Whoa! What's This?

Be still my beating heart!
:-)

Sorry the photo's a little blurry. My hand must have been unsteady. ha.

What do you think? This is the Only new thing sprouting, as yet.
Probably a good thing.
It's still plenty early.

But... yea! :-)
Nothin' shady about this.

Wildflowers in Winter Meme - Week 8

Bidding adieu.

Elizabeth Joy had a wonderful idea in creating this Wildflowers in Winter meme. What fun it has been, participating these past eight weeks! Thank you, EJ!

I'm afraid I won't find anything blooming here for quite some time. It's alright, though. The cold, snowy Winter has kept everything snuggly-warm and waiting until a better time to begin growing! Perhaps the weather will just move forward without a late frost or freeze. We can hope! :-)

On that note, I've decided to take Nancy's lead and use a photo (mine is of a woodland plant) from April 2007. I have absolutely no idea what this is... so I'd welcome input!

When he was young, George Washington Carver said, "Most people look, but they don't see."

When you visit a particularly beautiful place in the wild, or when you're just walking near your home and a beautiful flower or tree draws your attention, stop for a moment and spend a little time enjoying the moment. When restless thoughts come, such as "I should be hurrying along," ignore them for as long as possible. Bring your mind back to the moment of communion. *

*quote and other statements taken from Listening to Nature, How to Deepen Your Awareness of Nature by Joseph Cornell.

I found this book in a local used book store. A bargain with beautiful photographs and interesting comments and narratives.

Late-breaking news: Someone at UBC Botanical Garden and Center for Plant Research responded to my plea for help! They, too, identified the plant as a "buckeye." Hearty congratulations to those who already knew it! ;-)

As a sidelight... our afternoon
temperatures were in the 50s!!
What do you suppose that means? :-)

Green Thumb Sunday

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Had you ever noticed the little "Valentine" at the end of the blossom, before? :-)

I've not posted a "Green Thumb Sunday" for awhile. I don't know where Mr. Brownthumb is, but I sure would like him to see my "Christmas Cacti!" My red one is outdoing itself right now!


The clarity of a couple of my photos is lacking, but I wonder if anyone could venture a guess as to how many buds are on this plant? :-)

I think the plants are trying to tell me they're about ready for Spring, too!
Last year they were on the front deck/porch where they got
some sun and some shade.
Hey! Another place where I can use my new Sun Calc to monitor the amount of light!

:-)

Happy Sunday!

In Anticipation of Spring

I just ordered something that may just prove its worth several times over. I ordered a Sunlight Calculator. It's been advertised in many places, but I ordered it through the Garden Gate magazine's store online.

Garden Gate has been my favorite magazine for years! There are no distracting advertisements or ads unrelated to gardening. Each issue is devoted to a couple of different subjects (just look it up!) with many tips and hints by the editors as well as fellow gardeners.

The sun calculator is used to determine, exactly, the amount of light portions of your garden get. After placing the calculator in the bed, it measures the amount of light over a 12-hour period. The intention is that it will help me choose plants that will best thrive in particular locations.

I'm excited to use this tool. While I won't get the right indication of light in my gardens until the trees are fully leafed, I'll be able to experiment until I need to use it. ;-)

I already anticipate the need to move a few plants... hopefully this will help me determine "where."

This IS a shady subject! ;-) And I just thought you'd like to know about it.

An Ode to March 4th

These photos were taken March 23, 2007.

March Forth

And so we shall!

The sun is shining.
(o'er your way?)

Patches of green are showing
through snow today.

Birds are fluttering.
(Saw a robin, yesterday!)

And I am dreaming
Spring will soon stay.

March forth!
And so we shall.

;-)

photos taken March 23, 2007

Garden Bloggers' Muse Day (a little late, again)

Join
Garden Blogger's Muse Day
March 1, 2008

"The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You're one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
A wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you're two months back in the middle of March."
-   Robert Frost, Two Tramps in Mud Time


Actually, it was March 1st and we
were visiting the Henry Doorly Zoo
in Omaha, Nebraska.

A great weekend family outing.

Kid's Wildflower Art Contest

This is Week Seven of Wildflowers in Winter sponsored by Elizabeth Joy at Wildflower Morning.We visited our daughter, son-in-law, and their two children (our 4-year-old grandson and 2-year-old granddaughter) in Omaha, NE this weekend. Weekends go so quickly! At any rate, I forgot to bring their artwork home (!).

Below are photos of artwork, from our refrigerator, drawn last September by our granddaughters in Michigan. At the time, they were 3 1/2-years-old and 2-years-old. :-) Enjoy!

(I'm almost positive they're wildflowers!)Coneflowers are pink,
Sunflowers are yellow.
You think wildflowers are wonderful?
Now, that's a good fellow!

I'm sure I see the resemblance, don't you?
:-)