Happy Easter!!!

Easter Greetings!

Wow...3 weeks have passed since we've last posted!

Time HAS been flying. The weather has been unusually warm---or today, hot (91), for the time of year, and with the time change, it's allowed us to work in the yard longer, it seems. Well, that, and the longer days. We get lost at times, out digging and planting, that we sometimes lose track of the time, and suddenly we remember that dinnertime is running late. Not so much for us, but for Mom.

I had posted last time that I would post pictures of early spring flowers, which are going in with this entry, but with the unusually mild late Winter and Spring, things in the yard are literally changing on a day to day basis. We've (mostly Lynne this time), finished up on the various borders that define the different gardens, and much of the last few weeks have been spent transplanting the seedlings Lynne mentioned a couple times in previous blogs. Some of her plants even decided to bloom before she could get them planted out.
Hummingbirds, our free entertainment for the next 7 months, returned April 1st, 2 days after the first feeder was set out. What has been really unusual, though are the things happening now that sometimes we don't see 'til May or even June. We've had fireflies in the yard for the last 2 weeks, and butterflies by the dozens during the same time. Actually, we had various butterflies all winter, but March and April gave us many of the swallowtails and even some Monarchs.

I built a Purple Martin house a few weeks ago, and within a couple hours of putting it up, Bluebirds and Chickadees were checking it out. Martins have flown overhead and hopefully have seen it, but in the meantime, the Chickadees have claimed one end as theirs and have started a nest. Wrens have nested in Lynne's potting shade house, and the Bluebirds are back in most of the nesting houses we have for them. We've had tadpoles in the pond for over a month, and summer Irises and Daylilies are setting buds already.
Besides the flowers Lynne and I have started and planted, our summer veggies are growing as well. Corn, cucumbers and squash have been planted out, and tomatos and peppers will be going out in the next couple weeks, once the soil warms up some more.

Kevin and Jenn have been down to see us a couple times, and we got to see Celeste sit up all by herself for one of her first times!!! Mom is always happy to see her, as the pictures show. Dawn and her crew come by when time allows, but it's Spring, and with all their activities, well, the 3 grandsons are usually busy.

Lynne's sister Ruth comes down once a week to stay with Mom so Lynne and I can get out and about together, and we really appreciate her visits.

The cats, well, it's spring, and you never know what they might find. There was a 'kodak moment' we did capture, where they discovered a young bunny rabbit. It was small enough to chase and investigate, yet big enough that they weren't quite sure what to make of it. For the sake of a couple close friends, I'll refrain from posting the picture of the snake they also managed to locate a couple weeks ago. The cats are the property guards, and we can still assert that we've yet to be attacked by rhinoceros or Aardvarks, so they obviously are doing a good job. ;-)

Mom is progressing along, with good days, and not so good days, but frequents the porches on occasion to see what Lynne and I have been up to with recent plantings, landscaping, and all. A couple weeks ago, she decided she wanted the 'grand tour', so off we went, Mom, with her walker and portable oxygen bottle in tow, for a half hour tour around the yard and woods. It was really good to get her up, out and about, all the while, knowing how exerting it is on her. Hopefully, now that the weather is more accomodating, she'll help us make use of the newly screened porch, sitting and enjoying the view as we do.
Over the next couple months, we'll be posting lots of before/after pictures that will show the many changes we've made to the yard and gardens during the last 18 months. In the meantime, enjoy the scenes we've noticed over the last few weeks and months. Some may think our gardens are a lot of work. We'd like to think it's a work of Love, something we share, together.

Again, we thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world here in the Heartland, where, at this Eastertime, there's evidence of New Life around every corner. Please leave us a note to let us know you were here.

Peace be with you from the Heartland, where all is Wonderful this Eastern Season †