pretty in pink

they smell so purty

garden pleasures

hosta love

Have a Hosta!

drenched

It's been raining here for about four days straight now and it's driving me batshit crazy. As I type this, a thunderstorm has rolled in and the rain is no longer gently tapping on the roof but pounding against the windows. The thunder has set off the crazy dog and she is huddled over my feet, seizing in fear and whining. We both want some damn sunshine, thank you very much. I want to go play in the dirt and plant stuff. Or sit on the deck under the gently warming sun, drinking a bottle of wine as I think about planting stuff. After all, planning takes as much energy as executing, if done right. Supposedy this grey and drizzly mess might end sometime in the next millenium.

The rain has been like steroids for the garden however and this morning, whilst I procrastinated about getting ready for work, I went to check on the progress of the plants that seem to thrive despite my blatant neglect. It was worth arriving late to the office because Hey! Wisteria blooming and OOhhhh! Look at that color and Wow! The Hosta's have unfurled and Oh! Lilacs!

These lovely blooms seduced me out of my morning routine with their siren song of color and demanded, just by being there, that I grab my camera and take as many pictures as possible so the internet could partake of their loveliness.

There is indeed something about raindrops on flower petals.

They're back

The mushrooms have returned and are about to stage an uprising.

Snowglobes in August

Aren't these the sweetest blooms? The flower clusters perch perkily atop stalks of snappy variegated leaves and just demand that I admire their beauty. Which I do. They like that.

Magic Mushroom or Penis Head, you decide

There's fungus in the yard. Small white mushrooms that popped up one morning in a small area of the yard. I like to think the fairies put them there, which would mean that magic is present and accounted for on the Catootes homestead.
My illusions were shattered irrevocably when I was describing them to a friend at work and she remarked that she found them in her yard too. And then she said they reminded her of penis heads.

The Bees Knees

We got some bees.

Seriously. We have bees. I know there has been a recent scientific mystery as to why many of the bee colonies in America have diminished. They have relocated to Central New Jersey, taking up residence in my yard. If all the scientists in all the lands want some of those missing bees, come and get ‘em.

There are bees living in the decomposing hay in my very neglected vegetable garden, which hasn’t seen a vegetable plant in 4 years. These hives were discovered when we decided to hack down the Joe Pye weed that is threatening to become a forest all its own and disrupted two separate colonies containing two different types of bee. One colony is full of fat, fuzzy black and yellow bees that just buzz around when disturbed but do not immediately spring into attack mode. The other is some sort of aggressive yellow jacket that erupt out of the hive cocked and ready to kill on sight. These suckers are fast and mean.

There are bees living in the semi-exposed locust tree root in the back yard. Ace stumbled upon this hive when he ran the lawn mower over it and they came buzzing out in response to the noise and vibration of the mower. These bees are also the fat black and yellow ones that meander among the flowers but don't seem to be in constant battle state.

There are bees living under and in the decomposing logs bordering our driveway, which was the big discovery of the day.

How exactly we discovered this last location? My brother in law ran over one of the logs with his truck as he backed into our driveway. This disruption of their home base seemed to have really pissed off the yellow jacket occupants. They came swarming out to attack anyone that had the temerity to be in close proximity to their hive as they winged about like maddened missiles. Ace happened to be the not so lucky target sighted. He stepped on the log just after it been disturbed and he got the worst of the attack. He was stung 10 times, all on his legs and chest. SuperHubby got hit once or twice when trying to assist Ace out of the inferno of very angry bees dive bombing them in search of flesh to pierce.

Ace escaped the assault with the obvious welts and itchy spots. Nothing some cortisone cream and benadryl didn’t resolve within a few hours. My brother in law managed to avoid getting stung completely. Maybe the bees knew he was there to fix my car and didn’t want to scare him away. Or maybe not and he was just out of the line of fire.

SuperHubby picked up some bee and wasp killer stuff today. We’ll leave the garden bees and the backyard bees alone as they are out of the way and don’t really bother anyone. But the driveway bees have to move along or be eradicated; it’s there choice. We are out there way too often and I don’t want to be worried about whether we or some unsuspecting person will accidentally disrupt that log and send the bees into attack mode again. They seem to be a little cranky and truly there is only room for one dedicated cantankerous individual around my house and that is I. I get that role. Maybe the bees will loan me a few stingers. I can think of quite a few people to zap.

From Weed to Flower

Gardening is a fun past-time for me, sometimes it even becomes a full contact sport the way I do it. Unfortunately it's a past-time I only get to occasionally, which is a sad thing for the pretty blooms that live, despite me, in my gardens. My front yard flower beds are over-crowded and stuffed to the edges with an odd assortment of flowers, shrubs, weeds and herbs. And thankfully they thrive on the sunlight they get all day.

This little beauty was almost designated as a weed and yanked out in all its leafy glory last month as I tried to neaten the weed laden area's. I don't like weeds, but then I don't really like to spend an hour yanking them out either. I don't recall planting this as I have no idea what it is and I do not recall seeing it last year. Then the stubby little pod on top burst open like a fircracker to become this saucy bold bloom. It appears to spread and I counted a total of 8 stalks that look just like this so I'll thank the garden goddess for her surprise gift and enjoy the unexpected beauty where I found it. And hope to remember that it is not a weed next spring...