Catching Up! And Bees!

It has been two weeks since I last put a post up, and I have missed the connection to Blogger Land. I have explained in some comments that after a really busy week, my Internet was down for a week. This past weekend was our monthly visit with the granddaughters and then I have been working more than originally planned. Excuses aside, I have truly missed being able to contribute to the community of friends out there. So I hope you will forgive me. I promise to get caught up on my reading and will try to get back into a routine.

I have had so little free time , that I have not been able to enjoy my gardens as much as I would like. I did take a few minutes a couple of different days to go out and take a few pictures. It amazes me how much can change in a garden in just a short while. There are lots of zinnias blooming-ones I started from seeds. Gladiolas are blooming, cosmos, some wildflowers. The roses are still making buds and once in a while one will make to full bloom before the Japanese Beatles get to it. Day lilies are still so pretty and I ave a couple of trumpet lilies blooming. Russian Sage is in full flower, and I even have a few volunteer petunias. And last but not least, the WEEDS are taking over!

And I am so proud to announce, I have bees! They are loving the cone flowers. But it is so hard to get one to pose.

I'll admit you have to look really close to see this bee. He was as yellow as the sunflower!

Part of it was pollen on him, but he was definitely a yellow bee.

My sunflowers are doing very well. This is the week I have to record the number and type of bees seen on one in an allotted amount of time.

I finally pulled my pansies out of this container and managed to get it planted with some of the on sale annuals Rose and I found a couple of weeks ago. The caladium is from some bulbs I planted many weeks ago. They are finally starting to show up.

Many of my day lilies are in bloom now-some of them planted this spring. Unfortunately, I can't find the names! Oh well, there still pretty.

This is a trumpet lily I planted several years back. I thought for a while it was 'Star Gazer', but now I'm not so sure.

I have 2 plants-do they multiply like the Asiatic ones? If so, they are being very slow doing it.

Another unknown new one. The area where I have most of them planted will look much better when they all grow and begin to fill in.

This is one I planted last year-it only had a couple of blooms. This year, it has more than doubled in size and has had several scapes with lots of buds. I think next spring, I will divide it and move part to the day lily bed.

These flowers must be 8" across and just amaze me.

A ' Double Delight' the beetles missed!

I know this was a short post(for me anyway), but my time is still not my own. I am in the process of helping my Dad sell his place, negotiating with buyers and lawyers, finding a place for him to live, and trying to pack for the move the first weekend in August. I am working an extra day this week plus I have a 4 hr. training class I have to attend. My house looks like a tornado hit it and I am way behind on laundry. Cheryl laughed when I told her it was a zoo around here. But maybe zoo isn't the right word. Insane asylum describes it much better!

Hope you all have a great gardening week!

Some Things New and Some Catching Up!

I don't think anyone will be more surprised than I, that I am posting again so soon. After a rainfall of just over an inch this morning, I decided that I would tackle the weeds in my flower beds. (they pull so much better and leave less roots.) Of course, first I had some errands to do with my Dad and couldn't get out there while we still had cool temps and a cloud cover. But I was determined to spruce up the flowers for our weekend company. Nancy of Soliloquy just did a post on being careful when working in the heat- not to get heat exhaustion or sun stroke. I was far from sun stroke, but came in exhausted and highly heated. I took a cool shower, fixed myself a cold Diet Pepsi, put my feet up, and decided I was done for the day. I read and commented on all my favorite blogs, played some Spider Solitaire and now what? Well, I do have a few new pictures and I did promise to 'Share the Love' and do the '6 Random Things' tag. Hence another post. But this has absolutely got to be my last one this week. I've got too much to do to sit at the computer. I solemnly promise-no more posts this week! You heard me, now make me stick to it.

Cheryl, this next picture is for you.

You ask Rose what was the damage the Japanese Beetles could do- this was a pretty rose bloom this morning. Now, it is shredded beyond recognition as are some of the leaves. I have seen them converge on a new rose and in less than an hour completely eat it down to the stem. Bad Bugs! Bad-Bad Bugs!

Rose, posted about surprises in her garden yesterday, and look what I found in mine, a sweet pea vine. I did plant two this year, but not here and neither one lived.(I thought). Wonder if a bird or a squirrel had something to do with this being here?

I found an old birdhouse post and drove it into the ground beside it. I lightly tied it to the post and will help it along from time to time to wind it's way up. Now, is it the perennial plant or merely a stay pea from an annual in the neighborhood?

Perennial Garden Lover tagged me a while back with the '6 Random Things' about yourself. I won't tag anyone, but feel free to join in. (and, oh, don't be shocked by some of my disclosures!)

#1. I'm a closet chocolate eater. I hide chocolate from my hubbie and eat when he's not here.
#2. When I was 7 I wanted to be a scientist, at 10 a lawyer, at 14 I discovered boys and there went my plans.

#3. I fell in love with Paul Newman years ago, and would still go out with him even if he is now in his 80's.

#4. I keep forgetting my anniversary date. Is it the 27th or the 29th?

#5. I spent way more on plants this year than I told my husband I did.

#6. I am addicted to blogging! Okay, maybe you already knew that one.

"Sharing the Love"

This award was created by Crystal at Memoirs of a Mommy in honor of the heart donor who saved the life of Crystal's young son Noah. Crystal says: The rules of this award are: SHARE THE LOVE!!! Share this award with all those blogs out there that you love. All the people who make you smile. All those that make you laugh. All those that make your day. All those that leave uplifting comments on your blog. "All I ask, is that you include a link to this post with the award and ask your recipient to do the same."

This award was presented to me by Rose of Prairie Rose's Garden. As many of you know, she is my life long best friend. I cherish her friendship so much more than I can explain. She is a constant in my life and I will always love her. If she did not already have this award I would give it to her. Instead, I bestow an honorary degree in 'Sharing the Love' to her.

And from there I will not pick. To do so would leave out so many of you who have brightened my life with your humor, wit, knowledge, caring and love.

To all of you whom I consider great friends, I award you......!

Summer Delights!

Cone flowers are one of the true delights in the summer. You plant one and before you know it you have a whole bed full of the tall, stately, regal blooms.Heads held high, their crowns eagerly await the pollinators.

A corner bed now full to overflowing,

A very brave rabbit dared to sit in the open this afternoon. So far, I have noticed no damage from them.

A couple more day lilies have opened today. This is 'purple d'oro'.

No name for this one, but it is standing on a scape that is almost 3' tall.

This is 'wineberry candy'. But she is not opening-I watched her all day. She looks more like a tulip. We'll she if she finishes opening tomorrow, but I have a feeling this was her day. Hopefully the next buds will open all the way. She is new this year and I am excited to see her in her full glory.

I planted purple and yellow gladiolas this year, spreading them through out the garden in small groupings. I wonder is this one got in by mistake, or is this going to be the color of all the purples? Either way, this one is eye catching.

My zinnia seedlings are starting to bloom. I planted several packets of mixed and was surprised when the first ones were all pink. Now I have this one and a couple of white. Do certain colors bloom first? Or was this just a coincidence?

Sunflowers but so far no bees. Maybe I just am not out there when they come.

This is the other dwarf 'teddy' sunflower I mentioned last time. While the first one was only 6" tall and had a bloom of 2", this one is 3' tall with a bloom 6" across. Both beautiful!

And finally, another photo of the corn . It is standing a good 4' tall now. Certainly "knee high by the 4th of July"!

Another busy, busy week coming up. Work, seeing to a contract for selling my Dad's place, watering the garden( hot and mostly dry is forecast for all week) and last but not least, getting the house ready for weekend company. Posting may not get done, but visiting my favorite blogs is always on my list of to dos.

" Walking into darkness on a summer night watching the stars,

As they pass by faster than a shooting star,

So if ever you are out on a hot summer night in July,

Don't let the night stars pass you by."

by Bernice Rush


Enjoy your hot July nights watching the stars!

Many $$$$ Later, I Am Back!

I am back! At the end of my last post I explained my computer was broken and would need repairs. Sadly, it could not be fixed, and it is going to take a miracle to get all my picture off the hard drive and on to discs.

My dear Hubby, knowing how addicted I am to blogging and how much pleasure I derive from my computer has bought me a new one. It is another Gateway laptop. In the 3 years since we got the other one, they have changed! This one is much lighter, it vents out the side so my lap doesn't get as warm, and it has 'Windows Vista' instead of Windows 98. I know I am getting older and it takes me longer to learn something new, but I don't care for Vista. It is not as user friendly and it doesn't have spell check while on the Internet. Oh, I could type my commentary into notes or some other window and spell check ten capture and copy-but that seems like a lot more work than should be necessary. For now, I'll just be happy that I am connected again.

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th. We saw fire works with our daughter, son-in-law and 2 of the granddaughters. A small town near here puts on quite a display every year. This year we thought they were exceptional!

I do have a few flowers to share.

This is a dwarf sunflower, 'Teddy Bear' that I planted from seed sent from England by Cheryl. This one is only about 6" tall, but another one in a sunnier spot is about 2' tall-soon to bloom.

This is a new day lily this year ordered off the Internet. I'm not sure, now, but I think this is 'Little Business'. It amazes me how I can lose the tags with names. Before blogging I didn't save them, now I am trying to keep everything and writing in my garden journal the names and where they are planted. This one doesn't fit any of the descriptions. Oh well, it's still very pretty.

This may be the same variety, no name again, but it seems like I remember dividing one of the starts. I'm not sure what is going on with the petals-will wait to see what the next bloom looks like.

I have a lot of visiting and post reading to catch up on. And, I am sooooo looking forward to it. Hope your gardens are doing well, and the weeds are dying!

Muse Day-July, 2008

This is my first attempt at 'Muse Day' so if I don't get it right, I apologise. Muse Day comes to us through Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden in Chicago.

"Answer July-
Where is the Bee-
Where is the Blush-
Where is the Hay-


Ah, said July-
Where is the Seed-
Where is the Bud-
Where is the My-
Answer Thee-Me"

Emily Dickinson, Answer July



"Mosquito is out,
it's the end of the day;
she's humming and hunting
her evening away.
Who knows why such hunger
arrives on such wings
at sundown? I guess
it's the nature of things."

N.M. Boedecker Midsummer Night Itch

Both photos are from Wikipedia.



I thought both these quotes very appropriate for July. We have all been concerned for the bee population. I can report, however, that the mosquito population is doing exceedingly well here in Illinois!

Happy Muse Day.



*if I am not heard from for a while, it is because I have a very injured lap top. The hinge is broken on one side and I am having trouble getting it to come on and stay on. May have to take it to the computer Doctor!

Busy as a Bee Gathering Summertime Pollen!

This has been one of the busiest weeks that I can remember having for a long time! As I have said, I started a part time job on Monday. I work from 4 in the afternoon til midnight. Now... that is taking some adjustment! Tuesday, I had a meeting with my Dad and the prospective buyers of his place, plus went shopping for more comfortable work shoes and some work capris. Wednesday, I worked and cleaned house for this weekend. Thursday, went grocery shopping and worked. Friday, I picked up the 3 granddaughters which we are now getting a couple times a month. Saturday, went to a ball game of the soon to be step-grand kids and then took them plus 6 granddaughters to an afternoon and evening cook out. After giving many, many baths that night, I got to sit and rest and read some of my favorite blogs. Sunday, we had the family over for a cookout. Afterwards, 3 grands went home leaving us with 5. Hubby went to work and the girls and I are finally relaxing, watching movies and eating watermelon. The point to this story is, I survived! Not only survived, but did pretty well. And I loved every minute of it.


The gardens are growing-as are the weeds, and flowers are starting to appear everywhere. And what is not yet blooming has buds near to bursting. The warm weather and the periodic rains have made this an exceptional year for the gardens.

These are the 2 youngest granddaughters posing(actually being little hams) in front of the cone flower bed.

My first day lily bloomed Thursday. It's in the d'oro family, and I think it's called lemon something. I bought this one at a discount grocery store and thinking I would surely remember the name, promptly threw the carton away. An post-menopause moment?

'Queen Elisabeth' also bloomed this week. Not bad for a rose that I was sure was dead only a couple of months ago.

These are some of my sunflowers that are going to help me participate in the "Great Sunflower Project".

This one is a lot farther along than the others for some reason, and a lot taller! It won't be long before I can start recording bee sighting data. If you have sunflowers in your garden you can participate in this project also.

One of the granddaughters found this dragonfly on the ground. While I tell them not to pick up bugs and insects because they might hurt them, in her excitment at finding such a treasure, she forgot. But the strange thing is, it didn't try to get away. We had time to take a couple of pictures before it did fly off. We were all thrilled!

This week should be a little calmer, although the 4th is coming and there is a chance we could have the girls again. One hope is to get in some weeding time as well as just time to enjoy my gardens. My other hope is that your week is filled with time for you to enjoys your gardens!

To all who wished me well at my new job, I thank you for your support-it means a lot to me.

News! and More Blooms!

Life takes many twist and turns, doesn't it? We go merrily along our way thinking we know just what is going to happen next and then surprise, an unexpected comes along. What is this all about, you ask?

Well, I'll tell you. After 10 years of being on disability, a new medicine has come along that has changed my life. Many of you know part of my story and for those that don't...I was diagnosed about 10 years ago with Fibromyalgia. I was happy at the job I was working at and fully intended to work there until I retired. It was not to be. I simply could not continue to work. I spent many years in pain and my world became increasingly smaller. This January, I started a new medicine called 'Lyrica'. And as I have said to anyone who will stand still and listen, it has been a miracle for me. I have worked many hours in my gardens, have been able to do more with my granddaughters, and in general have enjoyed life so much more. All of this is to tell you, I have a job! Granted , it is only part-time , but I feel useful again!

The only down side to all of this is I won't have as much time to garden or blog. I will probably only get to post twice a week. But I intend to visit just as much as before. I can't give up all the friends I have made in blog land. I would miss out on all the great posts you write, and all the wonderful pictures you share. Nope! Not going to give up blogging. Housework...maybe.

You are probably getting tired of seeing my Asiatic lilies, I know. But I just couldn't resist showing some of the new ones that have bloomed.

I wish I had kept name tags for these, but that was before I knew I should-or ever guessed I would be showing them on the Internet.

Still, I am so pleased with these. They are providing spots of color in the gardens during the transition from spring to summer bloomers.

I love the freckles in this one.

This is such a delicate pink.

And a perfectly peachy bloom.

This is from the wildflower seeds I started indoors. Sorry, no clue as to what kind, but it's pinkle(pink-purple) so I love it.

Zinnia's from seed. Pink and purple...notice a theme here?

The butterfly bush is just starting to open-purple. Need you even ask? Now for some butterflies.

My cone flowers(pink, what else!) are looking pretty good. I never did see what was eating them, and they seemed to have moved on, thank goodness. So I have about a zillion getting ready to bloom.

So that's what's blooming in my gardens at the moment. The containers are starting to fill in and the roses are getting ready to bloom. Perennial Phlox are about ready to blossom, and sunflowers should be opening next week. Oh, and I have flower scapes on most of my day lilies. I was beginning to be a little concerned about them, but guess I was trying to rush the season.

Great gardening to you all the rest of the week and have a wonderful weekend.