Monster Clematis

 This is year 2 for this "Autumn Clematis."
It is taking over. I thought it had a nice smell to the blooms but it doesn't.
That would have been nice to smell when you come in the back door.

I have blue morning glories running through it too.Very pretty.

BEES!!!!!!!!

 Persuading the bees to give it up!!!

                         Breaking the top of the cone to get the honey.






A clearer honey. It looked like water it was so clear.

               Pantyhose to strain the honey. It was tied to
              the separator and  dripped into a bucket.

                                                 Closeup of the honey draining.

Honey comb with the cells all broken.

Sweet baby!!

                                                      Zoey and her first flower at Gran Gran's
This sweet baby is so precious. She laughs and smiles all the time. She laughs so sweet you can't help but smile.
Love, love, love, this baby.

Spring plantings

I planted this yellow delicious apple tree last spring.


I had a lot of apples on it so I pulled off most of them and left a few. The tree is about 5 foot high and has two branches.

I went to Sharp's Nursery and had Todd put this together for me.
I love this. The hummingbirds love it too.

 



My sugar snap peas are soooooo good. They are sweet and crunchy. I don't have as many vines as I wish I had but maybe this fall I can plant some more. Any way, these things are just good to eat right off the vine.

The strawberries are just going wild. Even with all the rain and flooding, they are still doing very well. A lot of them are rotten down in the foliage but there are plenty to eat and for a pie or two. I have already told my husband to leave two rows in the big garden so I can transplant the strawberries to raised bed rows. They will stay dry better on hilled rows and I won't loose very many next year. Some of the berries are ping pong sized.

This Clematis has been moved twice. It did not do very well in the first two spots. Last year it did pretty well. Blooms were sparse. This year with all of the rain, it has exploded. The blooms are very large and so deep purple. The arbor it is on has a very large clematis on the other side. It is taking over the arbor. The purple one will have to moved again. I'm going to name it, "The Traveling Clematis." Maybe I can give it a permanent home this fall.

I

                                                                              Iris

                                             Clematis- Nelly Moser

                                                                     Tulips

                                    Clematis- Jackamanii

My Spring Garden

Chives, strawberries, Sugar Snap peas and Lemon balm are growing up a storm. We had 2 ripe strawberries this weekend. The first of the season. The Sugar Snap peas are blooming and I can't wait to have some fresh to eat. They are good, right off the vine.

Spring Floods

This flood broke all of the old records. In Humphreys County, TN, we have roads washed out, bridges gone and people are still stranded in their homes after 3 days. It will take years to rebuild. And of course, hardly anyone had flood insurance.Schools are closed and we don't know when they will reopen.
People have been very good about helping. It amazes me, how quickly people pull together to help when things like this happen. People are good. I thank God, no one here lost their life. There were 10 lost in the whole state.

Gardening Time in Tennessee!

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OK, these are my Sugar Snap Peas. These things are sooooo good. I eat them right off the vines. I put them in my salads and in wraps. They love cool weather and start to go by the way when it gets hot and humid. They are easy to grow. If you live in cooler climates, you can keep planting these all season. I will plant then again for the fall cooler weather.
They literally are sweet like candy. You could get kids to try these for a new vegetable.








               
                                      

I planted lettuce and mustard together to save space and because they go good together.   

A neighbor gave me the leeks last year. I planted them and they proceeded to die, or so I thought. Well, they popped up this Spring and are beautiful. So, don't give up. Some things just don't like to be moved.
I can't wait to eat them.

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I planted Chive seeds last year and they came up. This year they will bloom their pretty lavender blooms and make lots of seeds. I love the blooms and I cook with chives at almost every meal. I use them instead of onions sometimes. I also have some garlic Chives. The green leaves are flat instead of cylindrical like the regular Chive.
I am starting an herb garden and the Chives are center stage in the garden.
The blooms can be used to make Chive Vinegar. The blooms are dropped into the vinegar and left. They are very pretty in the bottle.                                                        

It's SPRING!!!!!!

Bleeding hearts
This plants gets humongous and loaded with
blooms. I love to photograph the hearts. They last for
about 2 months, until the humidity gets bad.











I have all kinds of Daffodils around the yards. Some smell really good and some  stink. They started
to pop up when snow was still on the ground. Love them, so do the bees.

My new greenhouse!!

I went to Fred's store and bought a little greenhouse. It is about 28 inches tall and about 20 inches wide.
I put my orcids that have made it so far in the greenhouse hoping to keep them alive until summer. I originally had 19 and have 8 left. I even bought the ones that are VERY easy to raise. I think that is false advertising. None of them are easy. I will try to get them through the winter as best as I can.

Anyway, I'm going to put my seed starter trays in the house and start some flowers and veggies  to go in my backyard gardens. I'm really itching to get in the dirt.

COME ON, SPRING!

Zoey's First Shots

My Zoey baby got her first shots today. Her daddy said she did very well, only one little holler.
She is such a good girl. She was a little fussy afterwards, but a little tylenol and some loving helped a lot.
She is changing every day. I love to watch her little facial expressions. They are so funny.
I can hardly wait until she is walking and talking.

Grandchildren are so much more fun than your children. I love it.

Lost a good man this week....

Our county executive Mr. Jaycee Rawlings passed away Monday night.
He was a good man. He had left a lasting impression on many people.
He will be missed.

His family, and I'm sure Jaycee told them to do this, but they have requested instead of flowers, a donation be made to the county Humane Society.
That is such a good thing to do.

God Bless you, Jaycee.
And God Bless his family.

I close my eyes, click my heels 3 times and Spring is here. Oh, how glorious!
I long for warm weather, the dew on the grass in early morning, the smell of new mowed grass and the birds chirping "good morning" as I walk around the yard. I love Spring.

Everything is new. There is the anticipation of what is to come. Almost like Christmas.

I have a stack of new seed catalogs, paper and pen. I'm ready to make the first of numerous lists of what I want to order to plant in my garden. The list will be done and redone many times before I finally send in my order of seeds and plants. Oh, what a feeling. Just waiting for those new additions is almost too much to handle.

I love to put my hands in the dirt. I love to walk in the freshly dug  soil. When the seeds start to emerge, my heart beats a little faster. When the new plants start to bloom, the honey bees arrive to welcome them with a kiss. The bees are so beautiful in the way they keep the cycle of life going. They are amazing little creatures.

As I sit here, longing for Spring, old man winter is mocking me wickedly. Ice, snow and very cold temperatures are headed my way. I know in my mind that Spring is still a long way off, but in my heart it is just a step away.

I will look through my seed catalogs over and over. Before you know it, Spring will arrive and I will rejoice by running barefoot through the grass and planting my toes in my freshly plowed garden and be renewed again. Thank you , Lord!

A New Year

I hope you had a peaceful Christmas and a quiet New Year.
I was in bed by 9pm New's Years Eve. I'm not one for loud parties and lots of drinking. I prefer to welcome the New Year with sleep and sweet dreams.

Here's wishing everyone a peaceful and happy new year.