Blooming Farm Yard & Front Page News

Goodness, May seems an over-the-top busy month for me every year.  After the bus tour of the Hood River Valley I was wiped out.  On Sunday we made a BBQ dinner for our son and his family after they got home from a camping trip at the sand dunes - we made macaroni salad, baked beans and BBQ chicken and dined alfresco on the deck.  They asked us to run a bath in our antique clawfoot tub for the boys when they arrived so we got them all cleaned up before dinner.  Then on Monday we took our two boys and their families out to the Old Country Kitchen, a steak house that has been in business since before I was a teen.. suffice it to say, a long time.  Ten of us enjoyed steaks and all the accoutrements.  Yesterday we had lunch with Dayle's sister Darlene and her husband Bill.  Today we've taken it easy.  I just took a stroll around the grounds and snapped some photos of our ever blooming spring garden.  This is my favorite magenta Rhododendron.

Before you get bored and start skimming my blog.. :-)  I found that the local newspaper covered our PORTLAND WOMEN'S FORUM RE-DEDICATION ON THE FRONT PAGE!!  CLICK HERE TO SEE.

Here is a cute photo of our littlest grandson Caleb after his bath, he let me brush out his curly locks, I was very gentle.. I love this little guy.

Before I went outside for my walk I snapped this photo of the pretty white blooms on my Shamrock plant. 

I was in our bedroom and we've been enjoying fresh air blowing through the house, this is the view out of our French doors in our room.. I wish you could smell the fresh air scented with pine needles. 

We moved the dollhouse to the left so we could enjoy the fresh breezes through the house. 

I stepped out the back door and enjoyed the new hanging basket that Dayle surprised me with yesterday.  Red geraniums... lovely.

I fed the fish... our 2 koi are getting really big.. I'd guess 10 inches long.

This is our pink rhodie that is behind our bamboo plant.  They poked their blooms through the bamboo.  :-) 

Our first rose to bloom is on a pot on the deck.. the name of this is "Playboy" from Heirloom Roses.

Our first Iris to bloom! 

The white Azalea is in full bloom... so refreshing!  The white Lilac still looks pretty, too. 

To the left of those, the pink rosebud azalea is fully bloomed out. 

I adore these blossoms. 

 There are several of these magenta rhodies on the property.

This variety MIGHT be called "Blue Boy"? 

It's a pure white flower with dark purple throat markings. 

My one full branch of pink dogwood..  

Our poor little farmhouse is dwarfed by the growing things. 

Speaking of dwarfed.. can you believe that this rhodie is as tall as the barn at 25 feet?  That tree on the far left is a chestnut.. the edible kind. 

A zing for your eyes, eh? 

Hubby also surprised me with 2 different colors of calla lily! 

Good news!  Buffy quit being broody!  I'm so happy!  Interestingly, our most reliable layers are the Ameracauna that lay aqua eggs! 

New flowers. :-)