Grandma’s rhododendron in all her glory!
Oh, my gosh, y’all…wouldn’t you love to bottle up some May and save it for January or February? Yesterday was one of those days you wish would last forever. Clear skies, high 70’s, a riding mower, and GOBS of flowers! We went out to the farm after breakfast and mowed. It’s been two weeks since we got the chance to mow out there and buddy, it really needed it.
The first thing I noticed when I drove up the driveway was the monster rhododendron in the front yard. I meant to have Mr. FixIt take a picture of me in front of it because it towers over my head by a good three to four feet. But we got busy and I forgot. Grandma’s peonies, flags, and irises were in full bloom, as well.
Iris Sibirica…the Siberian Iris. This is what my grandma called “flags”. There are also smaller wild iris that are commonly called flags. The word comes from the Middle English word “flagge”.
When we were preparing to go to the farm, I asked Mr. FixIt to walk out to the pollinator gardens to see if we’re making progress. One is full of buttercups and toadflax and the other is chock full of white clover. There were butterflies fluttering around and you could hear the bees buzzing as you walked up. I’m so excited to make these patches grow.
These are absolutely the most beautiful peonies I’ve ever seen. Grandma would cup her hand beneath one of the saucer-sized blossoms, bend down, and bury her nose in the soft sweetness of her precious posies.
Our peonies aren’t out yet here at Marshmallow Ranch, but it’s shouldn’t be long. The irises are crazy…I’ll get photos of them tomorrow. The chocolate mint smells divine when I clip the edge of the flowerbed as I mow. The European Starling is still servicing her babies in the eaves of the house but they should be fledging soon. Little fuzzy caterpillars show up in the oddest places. The Eastern Towhees and the Catbirds flutter around in the budding sycamore trees that line the creek bank out front. The earth is bursting forth in all her glory and my heart is happy.
This is a Flame Azalia…a kind of rhodododendron that grows wild in the underbrush of the dense forests of Appalachia.
Today we mow here at home because Saturday, it rains. I picked up our granddaughter’s quilt for her wedding at the quilt shop yesterday and the only thing I need to do is put on the binding and sew on the label. Then I can show it to you! This will be a good rainy day project once the mowing is put away for the week.
These are ramps. They are a well celebrated delicacy of spring in the Appalachias. You either love them or you hate them. They are the allium tricoccum and are called many different names besides ramps…ramson, wild leek, wood leek, and wild garlic. As the names suggest, they taste like a cross between onion and garlic. Some years you get a mild season of ramps, but most times, you can smell them cooking from a mile away. I love them fried with potatoes then pour beaten eggs over them and bake them like a frittata. SO good. Churches and civic organizations put on “ramp feeds” every spring as a fundraiser. Folks go out and forage the woods for ramps and morel mushrooms way back in the hills, then bring them into town where you can just about bet a fella has a pickup truck and he buys up the ramps, then sells them for a profit. Sort of like a “farmer’s market”. I paid $10 for this one pound bag. They say this is a mild year for ramps, so we’ll see!
I took lots of good flower photos this week so I’ll be adding to the note card collections in my shop. As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in my big blue club chair in front of Grace. When we got home from the farm, we took out the chairs and ate our supper here. As the sun set, the evening chill moved in so I eventually had to pack it up and move back indoors.
One of our Pollinator Gardens…they’re doing great!
I lead a charmed life, don’t I? There was a time after losing Mr. Virgo that I couldn’t imagine living another day without him by my side. I definitely couldn’t have imagined this magical life I’m living. Try as I might, I couldn’t find what I was looking for. Then, when I gave it all to God to carry and I placed Him at the center of my world…that’s when everything fell into place and love came knocking on my door.
We ended the day sitting quietly together, sipping a new coffee substitute my cousin gave me when we were visiting. It’s called Ryze. I have been a lifelong coffee drinker till my stomach started giving me fits every time I drank it. So I quit cold turkey and went to decaf tea. This is a refreshing change of pace. It is made of a little bit of coffee and six different kinds of mushrooms that supposedly have healing properties. I don’t know about all that, but it is nice to taste something reminiscent of coffee without getting the stomach ache and nausea I was getting before. I’ll update you as we go along as to whether it’s worth the hype. So far, so good.
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“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Isaiah 40:30-31 NIV
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I love my new pollinator gardens! This sweet mug reminds me of the wispy grasses and little delicate flowers that invite the birds and the bees and the butterflies to some sit a spell.
