which if you look closely you may also find in the woods...

I did...can you?



I was just taking a photo of yet another tree that fell
oddly between two others...when I noticed the resemblance.

Here's another fallen tree that needs attention...
looks a little dangerous...since grandkids don't stay in the yard.




So the yard work and "inspection" of the woods...
...not all the walks are just for enjoyment...
has us eating quick meals...like...
a green olive & sun-dried tomato pizza...



pasta and vegetable salads...



and taking a few quick breaks for tea.

Tea time and apple blossom time seem to go together..

because some prefer honey in their tea...and...

bees make honey.....after visiting the apple blossoms...

Here's one doing that now.

Along with the apple blossoms each year we have

the sweet smell of the Lilly of the Valley....

and the very pink Bleeding Heart blooms.

So the flower garden is growing well...

and Alivia always finds the time to dabble in mud...

somewhere in the yard...

and play with the cat that has adopted them...

the cat that may be expecting and that

Alivia's Mom always feeds .

Alivia's Mom...by the way...on Monday...

is having a birthday!

Alivia's mom Sherri ...Alivia...and cousin Dustin!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHERRI !!!

Sherri.....Alivia.....Amanda
~~~~~~~~~

This is a video I made of the Birds at Dawn!

Promises and Changes

April's sunrises have been golden at times...

strikingly bright...with vivid pinks and blues

...or just peaceful with soft pastel hues.

Monday's sunrise was like a promise of things to come...

just like this hummingbird feeder

shouted "Summer" to me when I first saw it.

My back porch was in need of it...

because I know the promise of warmer days...

means the return of Hummingbirds!

The alternating sunny warm and cold wet days of

April have made things grow around here...

leading to the familiar summer sound of a...

lawnmower in use here by Herhusband!

The warmth and the rain has helped the Naked Ladies...



so called because the green foliage dies back...

without blooming...

with the promise of flowers...in late July...

when they change into this...




Meanwhile we have the wild violets to enjoy!




Between the rain showers I find time for small walks...

like the one I took last week with Alivia...



over to the ridge with the fallen tree...

that slowly sinks closer to the ground every year.

Most of the grandchildren have played on it.



I went there again this week.....alone...

well I thought I was alone...

but you're never alone in the woods...

there's always the promise of something near...



and this deer wasn't alone either...

I found time for a few photos of such things as ...

a perched Chipping Sparrow...

a Mocking Bird...

and an elephant...

.

or what I thought looked like one...

Can't you visualize the dark eyes...droopy ears...

and...

the lonnngggg trunk!

Since you saw the elephant...can

you now see the face on this rock in my garden?...

-photos enlarge-

Speaking of rocks...there's some in my house...

that look like this...

and if you're good at ...

changing them around...

I promise you...

the broken pieces...

change into this.

Speaking of broken...our van is parked

under the back porch...

with a broken brake line...

but Herhusband can fix it.

And speaking of back porch...I was out there

trying to capture the sun...

through the opening in this little

decorative feature there...

and later that day...guess what changed?...

the sun suddenly disappeared...

and it started to "hail."

It shows up better here...in the front yard.

With in 15 minutes...it just as suddenly...

changed back to this...

which leaves me no doubt about Nature's...

ability and promise...

to change this...

and this...

into this!

That's what April showers promise and change!