May Bloom Day

Well it's May Bloom Day, and also a busy Friday....so for now I can only post the pictures but I'll add the text later. Happy Bloom Day everyone! :) Okay, I'm back after a week of flu...this first daffodil has a nice big crab spider just inside the pink "trumpet".... ...creeping phlox spreading out more every year and blooming well...

...okay, I'm stuck here. I'm having trouble finding this caterpillar, and I have to go. I'll be back! Well, I'm still trying to ID this fuzzy dude, but for now I'll move on... Update: I finally got an ID! After searching some databases, I emailed the host of this site , and he annswered me right away! He said: "It is one of the Arctiidae (tiger moth) caterpillars, but I do not know species, probably in Lophocampa genus, maybe even a variant of Lophocampa maculata." Cool!

...Nice daffs on a beautiful day! I like to just stick the camera down in front of the flower and see what happens, and this was what happened. :)

Nice red tulip all loaded with pollen...

...and a yellow (not planted next to each other though).

Can you see the black lumps here in the grass?

They're delicious morel mushrooms! I always say I'm going to dry some to eat in the wintertime for a rare treat, but I always end up gobbling down my finds right away (this year was no exception :)

I really enjoy the different daffodil varieties, and someday I'd like to acquire even more!

These windflowers are sooo aptly named, as they show up here and there all over my yard as if carried by the wind (especially since they pop up very far from the originals!)

More cute little species tulips that I just planted a couple years ago, and they seem to be multiplying-yay!

The color on this daff is so vivid, it almost looks like tie dye!

Virginia bluebells just getting started. Guess they are feeling the effects of being so far away from the milder winters in Virginia!

I never get tired of muscari!

First bouquet to bring in the house, there have been three more since. I really enjoy the fragrance in the house, especially in my room when I wake up in the morning!

Very light/white hepatica bloom, despite the fact that "mama" is blue!

Even overly washed out in the bright sun, the daffs are gorgeous...

...and in the shade a yummy shiitake mushroom is growing from the log I innoculated five years ago! I'd need more logs for a continuous supply, but every couple months is more of a "rare treat". (The log doesn't fruit in the winter of course.)

The bloodroot was just getting started...

...but the violets are blooming on and on...

...even the vinca is awake already.

Another nice daff....

...and the blooms on the nanking cherry bushes promise fruits in my future!

For more Bloom Day posts, check out our founder Carol at May Dreams Gardens

Why Don't We Do It In The Road?

It's that time of year, when the Tom turkeys are out to impress their wimmin'.... .....there's no shortage of competition, either. They seem to beg the question, "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?"

Oh right, that's why!

Submitted to Friday Ark

Spring is in Full Swing!

Spring is literally exploding onto the scene here at Millertime, and it amazes me every year. It's as though the plants all understand how short the growing season is, and they try to "beat the clock". The critters are out in force too, this red squirrel was watching me prep my planters very intently...

...blooms are getting started at long last, too...

...and the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are back as well. This is the first year I've seen them show interest in safflower seeds, guess I'd better refill that feeder!

Pasque flower blooming nicely...

...pink hyacinth blooming not as nicely. I'm not sure if it's the cold winters here or what, but I never get really full blooms from these bulbs, despite fertilizing/amending every year. Ah well, it sure smells nice!

Crocus in full bloom, too. These have been multipling every year, in fact I may need to divide them soon.

My Hepatica is blooming it's head off also. "Mama" here has sent some babies out to populate other areas of my garden, too... ...but the blooms look different. They may get a little more sun here, but the flowers are significantly lighter...
...almost a pink-ish blush to it...

....and this one is white!

More white blooms on my White Forsythia , and they smell very nice. This bush blooms much more successfully than my yellow forsythia, so I may just dig up the poor performer and replace it with something that produces berries.

More daffodils, but I don't recall the name. I have tags for all my perennials, but I don't tag the bulbs. I do have a "map" in my garden log book so I remember what was planted where...now if I could just find the book! :)

My "purple haze" area is building up to another big show, I hope it looks as good as last year!

Nice little muscari contemplating a bloom...

....thyme 'Doone Valley' is yellowing up in the sun. This is a very hardy cultivar, and it smells very citrusy.

Here's an exciting sighting! I have heard loons up here in the past, but never actually saw one until last weekend!

Another nice daff...

...these cute chionodoxa are naturalizing nicely. They appear to have multiplied already, and I only planted them last year!

Fat buds on the lilacs...

...and signs of life in my winter-sow containers.

Good Lord and good weather willing, this will be a great season! Happy spring everybody!

Music and Light Show

Okay, I tried to post this yesterday, but it wouldn't play the video! Now I think it works....


.....the music really fit my mood yesterday, and actually most every work day! ;-)