Busy Bee!

And another toad spotted!

Yesterday I was filling some of the planters we have on the patio & saw this toad buried in the dirt in one!  I left the end where he was empty, trying not to disturb him!  This is the 3rd toad I've come across in 2days!

Pleasant Surprises in my Garden!

 I went out this morning to start weeding my vegetable garden--getting ready to plant  --hopefully this weekend.  The rule of thumb around here is to wait til Memorial day weekend, otherwise we might still have a frost!  So, the photo above is what it looked like!  A few facts--it is a 20ft. round raised bed with a stone wall around it.

 Well, I'm trying to straighten the wall  and out from between a few of the stones pops a little toad!  I watched it for awhile  ( and so did the dog!) & then it hopped off into the woods.

Then I walked down to look at the raspberries & spotted these wild strawberries at the base of some of the canes!  Will keep an eye on them--love fresh strawberries!
And I got about 1/2 of the garden cleaned out--more tomorrow!

Wordless Wednesday ( I Guess a Few Words)

 The sun, the sun!!

 These were taken about 6:30 am around our house--so nice to see the sun!

 Everything got really green from all the rain--Alan said he felt like he was in Ireland, not CT.

 And blue sky!  Yay!

Tomatomania!

We are now into our 10th or 12th straight day of rain...it seems longer!  But I know I can't complain too much--we could be a lot worse off!  Last weekend I went to the  Tomatomania sale at White Flower Farm.

They had approx 130 different varieties of tomato plants--I only bought 4 kinds.

This was a tshirt they had for sale--cute, but I don't need any more tshirts!

So I also bought a few other plants for my garden--this cucumber sounded interesting....

And I decided to try acorn & butternut squash....

After loading our tomatoes & other plants in the car, we went & walked through the greenhouses--I bought one of these plant also--they were just so pretty!  Also got another Tomato Soup Echinacea, a Shasta daisy & a new pink poppy--can't wait for them all to bloom so I get take pictures!

Macro Monday

Love the colors of this tulip!

Getting Back to Blogging

The last week or so has been been raining, I've been a little under the weather ( sinus/cold) and family issues to deal with  have left me not wanting to blog at all.  Well, the sun came out yesterday, I feel a little better so I went out with my camera to White Flower farm.

Lots of their flower beds ( especially the tulips) were devastated by the rain.  Many were just bent right under the flowers.  Such a shame--they hae beautiful borders!

But there were still many to admire & I will some over the next few days like the columbine & the pansies.

bleeding hearts

And another pansy...love these colors!

Spring Flowers

I went out to get some flowers for planting over the weekend....got a few put in on Saturday & it's rained ever since!  These petunias were for some color around the mailbox.

I think they're called an antique petunia--beautiful colors!

We have about 12 of these 1/2 whiskey barrels to fill with flowers & veggies--the 3 out by the road get new guinea impatiens in them & they are done!  I filled them the thrifty way--bought 2 hanging baskets  with 4 nice plants in each & took them apart & filled 4 planters!  I forgot to write down the name of these red flowers--thought they would add some color to my garden!

Macro Monday

At the front end of our property we have a dozen or so apple trees.   The blossoms are just starting to open now--they smell wonderful!

Sunset at the Fairgrounds

I've been working one evening a week with the new secretary of the Goshen Agricultural Society, helping train her to do the wide variety of things that have to be done to run a 3 day event.
Last Thursday we were leaving the grounds & saw this spectacular sunset

I went looking for some action photos this morning--Ree Drummond is having a photo challenge--Action--on her website--The Pioneer Woman. I try  to enter her challenges when I see them...usually get some great ideas & feedback from other entrants!

 So I found a few from the Goshen Stampede--definitely alot of action in the ring!

 And a favorite from the  yard--definitely a right place at the right time shot!

Baby Bison

On Saturday, after spending the morning doing yard work, we decided to go out for lunch.  Driving by our neighbors, we saw Peter  & Theresa watching one of the bison through binoculars.  So we stopped to see what was happening.  One of the bison was in labor & could have the calf within the next few hours.  They had 14 pregnant bison--& 7 had been born up to Sat.( over the past 3 weeks)

  After lunch  I went & got my camera & telephoto lens.The ones you see in the 1st few photos are no more than 3 weeks old.   The mothers are very protective& they stay far away from the fence where we were.  Most of these photos were taken & then cropped.

Just sleeping.....

Loved this next shot--wish I had had a video camera....is the baby saying can I come too , Mom?  Wait, I can't keep up!

A touching moment between Mom & baby...

And the newest addition, up & on it's ( I don't know if it's male or female) feet & taking nourishment.

Macro Monday

 Every year when the tulips bloom I tell myself I need to plant more--maybe this year I'll remember!

 They are the one thing that blossoms here between the croci & the lilies and other perennials.

This daffodil bloomed while I was away, but still looked nice when I came home!

Blanket of Flowers

 When I came back from my Mom's the other day all of these tiny flowers were blooming in our front field.  This is another spot that used to be fenced in as a horse pasture.  There are a few apple trees in here.

 And a little bit closer....

 And closer still!  Now you can see that they are a type of violets.

 And the white ones--they look like a type of violets, too.......so pretty!

 And I came upon one industrious bee flitting from flower to flower--very hard to get a picture of it---this was the best I could do--looks like it's just hanging out of the flower!

So happy I took these photos yesterday...the guy who cuts our grass was here 1st thing this morning--hopefully some of the posies survived!