Sunday Sixteen

I'm making up a new one-time category: Sunday 16. It's raining but not before I got to spend a day and a half outside. It's that time of year to plant my garden, clean up, and fall into the summer room that is the yard. I'm happy to say my knee and back have been strong and willing.

1. This tells you almost all you need to know about jb: a clip-on butterfly atop a 1950's style lamp in the living room.

2. A couple of weeks ago I bought a peach tree and a miniature magnolia tree. They're not planted yet but I can still cut off a magnificent magnolia flower and let it float in a bowl.

3. A sure sign of gardens and puttering.

4. These grasses never got planted last year, but somehow they managed to survive a long winter and mounds of snow. This photo reminds me of fireworks.

6. Yesterday I planted six plants and today another six--an equal amount of Big Boy and Cherry tomatoes. It is an eight wonder of the world to grow your own tomatoes. For years I didn't have enough sun to do that, and last year I planted too many, but this year's crop should be just about about right.
7. Just outside the kitchen door, under a tiny foyer, this still-in-process nest has appeared in the outdoor overhead light.

8. I don't mean to brag, but this shot does not do justice to my garden-in-process. I love evidence anywhere that a human being has taken some care, or tended to something, and that is how I feel about my garden.
9. To the right of the Magic Cottage, I've gotten in the habit of talking on my cell phone or taking a break in this makeshift sitting area.

10. jb turned over the soil around the lamppost for me yesterday, so all I had to do was pop in these impatiens. Tomorrow morning I will look out the little den window and smile when I see them. 11. The rocks and stones in this well in my side yard were no doubt once beautifully stacked, but the best I can do is plant geraniums in the middle, and a circle of dark purple petunias around them. Not much effort for a pretty nice result.

12. Have you ever had a Hootenanny in your house? Five of my fellow writers in our twice a year Big Yellow writing retreat are songwriters, and here we are singing the night away.

13. This is the first perennial bloom of the year in my garden--just out this morning! Blue is a rare color for a flower: can you see it?

14. These are called Chickens and Hens--mostly used for borders and rock gardens. jb wants them to the left of the driveway. They're too small to stand alone so I have to figure out some taller companions for them.

15. A branch of a bleeding heart broke during clean up. I wouldn't have thought of it, but here it is in a vase and it looks wonderful.
16. Honest to God, this is what I look like when I'm irritated.