Blogger's block...

I have sat down at my computer, I don't know how many times, to post an update, but then my mind just goes blank, so I give up and go look at Facebook or Pinterest.  Yesterday I made some notes, while I was thinking about possible posts and while I was not in front of the computer.  And I took some pictures.

Like many areas of the country, we had no real winter weather to speak of and a very early spring. We got started planting close to two months earlier than we normally would, and I have to say I think our yard is looking pretty darn good.

I'm pretty sure this clematis (in the chair) would like a little more sun.  It's hanging in there though in mostly shade.  I was trying to get it to grow up the trellis behind the chair but it always wanted to grow out toward the sunlight.  I had a pot in the chair, but the chair was starting to fall apart and the weight of the pot was not helping the situation, so I got rid of the pot and moved the chair over the vine.  I think it works.  The pink flowers are calibrachoa and they have come back for the third year now.  And the ferns...I love the ferns...they were here before we were and I let them grow wherever they want.

Ice plant in the leaning pot and verbena in the standing pot.  Both have been here for at least three years.

Gnorm the Gnome's garden.

I've had the old black metal chair here, with a pot in it, since we moved in.  I could get impatiens to grow in it, but last year the squirrels kept disturbing them, and they didn't do very well.  It never got as full and lush as I wanted, so I moved the chair and pot to a sunnier location and just planted the impatiens in the ground and hung the wooden basket from a branch.  I'm not sure what will go in the basket, but I'll find something.

I love growing herbs.  Right now I have a huge rosemary bush (not in the picture), flat leaf and curly parsley (the flat leaf has been there two years now and is getting ready to bloom, which means it won't be good for cooking any more, but it will attract butterflies, so it stays), chives, pineapple sage (which blooms bright red tube-shaped flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds), bronze fennel (for attracting butterflies), lavender and mint. 

Here's that relocated chair and pot.  I planted verbena in it, since they've done so well in the other pot, and added a broken shovel~inspired by Pinterest~that says "Bread feeds the body but flowers feed the soul". 

I really like this little concrete planter, but it dries out so quickly.  I planted a small succulent in it this year, leaving plenty of room for it to spread and for little trinkets and broken pieces of pottery that were too pretty to throw away.

I did it, I actually sat down and wrote a new post.  I hope my blogger's block is over now.  Happy Spring!

And...once again, time has flown by.  How does it keep doing that?  I've got a lot of catching up to do, and not just in blog-land.

There has been so much going on in my world, and not nearly enough!  I've been busy, busy, busy, but not getting anything done.  Does this happen to anyone else?

I *think* I might be on the verge of actually getting my act together (did you know I had an act? Haha!), getting things organized and getting back to blogging a little more regularly.  I've got kind of an outline in my head, let's see if I can translate it to actual words...

1.  Start spring cleaning.
  A. Inside the house.
  B. In the yard.
2.  Get my studio put back together...again.
  A. Find file cabinets and finish new work table.
  B. Find/make shelves for newly available wall space.
  C. Fix/paint sewing machine cabinet and get my sewing machine in it.
3.  Combine social networking with selling art.
  A. ??? Still trying to figure this one out, but I think I'm going to give my blog a make over to include decorating, designing, updating, renovating, recycling, and upcycling inside the house as well as the gardening and yard stuff...and my artwork that is for sale.  Possibly renaming my blog "The Crow's Nest", which is what my husband and I call it and what I was thinking about naming it when I started it. (I've never been really sure if it should be Crow's or Crows', because there are two of us, so it's plural and possessive...)  Maybe include some recipes and gifts that I make?

It seems a lot bigger in my head.  Stay tuned!
 

Well the last three months have flown by!  School and life and computer problems have been keeping me away from blogging.  We are well into fall now, although it's back to feeling like summer.  We had a cold front come through a couple of weeks ago, just after I took these pictures, and the north wind pretty much stripped our trees, so now the yard is looking kind of bare.  The return of the warm weather did give me the incentive to get out a do some yard work yesterday, so the yard is half way cleaned up, and we can do a little filling in in the flower beds. 

                                 

Our Japanese Bloodgood Maple still has some leaves, but they aren't as bright as they were a few weeks ago.

The Magnolia Macrophyla.

Zinnia.

I can never remember what this flower is.

Purple Cone Flower seed head.

Pecan Tree.

Today, it's all about purple...

Porter Weed.

I can never remember what this is called.  I'll have to consult with the Master Gardener and edit the name in later.

Ornamental Sweet Potato.  I love these!  One little plant will cover a huge area.  (Also available in lime green.)

Vinca.

Purple blooms on the Liriope.  This is also called Monkey Grass.  It's planted as the boarder of the courtyard garden with the Sweet Potato.

Verbena.  This is usually an annual, but it survived the winter and came back this year.

Beautyberry, just starting to turn purple.

Calibrachoa (or Trailing Petunia or Million Bells).  Sometimes they're purple and sometimes they are pink, even on the same plant.

And last but not least, the purple and gold LSU bird house~Geaux Tigers!

The house finches looooooove our fountain!

Everything in our yard is loving the rain, except the Lavender.  It's in the pot with the rabbit, and it's not doing so well, but I can always plant more!

The Impatiens were evenly spaced in the pot, but the squirrels rearranged them.

The Hidden Ginger is blooming.

Our Big Leaf Magnolia is tall enough now that I have to look up!

I can't resist taking pictures of a Zinnia.

English Ivy and Four O'Clocks.  I didn't know Four O'Clocks could turn into a tree!  (I can never remember what the name of the plant that is growing behind the pine tree...)

Our camouflaged compost bin.

The Grape Vines have completely consumed the arbour...

and the grapes are getting so heavy they are falling down inside the mound of vines.

Rain drops on roses.

We are so thankful for the rain we have been getting lately, and our yard is too!  That's all for today.

Hello again, long time no see! We got our computer fixed then went on vacation. (And I've been sort of lurking and reading other blogs, just not posting anything.)  While we were gone we got some much needed rain, and it's been raining pretty regularly since we've been back. We've had somewhere around 20 inches just this month. We are still behind for the year, but we've had enough that our yard is green and flowery again. I'm working with Picasa photo editing now, and I think I'm getting the hang of it. So, without further ado, here are some pictures!.

Rain drops on Hens and Chicks. I just saw an article about forcing succulents to change color~I didn't read the article, just the headline. I'd never heard of such a thing! Mine have a nice rosy glow, which I *think* is from the sun? Kind of like a tan. Maybe I should go back and read the article...

My assistants, Beignet and Lola. Beignet likes to look for lizards. Lola likes to follow Beignet.

I love Vincas! They are usually pretty good at reseeding. I think I planted some 2 years ago in the herb garden, that's where this one is. This pale pink is probably my favorite color. The dark purple ones are pretty too. I've got some of them out front in the courtyard. Which reminds me, I need to post some pictures of the front yard. Most of the pictures I take in the back yard, I take in the mornings, while the light is good and the temps aren't so high, and most of the time I'm still in my pj's, thank you privacy fence. By the time I'm showered and dressed, my mind has moved on to other things. So, note to self: get dressed go take some pictures out front!

I saved seeds from the Mammoth Sunflowers I grew last summer and planted them all around the yard. This is not one of them. I only had about 4 of the Mammoth sunflowers come up. This one came up from bird seed, but being a Kansas girl, I don't discriminate between sunflowers, I love them all.  Those little green spiders love sunflowers too.  I don't think I've ever taken a picture of a sunflower that didn't have one on it.

I love lavender. Lavender candles, lavender soap, lavender lotion, lavender laundry detergent...So of course I have to grow it.

I have had a thing for milk cans since I was a kid. One of our neighbors, the Kelsey's, I have no idea why I remember their name, had a milk can on their front porch. It was black with and American Eagle decal on it. It was the 70's, that's what people did with milk cans. I got this one at an auction for $10. It was a faded yellow and slightly rusty. I brought it home and painted it purple, mainly because I had a can of purple spray paint. Now it's nice and chippy and a little more rusty and lives next to the shed with the ginger.

A new addition to our garden, a gift from my mom. He's awesome! His pinchers are adjustable wrenches and they are still adjustable. I'm trying to think of a name for him. He's a crawfish by-the-way. Maybe Pierre, or Jean-Michel...I'm still thinking. Maybe I should have a Name-the-Crawfish contest! I'll keep you posted!

Hummingbird Sage. It's not that bright in real life, but I kind of like the picture this way. We have it in red and white. It pops it's little seeds all over the place. I've pulled up a bunch of it. It even grows in the grass, if I don't pull it up.

Our back fence is the south border of our yard, and it's kind of in the woods, so it doesn't get much direct sun. I'm always looking for plants that will grow against the fence, and last year I scattered some Morning Glory seeds along the fence. I have this one little scrawny vine, growing up a pine tree.  It looks like the pine tree is blooming.

We planted two Bottle Brush Bushes late last summer. This one is doing very well and just beginning to bloom. The other is struggling a little. These bushes look so pretty when they are in full bloom, and it will look like bottle brushes.

More Hummingbird Sage. This is growing up through one of my bottle trees. I didn't even realize it was there until it was about 4 feet tall, and now it's blooming and the hummingbirds are happy.

Well, it finally happened...the computer up and died. We were able to get it fixed, but had to replace the hard drive, so we lost all the most recent pictures and as of right now I don't have photo editing ability. I can't even down load pictures from my camera yet. It probably will be a bit longer before I am able to do any photo anything, with busy summer schedules and all. But please don't give up on me, I'll get back around to regular blogging eventually! And as a little up date, the grape arbor has completely colapsed, it's now just a tangled pile of sticks and grape vines, but the grapes are continuing to grow, so we'll see how that turns out grape jelly wise. Happy summer!