spring blossoms

I love apple trees. They seem so practical and dependable. They have the perfect color blossoms!

spring inside

This is an experiment. I wanted to see if I could force lily of the valley to bloom inside. It worked!

how green!

I have spent months taking pictures of tiny little green things poking up from dead brown leaves. I rained last night. Look how green the world is today!

time to pick the violets

As a little girl I spent long hours in my parents' front yard, picking enough violets to impress my mother with a big bouquet. It took a long time, but I was determined to pick every violet I could find. I still get the urge to go out and pick a few. But now I have a little restraint and can leave some behind to admire in their native state.

up and away

My cat has finally decided it's safe to go outside.

a walk in my father's garden

wishing well

There is a wishing well in front of my house. I always thought it was pretty tacky, and wanted to take it down, but it's brick and pretty sturdy so I decided to ignore it instead. Over the years it began to deteriorate. There was a hole in the roof, part of the molding had fallen off and it needed to be painted.

A neighbor was having problems with his business computer. I offered to help, but he wouldn't accept without paying me. I didn't want that, so he offered to do something for me, like repair the wishing well. He said he always admired it and was upset at its condition. He also told me that the well was a neighborhood landmark. Boy, was I embarrassed! So he fixed the hole, replaced the molding, gave it a coat of fresh paint, bought a bucket for it and filled it with flowers. At our next book club meeting another neighbor told me how happy she was to see the wishing well. She told me that she always looked for the well when she passed the house. It comforted her to see it.

The neighbor who fixed the well has become my friend. At the beginning of each season he fills the bucket with a flowering plant. How could I think the well was tacky?

Easter lily

I was quite surprised when my father told me that if I planted my Easter lily in my garden it would come up and bloom every year but, as usual, he was right! I planted this lily about five years ago. I can't wait for it to flower!

My Father

My father loved this time of year. He endured winter only because he knew spring would come again. At the end of February he would start to examine his yard, searching for that small green shoot that would acknowledge that spring would come again. He knew he would be able to tolerate the cold long enough to see its arrival.


I would do the same thing, asking him the names of plants based on one small leaf or a rough description. He was always able to identify my little sample, first giving me the Latin name, then the common name when he saw my look of frustration. I know I asked him the same questions every year, but he patiently answered them, with just a little smile on his face.


When fishing season opened he would head to his favorite spot, cast his fly rod and appreciate his surroundings. He would return to the dock with a boat filled with trash he had fished out of the lake. No fish, he was a catch and release man.

32 degrees

It's time to fill the bird bath! The birds and squirrels were a little shy about having their pictures taken when bathing, but they enjoyed their first bath of the season.

the arboretum

The Bayard Cutting Arboretum is located on Long Island's south shore. Because it is warmed by the Great South Bay spring starts a little earlier here. Every year we come to see the first daffodils of the season. It was cloudy on the day we visited, but the flowers were beautiful!

the big fight

I'm having a little disagreement with someone, I'm just not sure who. To celebrate spring I bought a pot of pansies and put them on my doorstep. There were lots of flowers on the plants, yellow, white, blue, and plenty of buds getting ready to bloom.

The next morning this is what I found.
Every flower had been neatly cut off and, I suspect, eaten. I decided to leave the plant outside. The perpetrator had not taken the buds, and I wanted them to get some sun. The next morning the buds were gone too. I left the plant outside. What more could happen? The next morning the tops of the plants were eaten. I gave in and took the plant inside and placed it on the window sill. My cat was not happy, that was his spot to sun himself. So the pansies are back outside. So far they have not been disturbed. I have tried to placate the squirrels by giving them extra sunflower seeds, just in case.

time to go out

I think the cat has cabin fever.

solar dryer

Yes, I did receive permission from my neighbor to post pictures of his underwear.

Connetquot River State Park

Come take a walk in the park with me.

one daffodil

One daffodil has escaped from my neighbor's yard!

how did I miss this?

So, since I missed packing up this Christmas decoration, should I pretend that my decorating tends toward the eclectic and just leave it where it is?