Spring: A mostly photo essay

My Twitter followers will know most of these photos. I love Instagram and Twitter for sharing my quick snapshots. I have to say spring has sprung and sprung early in the yarden. It has been a wonderful spring. I hope the weather holds and we have an equally fantastic summer.

 We have had the most butterflies and moths this year and SO early too. Generally we get a few monarchs and maybe a grey/orange moth, but this year we have had a nice variety.

 This is our Iris. My MIL snuck over one afternoon and randomly planted this beauty. In the ten summers we have been in this house, it has spread and it blooms beautifully.

 These mini Iris like plants bloomed the most they ever have. So petite and pretty.

 These daisies were a surprise along the path to school. I think they are a weed that mimics actual daises, but beautiful nonetheless.

 This little guy was clinging to the wall of the tunnel on the path to school. I wonder what he will grow up to be?

 My owlies were enjoying the lovely peonies I had this year. In the middle of May. Peonies at Memorial Day maybe, but the weekend of Mother's Day-- no way!

 Twitter made me do it! I made chive blooms vinegar. It was very easy and it is tasty. I think it will make some great salad dressings!

 My first farmer's market haul. I love the farmer's market. It is so fun and so healthy too.

 I swear I did not photoshop this picture, not even a little bit. This is my freebie Iris. A neighbor last year was splitting and giving them away. Normally Iris will not bloom the spring after being moved. This Iris did not get that memo and we enjoyed this amazing bloom for a week or so. I can't wait until the whole bunch blooms next year.

 I got alot of these daisies this year. I love the color! The deer eat these, but there were plenty for us all this year.

 My finally daisies. I have tried and tried to get daisies to fill in this space. We have this space near the driveway and nothing wants to grow. Finally, I have prevailed!

 Volunteer snap dragons. I planted some here a few years ago, these guys decided to pop up this year. Fine with me. I love volunteers!

Snickers is bringing new meaning to sitting in the sun. She is totally enjoying the warm days and warm nights. She is napping all over the place. It is good to have her patrolling the yarden.

SNAPAPHOTO: Week 1

I am doing it again. Allie is having a contest and I am playing along.

This week it is taking a photo of someone you know.

I took a picture of H. It has been a busy week and he was home the other night and we headed outside as the day faded into evening. I guess to be fair, this is a photo of two someones I know. Snickers just could not leave us be. She was so excited to just be with us. So I had him pick her up and hold her. She wasn't thrilled by the prospect, I think she preferred just being under foot.

I had tried taking him from a variety of angles. It did not work. He looked posed. I wanted to see him, the way I see him. Natural. Although H is fairly reserved, he does have a playful side. I like his half smile, like he is up to something here. (instead he is really holding a squirmy cat.)

Snickers looks put out.

All in the Family

It is hard to believe that Catty NKA Snickers has been a member of the family since late 2009. I really can't imagine not having her as part of the family.

She really has grown on me. I can also say that my cat allergy or my allergy to her, has waned significantly. Either the near daily exposure to her for 3 years or perhaps me finally getting my health issues in check, has meant less trauma to my immune system and has lead to a significant change in household protocol.

Snickers comes in now.

In the early months with us, she never tried and we never offered. This continued until last fall. In part the reason we kept her out was my allergies and my mother's allergies. If mom was to come spend her last days here, there could be no indoor cat action.

Over the winter, mild as it was, Snickers seemed to want in more and more. To sleep. She just wants to curl up, with all of us around and sleep.

The other day, I swear she was passed out on a dinning room chair like a frat brother after a weekend long kegger. I clocked the sleep time at roughly 5 hours.

I really do want to keep her off the soft furniture and out of the newly remodeled family room. I also think the basement and the first floor are domain enough for her, no being on the second floor. So far she has gravitated to the morning room and the dinning room. She seems to like the big windows and the sun light. She loves to jump up on a dinning room chair and hide under the table or be in the corner. In the morning room, she favors a corner, under the plant stand, near the register.

This is not at all to say that she isn't testing those boundaries. This past weekend she hid in both of the children's closets on two separate occasions. When she burst out of E's closet, she scared me to death.

I think once we put the patio furniture on the deck, she may stay out there more, as she can hide on a chair under the table, which seems to suit her just fine. Last week our neighbor and L's BFF took care of the food and water patrol and predictably Snickers got huffy and ran off, as we were not home. I suspect she would have returned on her own, but the storm Friday might well have gotten her in a state of affairs. She also is minus a bit of fur and her collar.

On Saturday, I dispatched L and her BFF and H to a house up the road a bit. For whatever reason, after storms, she hangs on this family's deck. It is possible, that that house used to be her home or she just goes there when she has lost her way. I theorize that perhaps she did live there, because that house changed hands at about the same time we acquired Snickers. Maybe they didn't want her making the move or perhaps she ran off and they never found her. Either way she favors this house. H carried her home and other than some loud meows and haughty stares, she allowed the in arms transport. Happy to be home, but reminded H not to make a habit of this transport method, thank you very much.

 

Snickers is one of the most social, pack minded cats I have ever known. When we are outside, she is right there with us. She often "stands guard." I will joke that she is our vicious attack cat. I am only half kidding. I think if she thought someone was threatening us, especially the children, she would do her worst to protect us.

This was St. Patrick's Day. I was watching the kids ride their bikes, while waiting on my BFF to come over for dinner. Snickers was one part protecting me and keeping a close eye on her small charges.

Look at that determined face. I wouldn't cross her in a dark alley.

NOPHO Week 3 - Elegant - Runner Up

I think this reads more regal than elegant.

She is a beauty and she knows it. Her color is pink with skeleton's on it. She is a goth cat, our Snickers. This picture shows off her amazing stripes and lovely caramel colors. It also shows her eye, which isn't exactly right. Much better after her surgery. She is perched on H's car, which was warm, I had just come back from being out to lunch and running errands. She sits on the cars alot, she likes to be up. She can also see into the house from this vantage point.

This will be our second winter with Snicker's I think. We have tricked out her winter abode and she has a very plushy bed. This is the time of year where she stays closer to home and eats alot of cat food.

What can I say - she is Queen of the Garage. And wants every body to know it.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 1 Me

This is the first of 30! If you want to play along, go visit Allie's blog.

I took some poetic license. H and I had just biked back from a meeting at the kids school, the early evening light seemed perfect and he was here, which is rare. It is rare to have him available to take a picture of me.  As we got started Snicker's showed up. She really wanted in on the game, so I included her.

For Day 1, I give you Me, with Snickers.

The Yarden in July

It is the dog days of summer. Whew. Hot and humid city. The deer have mad a feast of our yarden of late. I told Snickers she is sleeping on the job, an accusation she vehemently denies. She might be right, she is more interested in the feathered friends, who visit our yarden.

Currently she has her eye on the brave little bird who has taken up residence in L's colorful tree house. H and I decided this little bird has brass ones or just likes to fly on the edge.

She has a beautiful little song, while we are happy to have her, I think next year we should add a sign that says "Nest at your own risk."

My glads are going to bloom and I bet I miss them...

I also have to say that despite the change from monsoons to hot, hot, hot, full sun for nearly 12 hours, our porch boxes look great...

We have an amazing display of cone flowers. So pretty. The bumble bees are happy too...

Speaking of bees, they really love this flower too... I got this one because the man at the garden center swore deer won't touch it and they don't. Take that deer. If Snicker's won't run you off, I just might cover the yard in foul tasting plants.

We also have an early blooming sunflower. I think this another of E's seedlings. He has a green thumb.

The day lilies are also beautiful this year. All over our community and in our yarden too. I thought this one was especially lovely.

We also have lots of volunteer squash and pumpkins. (We eat alot of squash people... and that means lots of seeds into the compose pile in the fall.)

Some blossoms but no fruit yet. Maybe in a few weeks...

The deer love sunflowers...

But seem to not like this one, so I think I am investing in some of this for around the garden for next year...

Or perhaps some of the hostas, which even though we split them last fall, have over grown again...

So there we are a lush garden and yarden this year... I cannot wait for the later summer flowers and perhaps some slightly less humid conditions...

And H could do without the abundance of this as well. His ankles and shins are covered, poor guy.

Green, Green Yarden

We are in the season, where the spring flowers have faded, died off, been cleared away. Now we are in what I call the green season. The bright summer flowers aren't quiet ready to appear and the abundance of rain we have had, has left us with lush, lush greenness. I suppose this is why annuals are so popular. They give you color through the entire season, but then summer is over, they are gone. It is a trade off, but I like steady dependability of perennials, so that is what we mostly plant. There are some bursts of color in the sea of green. Their bright colors make me happy, even on a cloudy day.

We seem to have suffered some deer damage, so I am posting this picture of our fierce attack cat, who apparently is sleeping on the job...

Snickers is such a dog. No really, she follows you around the yard, she will stand guard as you do whatever it is you are doing, she really is very friendly. She is partial to L, but very friendly with all of us. She is a great addition to the family.

We moved this from our other house, it is spreading nicely, and stays yellow until late July. I have no idea what it is called. The bees also love it.

These daisies volunteered. I planed some on the other side of the flower bed and the dear at them roots and all last year, but these appeared this year. Daisies are my favorite, I think their cheery yellow faces.

Our hostas are ready to bloom. H split them last year and I think they need split again. If you are local and want some, let me know, when we split them in the fall, they are all yours.

We have a lovely bunch of squash and pumpkins growing in the garden and in the compost pile. Some years we get fruit and others we don't but the leaves are great cover for all the kitchen waste.

Hopefully soon, we have blooms... and listen up deer, our cat has some made hunting skills, munchers beware...