6-8-10

 

We sanded the bricks and swept as much sand away as possible. We need a good rain to clean them up.

6-7-10

 

Today while I worked on grading master's exams and reading video transcripts, the Squirt cleaned the brick patio with a power washer. The bricks look totally different.

 

This evening Dan and I went to Home Depot and bought 11 bags of sand and started replacing the sand. Photo to follow.

6-6-10

Here's what's blooming in the garden...

 

 

 

 

Made strawberry freezer jam tonight- lots of it!

6-5-10

 

Today Dan and I went strawberry picking at a local farm with some friends. We picked $20 worth so I'd better get a lot of strawberry freezer jam!

 

My latest project is laying these limestone rocks as a path in the back lily/phlox/aster/daffodil/peony garden. Looking good!

6-4-10

 

It rained today pretty hard and I got some cool photos of it coming down. I really love it when it rains here.

 

Tonight we went out to dinner with Miss March and her husband to celebrate the fact that he got admitted to the MBA program here. Yeah! We went to Bourbon and Toulouse and they had Bread Pudding with chocolate chips. Mmmmmm....

6-3-10

 

 

The nandina is budding now while red berries are still on from last fall. Beautiful to see. Today I went to the dentist. Great teeth!

 

6-2-10

 

Photo taken during a walk in the arboretum at dusk. Typing this a week later, I have no memory of June 2nd except for the moment I took this photo.

6-1-10

 

Today I sanded the bumps off 24 lego pieces then glued them to solar panels.

 

Also planted the zinnias I bought for in front of the bird bath. Hope the birds find it!

5-31-10

 

Today I worked hard. I had energy and motivation! Went to three stores, bought a car full of stuff- food, gardening supplies, stuff for my summer camp class... built this solar car and a wagon for it to pull rocks with...

 

Moved this bird bath base from the back of the yard to here and put the newly purchased bath on top... planted stuff... weeded... and put up an extra fence around my garden because the BUNNY ate all the leaves off one of my string bean plants. That rascal squeezed in a 2" x 4" hole in the fence. Well, now Peter Rabbit, try this extra barrier.

Grilled steaks for dinner, made a potato salad and asparagus salad too. Memorial Day.

5-30-10

 

Today I did more yard work and finished up some preparation for my summer camp (which starts in 2 weeks!) I had a close encounter with this baby bird who was just learning to fly. It wasn't scared of me at all.

And my orchid is blooming again! This orchid was a gift from friends in 2005 at a celebration of a mural I'd painted. Can't believe I've kept it alive all these years.

5-29-10

 

We worked in the yard all day pruning trees. We pruned the Tupelo which was hanging over the woodshed and driveway. You couldn't see the woodshed roof and couldn't walk the driveway without hitting your head on branches. After a rain it was even worse. So we removed about six of the lower branches, cut them up into manageable sizes and bundled them. What a chore!

 

Here is is afterward. A much cleaner look.

 

We also pruned this Chinese Elm which had some beautiful low branches, but it make the garden seem so closed in. After pruning, the tree has a much more upwards flow to it. By 4pm we were very tired and worn out. Then we got a call from my former student Megla (which rhymes with Tesla... an indication of what a bright and creative science student she was.) Megla and her friend were passing through town on their way to Wyoming. I've known this young lady since she was in elementary school! She and Jes were good friends in middle school and her mother is one of my closest friends ever. What an honor and thrill to have her visit! She and her friend stayed the night and we went out to dinner downtown. Talk about "old home" week! Three visits from C'ville friends in one week!

She is getting her Ph.D. now- such an accomplished, kind, dear person.

5-28-10

 

We had more guests from Charlottesville today! Our dear friends N & T were driving to Wisconsin and stopped on the way.We have known them for 22 years but N has known Dan's mom since they were children so they're almost like family to us. It was SO wonderful to see them. This must be "old home" week since this is the second time we've received visitors from C'ville this week.

 

Dan and I walked the arboretum trail this evening and saw some sights. I love oak leaf hydrangea especially because it's the state wildflower of Alabama. I painted this once, or tried to. Such a graceful flower.

 

We saw this box turtle on the path and Frisbee was very excited to sniff it.

Sunset at the Arboretum.

5-27-10

 

This is the berry that forms on the Service Berry tree in my side yard which drapes over the driveway. When we moved in last year it was done putting out berries so I didn't know until today why it was called a berry tree.

 

This is the Sweet Bay Magnolia that grows next to the extra parking spot. It smells so nice and has so many blooms.

And these beautiful plants are Astilbe. They grow in front of the wood shed. I hope to get more of them next year because they're so pretty.

5-26-10

 

Today I tried to figure out what this plant is. I searched and searched online for monocot plants with seeds near their leaves, and had no luck. Then I posted these pictures on my Facebook account and got an answer from a friend who is a horticulture professor. It's a lily, most likely a tiger lily. It's pretty ugly right now and I wonder if this is the "garden variety" orange tiger lily the previous owner instructed me to pull up if it appeared.

5-25-10

 

I spent the day sorting Legos for an activity in the summer camp at which I'm teaching next month. Why? They're just going to get messed up again- Squirt said. I enjoyed it, and it helped me think about and plan some of my lessons. This photo is of blueberries growing on three bushes in our back yard. I don't know if they are real, edible blueberries or just the ornamental kind. (They are the real kind.)

5-24-10

 

What a lovely surprise today, we had guests from Charlottesville visit! We've been friends with R&M for close to 20 years and it was such a treat to spend time with them. We went out to dinner at Winchell's and just had a great time catching up.

 

Not much is blooming in the gardens right now. The Sweet Bay Magnolia is blooming, as is this wild azalea bush, but the peonies and irises are done. Now I wait on the lilies.

5-23-10

 

Dear Dan, Happy Birthday! This was the most memorable birthday we've had together. First, I got you a pretty spectacular present even if it's on back order. Plus, I made your mother's Vienna Torte cake, and we went to our friends' house for a LOST finale party.

 

Miss March and I had a great time discussing the show as we watched the final episode with you and Squirt and Mr. March. OK, so you "shushed" me a number of times for talking back to the wide screen flat screen high definition television with "Instant Replay TV" capability. That's OK. It was a pretty cool thing, that TV. Seemed almost real. And no, you're not hanging one on our wall.

 

We stayed over at our friends' house until nearly midnight when we came home and watched more LOST TV on our own little cathode ray tube set. I hope you had as much fun on your 47th birthday as I did.

Love, Chrissy

5-22-10

 

Blue Hole

 

Water running from Blue Hole to the Boils

 

The Boils

 

A big Bur Oak

Got a migraine last night because I ate a couple wasabi rice crackers like an idiot. Later looked at the box and the crackers contained maltodextrin, "natural flavors" and soy sauce extract. Three code words for MSG.

Today after sleeping off the migraine Dan and I went on an excursion to McConnell Springs where Lexington was founded. It was really a beautiful spot. No wonder they settled there. If you ever come visit we will take you!

5-21-10

 

The bunny who lives in our yard ate the tops off all my greenbean plants, but two of them have sprouted new leaves since I made a fence around the veggie garden. I hope to have beans this summer!

 

Also experimenting with carrots. These are seeds from Seed Savers. My other seeds never came up. Hmmm....

 

The lavender is getting ready to bloom!

5-19-10

 

Getting ready for a workshop I'm giving tomorrow- gathering supplies and polishing my PowerPoint. Here is a photo of an unusual but pretty peony I cut from my back yard. I loved the way the light was shining through it from the lamp. The peonies did not last long enough given all the rain we've had lately.