Iris Farm - It Must Be Summer

 

 There is a wonderful iris farm nearby.  The iris have been in bloom for the past week and anyone who wants to add some lovely color to their garden is placing their order now.  The rhizomes will be ready for pick up in the fall for planting.

In the meantime, one can pick a bouquet @ $1 per stem.  Here is the lovely bouquet I picked  consisting of just ten stems.  

 

The water is finally warm enough for our little granddaughters to play in the lake.  

And I've been out in the kayak for a spin a time or two ... in fact, the lake is calm tonight so I'll be heading out for a paddle soon.  We have "quiet hours" on our lake... no speeding and no wakes after 7:30 at night nor before 11 a.m. in the morning.  Very peaceful.

 

Blue

 

Ajuga gone wild in my front yard by the lake.

                                                        Iris in my garden on the hill.

 

A field of lupine along side the road near Lake Michigan.

Granny Porch

 My friend was here for our Memorial Day picnic and said "I love your "Granny Porch!.""  I didn't even know it was a Granny Porch, but I like it.  To begin this creation, a bat who I named Barry kept roosting up in the peak of this porch and although I think bats are very charming and useful, I didn't like him looking at me every time I came and went.  Finally I made a muslin false ceiling and strung some twinkle lights.  That seemed to solve the problem with Barry.

This folk art painting of the cat and bird has been hanging indoors for a few years.  An outdoor spot seemed appropriate.  Then one thing led to another.  I found these wonderful rag rugs at a tag sale.... they are made of recycled denim ~ perfect for the porch.  The little half moon table seemed to fit. I added a vintage crocheted doily, a fairy lamp and a bouquet of lilacs. Pull up a comfy wicker chair and, voila! ~ a Granny Porch!

I found this painting at an arts and crafts fair ten summers ago.  The artist explained her inspiration.  She was watching "Animal Planet" which featured this story of an injured wild bird and a sympathetic family cat.  The cat kept an eye on the bird but never attempted to catch it.  Gradually the bird became well enough to fly away.  The bird and cat had become friends.  The bird returned daily for the rest of the summer to visit the cat.

We host the neighborhood Memorial Day picnic each year.  Potluck, of course.  Such wonderful salads and casseroles and desserts arrive with no assignments, no planning.  It always works out so well.  We have been having these picnics for at least 35 yrs. since we all moved here and had our children.  The group has grown considerably and most of us are now grandparents.  This year we had nine grandchildren present between the ages of 1 and 10.  Great fun!  Next picnic will be July 4th at another neighbor's home followed by a Labor Day picnic to close out the summer.

A Successful Treasure Hunt

 Yard sales and tag sales are underway in earnest here.  Thought you'd like to see some of what I found today.  Only the louvered shutters were in my treasure stash before.  Notice the cute little
spigot on the galvanized water can.  Love the chippy metal tool box.  And a Camel cigarette thermometer advertising sign!....  It's pretty rusty, but still a great find.  The vintage rose-covered hand-hooked wool rug is lovely.

Along a quiet country road I spotted some blooming "jack-in-the-pulpit."  These are getting harder and harder to find.  They prefer to live in undisturbed deciduous forests.  I consider this a treasure, too.

Changeable Weather!

For the past two weeks we had unseasonably warm weather nearing 80* each day!

It was heavenly.  Cherry blossoms and trillium!

With the help of one of my daughter's starving artist friends, I raked the entire yard from road to beach and then cast 25# of grass seed where it was appropriate.

Mother's day weekend it snowed for two days.  The minor snow accumulation wasn't a problem except for our moods.  Mother's Day picnics all had to be moved indoors.

Here's my oldest granddaughter having a tea party with 

Sadie, our corgi.... underneath the dining table.

All in all, it was a lovely Mother's Day here and I hope it was for you as well.

Signs of Spring.... Finally

Schools were closed two days last week throughout our region due to heavy wet snow!  Yet just today I have risked taking my Jeep out of 4WD ~ hopefully until next October.  Our inland lakes are still frozen solid yet the ice is looking a little grey in color instead of solid stark white.  Rain is predicted for the next few days so that should reduce the piles of plowed snow and break up the ice.

In the meantime, we had a bright day yesterday and I took a photo of pussy willows... a sure sign of green leaves to come.  My Hellebore or Lenten Rose always pops through the snow all budded and it is beautiful this year... pinks and deep purple...very sturdy plant and the deer won't eat it.  I have one little patch of crocus about to open and these the deer WILL eat happily.  Keeping my fingers crossed that the deer will forget this year and we can enjoy the blooms.

Maple Syrup Time

It is finally looking like spring here in the north.  A sunny day Friday and no commitments meant my husband and I were off for a drive to Leelanau County ~ which is the "little finger" of Michigan if you look at the back of your left hand and wiggle your pinkie finger.

The buckets in the thick maple woods at Pa Brown's were over-flowing with that sweet sap that will become delicious maple syrup.  Icicles were dripping off the buckets in the morning sun.  I like the ingenious corrugated lids that keep the fresh sap clean.

The colors of Grand Traverse Bay approaching Omena Bay were so gorgeous, I couldn't resist one more picture.  How many pictures of the lakes have I taken over the years?  Many, many....
All in all, it was a lovely day with a forecast of snow / rain mix to come on Saturday.  We were not disappointed.  A good covering of snow mid-Saturday convinced me it was safe to burn the
Christmas tree in the beach fire pit.  It's my usual spring equinox tradition to burn the tree on the first day of spring, but the tree was buried under snow then.  Better late than never!  Welcome spring!