In Bloom

The yard is in bloom! Here's a look at what we've got going on this year. I'll have to take pictures next month to see how it's changed.

Lucy's garden. Flowers, white lilac, strawberries,
and a raspberry bush in the back that has yet to bear fruit.

The delphiniums got crazy tall this year!

Tomatoes and randomly planted beans. We find they climb well on the tomato cages.

Husband created this little garden by taking out pavers. We definitely added more veggies this year -
peas, carrots, hot peppers, something that I thought was peppers but is obviously not,
and Husband's favorite...kohlrabi!

Flowers in front. Lily time!

These Lollipop Lilies were a favorite of Husband's mom. These are from bulbs given away at her funeral.

3...2...1...Happy New Year!

Today Lucy and I went to Como Park Zoo and Conservatory for a New Year's Eve celebration. It was especially designed for kids, most markedly so by the fact the partying went down at noon instead of midnight!

They had some music and activities leading up to the "ball drop," which consisted of lots of vinyl blow-up animals being released from nets on the ceiling. Lucy was a little overwhelmed so we stood on the outskirts of the crowd, but still managed to snag an elephant, which she insisted she did NOT want. Luckily, a lady was walking by with her daughters and said, "any chance you'd want to trade a giraffe for an elephant?" So all was right with the world.

After the big event we went outside and visited our Lucy's favorite animals, the polar bears. They were not very active (as in, one was inside and the other was taking a nap in the doorway with only his butt sticking out the door). We also visited the aquatics and monkey buildings, before heading back inside to check out what was going on in the Conservatory. How beautiful with all the poinsettias!

A nice way to ring in the New Year. And hey, since I got my partying in during the daytime, I don't have to stay up until midnight, right?

What will you do to celebrate the New Year?

Summer, Summer, Summer...

"...turns me upside down..." (Magic, The Cars, 1984)

So here we are, past "mid" July, practically staring down the barrel of August…with the undeniable feeling that we are on the back slope of summer. I know this time of year I feel an urgency to cram all that I can into the remaining days and weeks.

As I was putting together this blog and lamenting the things we HAVEN'T done yet; I went through the photos and thought - hey, we've done plenty! And it occurred to me that the best summer moments are not always "planned," like these:

Finding a mud puddle, and getting washed with a garden hose.

Getting an unexpected shoulder ride.

Eating ice cream on the deck.

Feeding ducklings.

Bouncing and sliding!

Picking flowers at Grandma's house.

Once again, a valuable lesson comes through the eyes of a two-year-old.

Out and About: Noerenberg Memorial Gardens

I saw a segment on Noerenberg Memorial Gardens on the news a couple of weeks ago, and decided to check it out as part of our efforts to see more of the Twin Cities. The gardens are located at Crystal Bay on Lake Minnetonka, which is just west of Minneapolis and perhaps one of the state's most well-known lakes. The Noerenbergs were the founders of Grain Belt Brewery and built their estate on this spot in 1890. In the 1970s, one of the children left the estate to the park board and directed that the home be razed and the gardens made available for public enjoyment.

This really was a gorgeous place, and we happened to hit it on a lovely summer day. There are hundreds of varieties of perennials and everything is very well-maintained. We sat in the gazebo inspired boathouse for awhile (influenced by the Noerenberg's world travels), and actually struck up a conversation with a man who was also sitting there, sketching the gardens. It's well worth the trip to check out this little treasure on Lake Minnetonka.


More photos here.

Spring Cheer

We could all use a little, yes?


Lilacs, lily of the valley, and my very last tulip.

Happy Mother's Day!

Ambition Arrives With the Daffodils

Well, Sunday seems to be my blogging day lately! Things have just been so busy the past couple of months...and yet not a lot of progress made on things that need to get done. This weekend we really had our first dose of spring (even felt a little like summer yesterday), and I think that kicked us into gear. Ambition arrived with the daffodils...

Aside from the usual spring clean-up of the yard (which is still in progress), it has hit me that there are a lot of things that need to happen before this baby of ours is born. I have a long list of items to accomplish around the house, A#1 being getting the nursery in order. I was just able to (finally) order the crib and dresser/changer that I wanted, and it will be here in the next week or two, so now I am faced with the reality of getting those boxes of "stuff" out of there...and getting the door and closet doors painted. I'm making some progress this weekend on those things as well as getting started on a couple of sewing projects. Not to mention we have guests coming next weekend, so there is cleaning that has slowly been getting done...

Husband and Brandon were not exempt from this spring fever. On Friday, Husband decided it was finally time to stain and seal the deck. Yesterday the sanding, staining, and sealing began. A good portion of it is done, and judging by the way it looks in the rain today, it's holding up nicely and looks pretty good. They both worked hard yesterday and are pretty pooped today. Once everything is dried out this week, they'll be finishing up.

Progress, however slow! The next couple of weeks are going to be very, very busy for me at work, and then it will be May. It's crazy how fast the time has flown. I think I've stayed ahead of the curve so far on this pregnancy, but I can feel it catching up to me now. A little slower to get up, and a lot more tired after doing just a little bit of physical work. Not to mention my ankles look like tree trunks and my feet rival those of Andre the Giant by the end of the day.

I think the hammock needs to come out soon, too. :)

An Afternoon Amongst the Flowers

Today I went to Gertens, a local gardening center, with my mother-in-law, 2 sisters-in-law, and my niece, Miss H. None of us had every been there before, and let's just say we were overwhelmed by the amount of flowers, plants, shrubs, trees...this place is huge! Once we got acclimated to the sheer size of the place, it was pretty interesting to have so many plants in one place. Everything is very well organized into sections (annuals, perennials, etc) and labeled with photos of what the flower will look like once it has bloomed. It was helpful not only in picking out new plants, but also to see what some of the plants coming up in our yard will look like, and to come up with new ideas. Mostly, it was just nice to be outside and hang out with "the girls." Miss H held up pretty well, but eventually she was so over it...

I picked up 2 beautiful hanging baskets for the front of the house that were on sale. They are dark pink impatiens and look really nice up against the blue of the house. I also got a pink salvia plant to try along the side of the garage (I guess I liked pink today). I will plant the salvia tomorrow; I hung the baskets as soon as I got home, and unfortunately we had another suprise round of rain, high winds, and hail. They took a little beating, but not too bad. Tomorrow looks to be a gorgeous day, so I'll try to take a photo then!

The Yard Springs Forth

We've been having a good time lately discovering what's coming up in the yard, and have had some very pleasant surprises. We found out that we have a red maple in the front yard, and that the smaller tree next to the deck in the back is actually a lovely white flowering crabapple. Between that and the lilacs it's smelling really good!

Aside from the trees there have been several sprouts that are beginning to bloom in the flower beds. The tulips and daffodils have already been blooming, and Husband's mom helped me to identify some pending blooms - iris, lilies, delphinium...also several peony bushes and a rose bush, and a few still left to be identified. There are also lots of hostas and sedum, and thick day lilies around the trees in front. We're going to be quite colorful!

My most pleasant surprise was lily of the valley. I have always loved this delicate little bell-shaped flower. I remember that we had some on the north side of our old house on Oneida Street growing up.

Unfortunately the dandelions and creeping Charlie are even more prevalent, along with several other weeds in the neglected beds. There is lots of work to do, but I already have lots of ideas swimming in my head for my own plants and how things will get cleaned up. It's going to be a wonderful hobby for me over the years.

"Just Because" Flowers - My Favorite

Smells So Good