May Day…

Every year there are two weeks of pink in our yard as the crabapple tree blooms.  Every year I become obsessed with taking pictures of the pink buds, pink flowers, and falling pink petals.  This year I seem to have taken even more than usual.  When I was young my grandmother brought May Day baskets to our door, rang the doorbell and hid.  Slowly this tradition faded away to a memory.   This is my May Day basket of posies, left at the door…

Too many photos but paradoxically it still doesn’t seem like enough. 

Spring…

In the spirit of spring renewal and rebirth I decided to dust off this neglected blog and what better place to start than with a day of  egg dying with Mr J and Miss E.

The eggs were boiled…

The dyes were mixed…

The aprons were on…

and we were ready…

Each used a different technique…

Mr J took his time experimenting with mixing different colors…

and Miss E used each bright color separately and quickly…

both methods worked well…

I tried to take pictures of each egg separately…

using both iphone and dslr cameras…

The eggs weren’t the only things dyed…

I think the hands were my favorite.



It was a colorful day.

Spring is so Fleeting…

The only time of the year my yard looks halfway decent is during spring when the crabapple and cherry and dogwood trees are blooming.  This year our spring has been chilly and the trees and flowers in the yard were late to flower but have lasted a little longer. Still, I have found that the only real way to prolong the life of the blossoms is to preserve them in photos.

Glory of the Snow growing in the walk…

Magnolias in the park…

Pansies on the steps…

Violets in the kitchen…

Crabapple buds outside the window…

Hearts under the maples…

Cherry blossoms at a plant sale…

 

Crabapple in the front yard…

Dogwood in the backyard…

Azaleas along the walk…

Even candy on the windowsill…It all lasts longer in a photo.

Pink and Green...

It stopped raining long enough to get outside and take a few pictures...


The crabapple tree is in full blossom...

And the bleeding hearts are too...

There are a few late tulips still unfolding...

And the hostas are backing it all up...


...This is the only time of year that I think my yard looks really nice.

Posing with the Daffodils...

I have managed to take pictures of my grandchildren sitting amongst the daffodils in my yard every spring ...They really do not like to pose and I don't blame them...so looking at these pictures I realize how kind they were being by putting up with Gigi and her camera...Most of the shots I took by putting my camera on continuous shoot and just holding down the button... See how they have changed over the years....

Mr. J.

2006...

2007...


2008...
2009...

........


Miss E.

2008...

2009...

Getting Warmer...

"The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month." - Henry Van Dyke

Chionodoxa...

I had never heard of them when I was taken by surprise one early spring day more than 30 years ago by a yard which was carpeted in blue...The first three pictures are of that yard...

...when I see them for the first time each spring they take my breath away...

...Photos don't do the deep blue or the sheer number of them justice...

...They blossom just about the same time as crocus yet they don't seem as popular or well known as crocus and I don't know why...Eventually I planted some in my own yard ... the following pictures are of those I planted ...

...The plant is named for the Greek word for snow,chion...and glory,doxa...it is commonly known as Glory-in-the-Snow...

...Not only do they spread easily but they are so hardy they keep coming up through stones on the walkway and by the gravel driveway...

...The only plants I seem to be able to grow are like this...hardy, tenacious, unstoppable!