Little tidbits of my life

Things around my yard this June

The apples are almost ready!!!!  Soon we will have apple butter and apple pies coming out our ears!  Due to so little rain these past few weeks, the apples are so pretty, no fungus!

YIKES!  At about 3 ft long, this rattlesnake doesn't show its rattles yet, but I sure wish they'd play somewhere else!  My MIL was on her way to our house from next door and almost stepped on it!!!!  My FIL "took care" of it for her.

I have to give this little guy an A+++ for effort!!!

It's a bug's life!  He's just enjoying the catnip I guess.

This "creature" is my hubby building a flowerbed for me!!!  SHHH!!!  He does not know I took this pic!  I'm just so proud of him.  He hates flowers and this is the first time he has participated in my obsession!!! 

A close-up of these beauties!

The front flowerbeds are getting bigger!

A few projects on the back deck.

Sorry I haven't been on in a few days.  We started revival at church sunday, which was WONDERFUL! Then monday was a super-bad painful day.  I called my rheumy and his wonderfully sweet nurse was so understanding.  He increased lyrica from 200mg to 300 mg.  For the next 2 days I've been pretty out of it.  I started feeling a little better yesterday, but ended up OVER-DOING it as a result!  I had a rough evening.  I woke up about 2 pm today with NO PAIN!!!!!  SO, I decided to get the pics off my camera and share them with you. 

I just love the summer!  I hope you are enjoying it, too!

Wild Roses Gone Wild!

I think I have mentioned in previous blogs that I had planted wild roses in front of my deck and they never bloom...the buds just turn brown and shrivel up.  I do not like to spray insecticides on my plants because I do not want to kill the butterflies or bees, so I never sprayed these roses.  My hubby HATES the wild rose bush b/c it's just all over the place.  I bargained w/him that if the buds shrivel up again this year, then I would cut them down.  BUT I want to give it at least one more try and see some pretty blooms this year!!!

WELL, I read somewhere that if you spray liquid fabric softener on rose bushes, the aphids (sp?) will go away???  or I guess they can't hold on to a leaf coated with gooey stuff...I had purchased 1 gallon of a VERY generic and RUNNY fabric softener once in a pinch at local grocery store.  Fortunately, it was still in my laundry room, so I decided to try it. 

IT WORKED!!!  I have roses galore!!!  I took a few extra shots while I was out there.  I had a long day outside yesterday, so I got quite a bit done in the flower beds, but it still needs to be weed eated and I have a few weeds to get up along driveway...ANYWAY, I thought it was pretty none the less.

I will post again once everything else blooms!

May - Flowers in my Garden

I took a few pics to share what is coming up in my front yard flower gardens so far...please disregard any weeds :o)

Hummingbird

Ladybug in the Roses

Red Hot Pokers

(butterfly bushes and large crepe myrtle in the background)

(wild roses in the background overtaking my deck...but I'm not going to cut them until after they bloom)

Yarrow...both yellow and light purple

Lamb's Ear

Bee Balm

Hostas, gladiolas coming up, and a couple balloon flower plants in the bottom right corner of pic

Cleomes beginning to sprout

One of three miniature Crepe Myrtles (sp?)...blooms light purple...supposed to only get 2 ft tall/wide, but fast approaching four foot this year!!! 

Lantanas starting to come up

Daylilies and the beginnings of the Hibiscus

Shrub Rose...blooms bright pink

I tried to get a big pic of butterfly bushes and all, but didnt realize how dark it'd gotten!

I still have lots of work to do, weedeating and weeding in general...these are from part of my front yard flower beds...I still need to work on my Rose of Sharons in my larger front yard flower bed and cut down limbs from last year...my father is going to come over soon and plow my garden area for me...then I'll also try to get my backyard flowerbeds in order...just a few oriental lilies and whatnot...

What kind of flower are you???

Spring Flowers

I was so excited to get to take a pic of my daffodils to show you...

that is until my mother sent me pics of my dad's flowerbeds!  (The above pic is my daffodils...I'm almost ashamed to show you now)...

ALL the pics below are my dad's beautiful flowerbeds.  He has done an amazing job.  He laid all the rock, poured all the walkways, planted every flower, pulled all the weeds...all by himself.  The only thing he lets mom do is help water the flowers when it is really hot!  LOL...he is a perfectionist, so mom just lets him do what he wants.  It is SO beautiful all around their property.  I will try to remember to show you pics again once his summer plants are in bloom.  The hummingbirds just swarm the place! A friend of the family teases us and says "don't stand still too long in your dad's yard, you may turn into a rock statue" b/c dad has laid SO MANY rocks!  He's the ROCK MAN!  LOL.  I hope you enjoy.