In gardens around the city I see these big bumblebees slowly making their way from one plant to the next. Here’s a video I took last week of one bumblebee hanging out on a sunflower.
Category: gardening Page 1 of 4
Today is the first day of Spring. It doesn’t quite feel like it yet. I’m wearing a wool sweater to keep warm. Outside it is grey and murky. But there are signs that Mother Nature has called time out on Winter and hailed the arrival of Spring.Where only weeks ago I was using my snowblower to keep up with the many, many inches of snow in Cincinnati, now we’re experiencing sporadic warm days where people go running without shirts, children run at playground and pick-up games of soccer form at parks.
In my front yard, there are little flowers fighting their way up from the cold ground, and they give me hope.
Wonder Boy and I have decided that this upcoming Summer will be the “Summer of Fun.” This means that we need to complete any projects we want to get done while it is still Spring. Because once it’s Summer, we’re not working. We’re only having fun. And so we’re making lists and calling contractors and making repairs to our house and yard all in the anticipation of this “Summer of Fun.”
In the meantime, I need to make sure I am appreciating the good weather we do have.
Today I hung wind chimes off my front porch. The bright beads and beautiful Terra Cotta are in sharp contrast with the grey of the sky. But they’re hopeful. They’re screaming, “Hey! It’s about to be warm!”
What I love just as much as this little ornament that reminds me of Spring are the flowers shouting at me. The buds forming on my Magnolia tree.
I still have a while until my garden comes into full bloom, but until then, and long after, I’ll be enjoying my Nouvea Wind Chime from homenyard.com. It’s well-made, beautiful and will remind me every time I leave my front door, even when it’s cold and grey outside, that Spring really is here.
This post is sponsored by Home ‘n Yard. I received the Nouvea Wind Chime as a free sample, but all opinions shared here are my own. If you’re looking for your own symbols of Spring to put in your yard or around your home, check Home ‘n Yard. They have a great variety of products, including some very cute bird-shaped birdhouses!
This post originally appeared on Kate’s Point of View. © Kate. All rights reserved.
Last summer I spent almost no time outside. The hammock Wonder Boy and I bought more than a year ago is still in its box, as is the stand it sits on. I helped keep the yard weeded and pruned but I didn’t exactly exert myself in those efforts.I have a lot of reasons but the primary ones is my view. There are a bunch of young loser guys who live behind me and their efforts towards home and yard beautification are nil. They have a rotting shed in the backyard that has plenty of openings so cats and raccoons just hang out. At some point they did replace a broken window, but there’s still a pirate flag and collection of liquor bottles behind it, so… They spent was I assume was not very much money to have some complete morons take down a tree, tearing down my neighbors fence and several branches in my yard in the process. And the stump of the tree is still there. It’s just blight and if I don’t see it, it bothers me less so I avoid the yard.
In the spirit of making my home a place where I want to spend time, this year I am tackling some projects.
First Wonder Boy and I are having our roof / gutters inspected (tomorrow!). After we repair any leaks that are affecting our driveway, we’re getting our driveway fixed. Glamorous stuff, I know. Next up we’re refinishing the downstairs wood floors and / or installing a fence.
The fence wasn’t on our initial discussion list, but it keeps coming up and I think we’re in total agreement that it will improve our yard, as well as our home value, immensely. More importantly, after the yard is fenced in (I’m talking a high fence that blocks out the view of the loser neighbors) we can turn our tiny backyard into the oasis it strives to be. I have bug zappers (plural!) on my birthday list and know just where the h
ammock will go. We’re giving up on getting grass to grow and putting ground-cover back in. Wonder Boy received a chiminea for Christmas and it’s a great addition to our patio.
I am reclaiming my yard! And in doing so, I am reclaiming summer and lazy days spent outside reading and napping in the sun.
In the meantime, I’m just keeping track of good ideas for the yard!
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| I may never feel as chilled out in my backyard as I did here in Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica, but I can dream. |
This post originally appeared on Kate’s Point of View. © Kate. All rights reserved.
This past weekend it rained and rained and rained, so when on Sunday it stopped raining, I stayed outside as much as possible. Camera in tow, I captured some of the sunshiney beauty around me.
This post originally appeared on Kate’s Point of View. © Kate. All rights reserved.
One of my neighbors grows a whole crop of banana trees in his backyard. When I first saw him planting them a few years back I thought it was crazy. Bananas in Ohio? I’ve never actually seen a banana on one of the trees, though he says they do start to grow just before winter hits.
I now love the trees, but wish they didn’t always start me humming the Banana Phone song…
This post originally appeared on Kate’s Point of View. © Kate. All rights reserved.
