Ahhh... Summer!

 Sorry I have been AWOL.  June was a busy month.  My husband and I took a week and made the family tour.  We made a big loop to Minnesota and back.  Thankfully, we were able to see everyone both from my family and my husband's family.

This included a good visit with my 98 year-old grandmother.  She passed away a week later.  She will be greatly missed!  I am so thankful we had a chance for one last visit.  She was a ranch wife, baker, painter, historian, and author.  She did this painting of an old wagon on my parent's ranch.  Her book was about growing up during the Depression.  She was also my inspiration to create a family cookbook.

I remember playing on those wagons pretending to cross the prairie.  Grandmother's stories and wisdom is a great loss for our family.  

It was good to see family and I am afraid it may be awhile before we are all together again.  Still, it is good to be home.  Spring and summer is fleeting where we live and I hate missing such precious time.

We have had quite a bit of rain and the gardens look pretty good.  This is despite being neglected and visited by deer while we were gone.

Last year, my loving husband had a frog pond dug for me.  We used to have tons of tree frogs, but 'improvements' to the road by people who don't live here ruined their habit.  Well, lo and behold I have tadpoles.  No idea yet if they are tree or leopard frogs, but they are growing fast.

I am looking out for them and will keep you apprised of their progress.

Well, that was my June in a nutshell.  I am hoping July will go a little slower.  I wish everyone a fabulous summer.  I ask that you take a minute and call or visit those you love.  It is time spent you will never regret.

The Blooms Portion of my Blog...

 I'm afraid I have been super busy, but I thought I would take you on a garden tour.  Grab some coffee, lemonade, or wine and enjoy...

Hope you are enjoying your summer.

Perfect...

Today turned out perfect.  We had long awaited company.  My neighbors/relatives growing up came out for a visit.  I have been so excited that they would finally see our cabin.  

Despite the fact it was supposed to rain, I prepared for this visit in advance.  I had my bird feeders stocked and made sure my Western Tanagers, grossbeaks, chickadees, and nuthatches were used to people on the porch.

We have been lucky enough to have four mating pairs of tanagers this year.  They look so sharp with their red and yellow feathers.  They put on a show for our guests, along with my other birds.  Even the turkey and hummingbird wandered through.

I made my go to peach cobbler and homemade ice cream. Instead of lemonade, coffee to ward off the chill.

Everything went exactly as planned.  My daffodils and tulips were in full bloom.  It didn't get too cool or rain, so we could tour the gardens and relax on the porch.  We had a great visit filled with laughter and stories. 

I don't know what could have been better than a day with family, flowers, food, and feathered friends.  I am thankful everyone was able to stop by, that things turned out, and we were able to enjoy the afternoon.

When was the last time you had a good visit with your family and friends?  Where do people normally gather in your home? 

A day in the life...

It is nice to have a 3-day weekend. I have kept very busy watching birds, planting the garden, weeding the flower beds, and just puttering around.

A chickadee drinking from a little cup.  

For the second year in a row I have a handful of cedar waxwings.  I wondered what they ate in the spring, then I see them munching on apple blossoms.  Not sure how I feel about that.

My hummingbird returned yesterday. I am so appreciative.  I a feeling it was time for her to show up, and had nectar cooling when she arrived.

My daffodils and primroses are putting on a show.

It's been dark and cloudy all weekend. No real rain to speak of, but at least it isn't snow.  (So far)

I'm still working on the porch. Every year I tried to figure out where I'm putting the house plants and the flowers.  I found the prettiest violas and right now they really make the porch pop.

I got my outside garden planted. Beans, cucumbers, corn, pumpkins, melons, turnips, and radishes are all in the ground.

It is amazing how good tools make things go smoother. I love the bread box my cousin, Phyllis, gave me to hold my seeds.   The stamps I made for square foot planting are invaluable.

Everything is in the ground, except for the second planting of corn and beans so everything doesn't ripen at the same time. I'm getting smarter in my old age.

I used up all of last year's compost. There is a new batch brewing. When you don't have cattle or chickens it is good to have a compost pile.  I mixed 3 wheelbarrows full into the vegetable garden this year.

My husband is always taking pictures of me on the sly. It makes me laugh.  Yes, dad, I am still wearing my rabbit fur hat.  It is so warm and ten times better than a coat.

I'm afraid that's all I got. I hope all of you are enjoying the nice long peaceful weekend.  I've waited all winter for life on the porch. You couldn't pry me away if you tried. What do you look forward to most about spring and summer?

The weather outside is frightful...

We have had a glut of squirrels lately.  Ella tries to scare them away, but as you can see she isn't always successful.

I got a few flowers for my planters.  These violas looks so cheerful.

 I needed something cheerful, as snow was around the corner.  Temperatures dipped below freezing and we got about an inch of snow.  

The Tomato Taj Mahal kept the seedlings safe.  In fact, I think my lettuce grew.

I actually didn't mind the weather as it forced me to finish my nephew's quilt.  It turned out ok, but I really need to come up with a better system when I don't follow a pattern.  Going rouge is difficult.  The blocks didn't work out size wise.

I'm happy to have it done.  I hope he likes it.  

Did anyone else get snow this weekend?  Any projects finished? I'm hoping that was the end of snow for the year.