This tree never fails. I love it and all the others around town now all in bloom. The first to bloom. Wind took a few buds down and scattered lots of petals, but it is so thick with blooms they aren't missed. New neighbors at the end of the road have one, too. They haven't moved in yet, they have been renovating for months, so haven't met them. At the end of our dirt road and up at the main road, a line of pear trees are also in bloom and are just as beautiful. A wonderful surprise this morning. This summer I started in another area cleaning out weed trees and vines and saw a tree that had some weeping branches. We have no other trees like that, was thinking it was maybe a weeping willow, but this morning . . . blooms!! It's a weeping cherry! It's tall and spindly, but with the clearing I did and more to come, it should get the sun it needs to be another gorgeous spring flowering tree. I get so excited when I discover new plants on this property! Another area I've worked hard on, even this week, is the area with baby's breath along the driveway. I'm sure for years this was cut back and never left to flourish, but each year it gets thicker and thicker. Also this week I cleaned out the iris beds. I read a lot on why my iris didn't produce lots of blooms and found that the rhizomes need a lot of sunlight each day. I was thinking the mulch was good for them, but it is not. They look so healthy, I'm really hoping they all flower this year. The camellia was late this year, didn't bloom for Valentine's Day, but it is now in full bloom and looking as awesome as ever. A sign at a bookstore today. Bluebirds have arrived, too!
Bob gives the best cards!
The daffodils around town are in bloom, but here in the gap things are always a little behind. My first daffodil bloom, but there are lots of buds just waiting to open. When out and about, I saw this magnolia in bloom and had to get photos. A very old tree, just beautiful!! Buds on my Valentine's Day camellia, brown around the edges from that very cold polar express a month ago. Usually in full bloom by Valentine's Day. Today is cold and wet, tomorrow sunny and will be in the 60s. Come on, you can do it!! Swaths of hellebores love this weather and look so bright on gray days. My one and only dark hellebore that I dug up at a Mindy flip house, just about ready to bloom. I sure hope it drops seed this year, I need more of these!!
I was surprised that I had so many winter scene paintings when I started taking photos. A day to be inside in front of a fire, working on a dog transport from Louisiana to Texas, cleaning out computer files, working on Etsy & Ebay, but I did go through my seed catalogs and have my orders ready to be placed! One day inside and I can't wait to be back outside working tomorrow! How did I have a job where I sat for 10 hours a day?
Saturday we took a drive, Bob wanted to go to some bookstores in Spartanburg, I wanted to look for discounted bushes. Good time of year to find azaleas for next to nothing and I have a big area to fill at the farmhouse. An auction was going on at one of the Habitat stores and they were cooking bbq outside, which lured Bob in. Nothing much to write home about, but there was a ziplock bag with some handkerchiefs which I didn't even open because I'm not into buying those, and it's a good thing they are a thing of the past because the whole idea of using a handkerchief is gross! That's what tissues are for, and those can be flushed. We were on our way out, Bob behind me, next thing I know he's back at the books, so to kill time I opened the ziplock to see what was inside. I have to admit they are very pretty, and a lot of work went into them, especially the ones with the tatted edges. Only one with old lace. The Southern Belle caught my eye, they are very popular. This one was very unusual, took me a bit to take it all in. A can-can dancer. You can flip up her skirt and top and see her panties and bra, so risque!! It wasn't until that night when I was looking at them again that I flipped it over and saw the naked can-can girl! I thought maybe someone had used a pen and drew it in, but I got a magnifying glass and those are definitely French knots and stitches. The things you can find! So I did find azalea bushes marked down to $4 and planned on spending Sunday transplanting, but an emergency happened, two puppies in Georgia needed to get to adopters in NC and I had five hours of driving ahead of me. Glad Bob went along and did the driving so I could manage (play) with the puppies on the trip. Chow mixes living in an outdoor pen with no shelter, not soicialized, yet this little girl was sweet and a big kisser. She liked Bob. This little girl was not as social, I named her Geisha since she looked just like my Geisha at that age. I was really worried that they were going to be separated and go to different homes, they were clinging together most of the time. Met Mike who was going to take them to Charlotte. Today he put Geisha on transport to her new home in Ct. This little white girl went to a new home in CT. I got updates that both were doing fantastic. I guess having a little girl and a little boy to carry them around made them feel safe. So today I finally got to transplant and work in the yard. Nice thing about being retired, every day is a gardening day!
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