No Theme, Just Stuff

I did one of my favorite things yesterday. I wandered around the yard really looking at things. Here's what I found.

The lamium Florentine is in full bloom. Which reminded me that I have to go salvage some. My next door neighbor pulled out a lot of garden last fall and threw it over the hill. His wife died a couple of years ago, the gardens were her's and he just didn't have time to care for them. He threw the stuff over the hill in the back, and the lamium is loving where it landed. I need to pull it all out, as I guess it could be considered an invasive species in "my" woods.



I managed to identify the "mystery shrub" that was just budding a week ago. It's wild honeysuckle. I seem to have two varieties. The more common is the white.




But, there is one stand that is the most beautiful shade of pink.




I stood for a while and looked at my "what am I going to do with this" spot. It will not grow grass and the young man who mows for me can't get in there with his mower to knock down the weeks and the lilac shoots. Maybe I need to make a shade garden. Those old lilac trees, by the way, were planted by my Grandmother, in the 1920's, when they first moved into the house.



I admired the plants I potted yesterday. I've got the smaller pots that go on my back steps to do today.



Isn't this pretty? It's just some strange kind of bunch grass that is growing in my front yard, under the linden tree. The seed stalks and heads are so delicate and feathery. It's in another spot where regular grass won't grow. That linden tree is dense, and not a ray of sun gets through.



I love my shade garden. It was the first garden I planted, after I had some old, woody evergreen shrubs pulled out, and I realized that, with the plants I have added this year, it's done, except for the lady's slipper that is on its way to me right now. I just need to let it mature, and maintain it.





Last, I took a good look at the sheep sorrel, that Marnie so kindly identified for me. I wondered why the heck I was wasting time and energy pulling it out. It's pretty and far better to look at than the pine needles under the tree. It appears to like it there, and it can easily enough be contained by mowing. So, I have a new ground cover, and all I have to do is let it spread.



Last weekend my neighbor was out with the weed killer. His new girlfriend was so pleased and asked me if I wanted him to do my yard, too. I said "no," quite emphatically. I love my weedy yard. Not only are the plants in it endlessly interesting, but, every place I dig, I find earthworms, doing their job. And, there are birds on my lawn, eating the insects that munch on the various plants. I wouldn't find that if I put poison all over the place. I wouldn't trade my rag tag yard for the world.

Guess What This Is, and Why I Posted It?

I'll be back later in the day to tell the story behind the picture.

Ta Da! It's been guessed. Someone is, indeed, foaling soon. Some of you may remember that I had a part, last November, in pulling a former Finger Lakes horse, Ducky's Ho Oh, from the kill pen at New Holland, and getting her to a friend of mine who lives in Virginia. Earlier this year, we discovered that she was pregnant.

Here's a picture of what she looked like when we got her in November. The white stuff all over her is Gold Bond Medicated Powder. She had a horrible case of rain rot.



Here's a picture of her that I got from my friend last week. Ducky is the one on the left.



Quite a difference, huh? Look at that nice round belly. We do know who the baby daddy is. He's a Thoroughbred, but Ducky's former owner won't cooperate, so the baby, already named Goose, won't be able to be registered. No matter, as this kid was never intended to hit the track anyways.

So, last night, I get this picture of Ducky's udder, along with the news that Ducky has begun expressing clear liquid. The vet has been out (the vet has been very closely involved with this baby since we have no idea when Ducky was bred, and she suffered stress and trauma going through New Holland) and says that the baby should be here within the month. Of course, mares being mares, you never know.

I'm so excited! We all have our fingers crossed for Ducky and Goose, that everything comes out all right, in spite of the hard times that Ducky went through.

Oh, and Tammy, Ducky is very much the lady, and my friend actually got under her belly to get this shot for me.

A Day in the Life

I had a good day, yesterday. Good friends, good shopping, good flowers, who could ask for anything more?

I started the day going to the post office. They had a beautiful bush in bloom there, that I haven't the slightest idea what it is.



Their lilacs were in full bloom, also. They smelled wonderful!



From there, it was off to where I used to work, to deliver some excess flowers to a friend. Here's a picture of two of my good work friends, Jaime and Kathy. You know, one of the good things about working for a large company is that you get to meet people of all ages. These two girls are much younger than I am. I probably would have never gotten to be friends with them if I hadn't had the opportunity to work with them, because, at their young age, they tend to do have different interests than I do. I'm very glad I got the opportunity to know them.



The flowers I brought to Kathy are "yellow flowers." I was told by the person that gave them to me that they are Evening Primrose. They're not, but I have yet been able to figure out what they are.



Jaime had some coneflowers for me. I know just where they are going to go.



From there, after a quick detour home to sit out a thunderstorm, it was off to Bauman's Farm Market to buy my annuals. I spent a fun hour or so wandering around their 10 greenhouses. This is what I ended up with. I could have bought twice as much.




I was very thirsty after I did all of that browsing so, before I went home, I stopped at Tim Horton's to get something cold to drink. Tim Horton's is a Canadian outfit that has, in the last few years, started to move into the US. They have doughnuts, and the most wonderful coffee, hot and cold.



I splurged and got a large butter caramel "Iced Capp." Iced Cappacino, mmmmm. OK, OK, so I had half of it drunk before I got it the mile home, so the picture doesn't really do it justice.



Yup, a good day. Hope you had one, too.

Pink Snow

Remember the beautiful flowers on the crab apple tree that I posted about a few days ago? This is all that's left.

It Ain't the Woods, But

Yesterday was a weird day, weatherwise, here. The forecast said scattered showers and thunderstorms. And, all day, we would have periods of sun, followed by periods when it got so dark that you were just sure that it was going to pour any minute. Because of that, I decided to not even try to go back into the woods. It would be just my luck that, even if I made it past the poison ivy, I would be all the way back to the bay when it would start to thunderstorm. As it was, it never rained a drop.

So, I decided to do something a little different. I decided to see how many wildflowers I could find in my yard, and in the woodsy brush surrounding it. I found quite a few, and even a mystery flower.

Who doesn't know these, the common Dandelion? Such a maligned little flower. If you really stop and look at them, they are quite beautiful.



Most of the flowers that I found yesterday are called "common." As if there is anything common about any flower.

Common Mustard -- I have to admit that I yanked this plant up, after I photographed it. They are very beautiful, but they can spread like wildfire.



Common Mullein -- this plant (or one just like it) has been growing just into the woods by my house for a few years now. I love to watch it grow, with its' huge flower stalk, but I will admit that, by fall, it looks pretty ratty. Hmmm, I see wild raspberry and a little maple tree in that shot, also.



Common Chickweed. I never stopped and took a good look at these tiny flowers before. They are very beautiful. They're just so tiny that they don't show up very well when the picture is reduced to this size. You might be able to see them better if you use this link. http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1470/5975278/21946947/386623444.jpg



Common Blue Violet -- If anyone ever read "Anne of Green Gables" when they were young, you may remember that one of her favorite places was "Violet Vale." When I was a kid, I was thrilled to find a place, not far back into the woods, that was just covered with these violets. I, of course, named it "Violet Vale," even if it was on top of a little hill. Bad kid that I was, I dug a few up and Mom planted them in her garden. They are now all over, in the gardens, and in the yard. I suppose those people who like pure lawn, would be upset, but, I love them there.



There's nothing common about this one -- Sweet White Violet -- I love these things, and from a couple of plants my Mom got from an Aunt years ago, they have also spread all over my yard and gardens.



Woodruff -- This I got from a friend a couple of years ago, but, I did find a large patch of it back in the woods a couple of weeks ago.



I'm just calling this Buttercup for now, but, I don't think that's the right name. I'm sure it's some kind of Buttercup, but all the identifications I could find show them as single flowers, not doubles like this. I have an S.O.S. out to a friend who really knows her wildflowers, and I'll update when I hear from her.

Edited to add that "Lilacs and Roses" http://lilacsandroses.blogspot.com/ identified this plant for me as a double celandine poppy. And, all this time, I thought it was a buttercup.




Thyme Leaved Speedwell -- This is my big "find" of the day. I could NOT get a clear picture of it, but, as you can see by my big thumb in the corner, it is a very tiny plant. The flower is beautiful, almost like a miniature Sweet White Violet.



Here's the mystery flower for the day. I'm a novice using Newcomb's Wildflower Guide, and I just could not find it there. The darn thing is so tiny that I can't even quite tell if it has four or five petals. I'll try again, and see if I can update.



This plant grows with abandon under my big evergreen. I usually pull it out, but I'm a little late this year because I have been working on gardens. Just as I went to yank it yesterday, I noticed it had flower buds. So, I'll just leave it until it flowers, and see if I can identify it. "Lilacs and Roses" also identified this plant as sheep sorrel. Thank you so much for those identifications!



This bush is everywhere along the edge of my yard. I'm constantly cutting it back. It has a pretty pink flower, which is just beginning to bud now. It's another I'm anxious to see it in flower this year, to see if I can identify it.



So, not bad for just wandering around the yard, eh? But, not quite as much fun as going back here and poking around. This was taken from the drop off behind my yard.

Out of My Rear Window 5/2/10

It's a cloudy day, with a chance of showers or thunderstorms. But, the lilacs are blooming.

Back at the Track

Oh boy, am I tired. The first day back at the track went well, but it was hot, hot, hot. Around 85 by the time we left, with little shade. But, it was good to see old friends, and we did get listings for five lovely horses. Here's number one on the 2010 Trainer's Listings. His name is It's a Grand Slam and he had just had a bath. It must have felt good to have all that water splashing all over him.



Here's another horse getting a bath. The guy bathing him said that he was getting just as wet as the horse, but that he didn't mind a bit.



There are other denizens of the track besides horses. Here is one of the newest. Meet Gracie, who is a 9 week old Nubian cross doe. She's so young that she's still being bottle fed.



There are a couple of types of exercise machines (walkers) on the backside. This is the more usual one. The horses are attached to the arms of the machine and go round and round. One of their favorite games is "Let's stop the machine." If they just stop and stand, the machine isn't strong enough to keep moving. If horses could snicker, I think they would, when they are playing this game.



A couple of the bigger trainers have built a fancier type of walker. These are covered. Instead of the horses being attached to arms of the machine, they are put in one of five small enclosures. They aren't attached to them in any way. The whole machine moves around in a circle and the horse has to move with the enclosure. There is no playing "Let's stop the machine" with these babies, and unlike the others, where the horses can only walk, they can be sped up so that the horses must trot.



An old apple tree on the backside. The horses enjoy the apples in the fall.



Last year, there was a lot of construction going on, and the backside was a mess. That is all done now. The place looks a lot better, all spruced up and ready to go.