Summer Daze

As much as we complain about the hot days of summer, I'm always a little sad when the nights start to cool off. It's a tell-tale sign that fall is nearing and the beautiful colors that filled the flower beds won't be with us much longer. Enjoy it while it lasts. As my kids say, the trees will soon be "naked" again and we'll be wishing for those hot days! So today, I'm thankful for these:

Knockout Shrub Roses

Regrowth on Salvia Cardonna

Red and White Verbena

Purple Cone Flowers

Black Eyed Susans

Silky Gold Asclepias

Purple Morning Glories

Have a great day and don't forget to stop and admire your flowers!!!

Spring Fever???

We started off in April with some beautiful, warm days this year. The early rain and unseasonably warm temps brought about some amazing landscape. Here are just a few of my favorites that I wanted to share. Keep in mind we are in Southwest Nebraska so it doesn't compare to the landscape back east or the orchards out west, but for our part of the country, it is absolutely breath taking.

(The babysitter's flowering crab tree)

(volunteer creeping phlox)

(this is a shot of what awaits us at the local nursery)

But what happens when a late freeze threatens your backyard beauty? You do what any smart, sophisticated American might do at 10:00 at night....

You cover every living thing in sight with sheets and blankets and buckets and plastic... and then you pray it is enough to keep the frost demons away! This is a harsh climate so you stop at nothing to spare a season's worth of growth on your landscape!!! (Not to mention it was some fun family time in the middle of the night rushing around in the dark trying not to fall off the ladder or step into an unforeseen rut in the yard!) And now I must sign off as I'm headed to the laundry mat to do about 10 loads of dirty sheets and blankets from our little landscape adventure last week!

Today I am thankful for:

1) The closets being finished (or almost finished) so we can start moving our stuff!

2) Goodwill to take all the crap we don't need anymore!

3) A 4-year old who has slept in his OWN bed ALL night for nearly a week!

4) Sunshine after a week of cold, wet days!

5) A chance to get a good long run in while the 4-year old is in preschool!

6) A husband who takes good care of us and always knows just what to say!