Just a Bit of This and That

The past few days have been GORGEOUS here! Hertsje and I have spent time outside enjoying it!
Today she asked to bring out her "dolls with pets". I think they are an odd collection of Polly Pockets that I found years ago at the thrift store.
She LOVES their teeny tiny pets!
Today she decided that she would make beds for them.

She gave them grass for sleeping on, leaves for blankets, and flowers for pillows!
It took dedication to get it "just so", but she was pleased with the outcome, and excited to show Pake and her mommy when they got home from work
I love watching her excitement from the moment she gets an idea, to when she works it all out to be exactly how she envisioned it!

The Seven Hunters of the Easter Eggs

There were A LOT of eggs to hunt! I believe the only reason they consented to the picture was that this is how the hunt started out! My motto: Picture before eggs!

In My Backyard

Yesterday was a gorgeous day for puttering around outside.
I pulled weeds, or made a go of it anyway.
Last year my Lilies of the Valley didn't do so well because of all the other things trying to take over.  This year I put effort into removing most everything that didn't belong.  I'm having the most difficult time with onion grass.  THOSE are hard to get out!
The peonies are looking okay.  The clump in the front of the picture always starts out looking great, but never produces many flowers, and the flowers it does produce are small and white.
The clump farther back never looks like much, but tends to produce the most flowers.  Beautiful large pink peonies.  I love them!
It was nine years ago this month that we first looked at this house.  The peonies were blooming then, and they were GORGEOUS.
I've not done anything to them but admire them.
I hope my admiration is all they need to keep going!

 The magnolia tree is very sad looking this year.  I'm quite upset about that.

The ferns are popping up in all the right places.
They are fun to watch.
I'm sure if I had the patience to sit still just to look at them I would be able to witness them as they unfurl.  

Here's a closer look at the Lilies of the Valley.
I LOVE the smell of these when they are in bloom.
Not the onion grass though.
Blech.

THGGM must have missed a few of these!

At some point I hope to make a fairy garden.

But it may be confused with the dirt pile so I'll have to give it some more thought.

These Grape Hyacinth got a close up this year.  There are more of these than I remember ever seeing here before.

Hmm.  That may be because I did my best to stay on top of the weeding this year.

I didn't get pictures of any of the Iris yet, but they look to be doing better than last year too.

Whenever I feel badly about how my yard looks, I just remind myself that someday in the foreseeable future I may have more time to tend a garden than I do now.

And then I will be sad.

Spring In My Backyard

 Neither of my thumbs are green.

This is just what keeps coming up in our backyard year after year.

I don't do a thing to it.

Wouldn't know how.

This  is a survivor of the Wrath of THGGM.

He does not like dandelions.

I adore them.

The peony buds have ants all over them.  The first year we lived here I went into a panic over that, only to learn that is just the way of the peony.

I admire gardeners.  They are a hardworking bunch.

But I tend to be thrilled just pulling a few weeds here and there and watching what happens.

And what happens is AMAZING.

In My Own Backyard

 This year the Lilies of the Valley are coming along nicely.

These are one of my favorite flowers.  

Everything about them is amazing.

Could It Be?

 I think it is true!  Spring is busting out all over!  There are daffodils blooming in the backyard and a few branches of the magnolia tree have buds that are just beginning to open!  But of course, today there are April showers.  No complaining here.  The weekend was GORGEOUS.

 Feintsje was somewhat surprised that we went for a walk in the rain.  I just HAD to.  It smells amazing outside in the spring when it rains.  And I also know that rain tends to turn magnolia blossoms into a slippery stinky mush, and there is NO CHANCE that I was going to miss those first blooms this year.  It was worth getting a bit wet.

Tuesday Fun

Yesterday was the perfect day to play outside!

Finally!

Feintsje is being a stegosaurus, and he is GOOD at it.

Hertsje noticed that all of the outside dinosaurs were very dirty, so she suggest we give them a bath, which we did.

They are all clean now!

Signs of Spring

Today Feintsje, Zeke, and I went for a walk to look for signs of spring.

First we noticed that although we did need our jackets, it was warmer than yesterday, and there was NO snow.  That's always good.

Next we saw that the maple trees looked red.  Soon that red will be all over the sidewalks, but for now it's pretty in the trees.

The squirrels were busy, robins were flying about, and all the other birds were being noisy.

Also, there was bunny poop. Lots and lots of bunny poop.

In the backyard we startled a bunny who quickly bounded away into the next yard.  It also startled us, even though we were looking for it.  

Little green shoots were pushing up through the last old piles of fall leaves that didn't get picked up before the snow fell in November.

And then Feinstje noticed it. The best of all the signs of spring.  A tiny purple flower.  He asked if he could pick it to bring inside and put in a jar.  And so we did.

Today At My House

The magnolia tree is in FULL bloom.

This can only mean  one thing.

SPRING has arrived!

 This is the view I have when lying in bed.  Except that at night it is dark and I don't have my glasses on, but, I CAN smell it!  It smells like SPRING!

I also noticed a DUCK waddling around my front yard this morning.  Not sure why.  Most likely just another sign of SPRING!

OUTSIDE!

I am wondering just when the dirty piles of snow will melt.  May?

March 31st - the first day this year it was warm enough to play OUTSIDE.  THGGM took ALL the grandkids outside where they had a blast playing with the neighbor kids that they hadn't seen since November.

Spotted on Sunday in the Woods

Trillium!  Lots and lots of trillium!