May Mornings

Things are about the same here at my house!

I still get up early and take Grandsons Andrew and Dylan to school.

This was the sunrise on one of those early May mornings.

Several May mornings brought heavy rains and fog to our area.

It usually doesn't pool in the backyard.

The flower season came a few weeks earlier this year.

The cool blues and whites were some of the first....

..... the soft pretty pinks were fresh looking ....

..... and the orange and reds looked lively!

I work outside in the mornings and go in to fix our main meal at noon.

Some meals were lighter than others, but most are heavy with vegetables.

Some desserts are lighter than others too!

Peach trifle and banana pudding versus chocolate mousse butter cake and chocolate pie!

From my front porch I see many things.

A lone male Bluebird was splashing in the birdbath one morning.

Soon a young juvenile wonders in....his offspring most likely.

Maybe dad is demonstrating....how to properly splash.

Soon Mom appears....

.....and the Dad takes off!

Other happenings I saw farther down the drive one morning....

Turkey vultures perched in a row on the fence rail.

Our Sunday paper delivery man apparently didn't see a turtle in the drive!

Another morning there were baby foxes going down the drive....

before crossing into the field on their way home.

Sadly a few days later....one was found lifeless....now there's only one. 

One baby fawn with family was spotted a few mornings later.

Mom kept her eye on me and I kept my distance!

Later while taking a walk and passing over this bridge....

....the spots of the fawn were just barely visible...can you see it?

The fawn lay perfectly still as I took the 3 photos on the left.

Another morning I found it more in the open....3 photos on the right!

Pileated woodpeckers, hawks, rabbits, Cardinals and Eastern Phoebes are some of the usual visitors I see on my morning walks.  

There are many photo opportunities.....shadows and patterns on logs, fern growing in the woods, a deer snatching apples, blackberries forming on the vine, wild roses taking over a fence, 4 leaf clovers waiting to be found, baby robins in the barn, dragon flies in the field, baby robins in the shed, roses peeking through, bamboo getting thicker and wild flowers in bloom.

Most mornings are sunny and rosy...

...although my flower garden is being threatened by a clover take over!

May is over....

...hope June finds me making more frequent posts!

~ ♥ Wanda ♥ ~

April Productions

The wild woodland flowers of April bloomed early due to our very warm month of March.

Some early wildflowers prefer sunny areas...unlike the fern in the shady woods.

The bamboo is growing with a vengeance and the clouds and flowers are creating hearts.

April brought it's showers of course....

....keeping me inside half the time....

while the dogwood and apple trees bloomed.

The Dogwoods were heavy with blooms this year.

I took early morning walks past the apple trees in the field and on one rainless day planted three pink rose bushes.

While planting the roses...

I found this heart-shaped rock in the ground 8 inches down.

It's 3" x 3" and just over 1 inch thick.

The smaller red flowers between the roses are fire-pinks I transplanted from the woods.

Several wildflowers have  found their way to my flower garden on their own.

Multiplying over the years!

The Robins are doing their share of multiplying...with nests in the open garden shed, in the forsythia and on top of an old ladder hanging on a hook in the barn!

Here's multiple meals made during the past weeks.

A few desserts were enjoyed....along with fresh strawberries form the store.

We have strawberry plants blooming and dandelions going to seed!

On this sunny morning, the last day of April....the Japanese Iris bloomed.

Maybe May will get back to being as warm as March was and I can get back to hanging clothes out to dry in the breeze....and..... 

...Alivia can get back out to some more of her hammock time! 

Season & Life Changes

These are the earliest Spring blooming wild flowers found in the woods and around the yard.

White Trout Lily- Harbinger of Spring- Wild Violets-

Spring Beauties- Wood Poppy- Cut-leaved Toothwort

So many changes were seen with the coming of Spring....

Blooming peach trees, daffodils, magnolia, forsythia and crocus!

The biggest change however since my last post is....

The marriage of a third grandchild!

Katie and Mitchell's lovely wedding was March 16th!

The beautiful cake with delicate blue tinted flowers was baked by her mother's friend, Lisa Pottorf.

 

The color theme was black and white with creamy white roses.

 

Mitch and Katie stayed with us for four days before heading to their new home in New Mexico.  On their slow drive there, they zip-lined over a river somewhere in Missouri and....

Katie e-mailed me photos of a cavern they explored!

Once they are settled...

I will be e-mailing Katie and Mitch recipes of meals like these...

The morning after their wedding a 'ring' of clouds appeared in the sky.

A few other pre-spring days had different looks.

This morning was bright and warm....spring is greening the yard...

bringing changes....

Spring is also bringing...

..... a soon to be visit from Amanda, who lives in Washington State with her husband Bronson!

Guess who is a 'very happy' girl.... Amanda's little sister ALIVIA!

~ ♥ Wanda ♥ ~

Along with very cold temperatures....

a few inches of snow came to our area this past weekend.

The birds always cluster around the back porch when it snows....

expecting seed to be placed there as well....as at the feeders!

The deer came to the bird feeders as soon as it started to snow...

to just eat the fallen seeds on the ground or stretch for even more.

They come often and stare at me as I take photos from the window....

....snow or no snow!

This was our first real snowfall of the winter....woke the next day to two inches or so and a heart shape on the patio!

So I took my first 'snow covered field walk' of the winter.

Weather changes the scene....this was the view two weeks ago.

The snow presented a few special images on these two stumps....

A small heart was on top of the tallest and a little pig on the smallest!

An old camper top in the field had it's windows dressed in crystals!

The first shows a reflection of one window in the other....

and what looks like a pale moon in the sky.

But that pale moon was actually the sun....paled by very thick clouds.

By the time I returned home....the sun grew brighter!

The birds were waiting for their seeds, suet, peanuts, and dried mealworms.

They feasted.... 

....while I went inside to make biscuits!

....I made some crisp & thin and others crisp but big! We like them both ways.

Also made scalloped potatoes with spinach, gr. onions and celery. 

German Chocolate Cake was on the menu too!

Last week I baked whole wheat bread using molasses which turned out good. A delicious broccoli cheese bread recipe I got from Lois @ From Lois' Hands makes wonderful sandwiches...plain and grilled.

Here's some other meals eaten during these last days of winter!

~
Today is Valentine's Day...I will be eating chocolate of some kind....

...and thinking of Spring!

 

 

~ ♥ Wanda ♥ ~