A wonderful reception...

The food and speeches were great...
The ballroom was gorgeous...
The cake was beautiful...

And the cupcakes were delicious...just ask Alexis!

Isn't she beautiful....

Our beautiful daughter on her wedding day. Of course, Scott's pretty handsome too :-)
Congratulations to the new couple and may they have many years of married bliss!

On Saturday, 7.7.07 without any of the labor pains or the stress of child rearing we gained a new son...here is Nathan, Jayme & Scott. We had a wonderful 5 days celebrating Jayme & Scott's wedding with friends and family. It was such a beautiful day that not even the 90 degree temps could ruin it. I am still basking in the joy of all the fun the days preceding and after brought - we thank everyone who traveled all the way up to Duluth to enjoy this special time with our family! It truly was one huge family/friend vacation...
The wedding party was gorgeous in the beautiful dresses and tuxes. I will post more photos in the coming days...today is busy with the catching up of laundry, paperwork and the watering of my poor parched garden which still managed to grow by leaps & bounds in the 6 days I was gone.

Simple joys...

"The lesson I have thoroughly learnt, and wish to pass on to others, is to know the enduring happiness that the love of a garden gives..."
(Gertrude Jekyll)

While I was sitting at the patio table this morning trying to find a few minutes of peace before my busy day, I noticed this bright display of self seeded flowers. I didn't plant them and haven't actually planted petunias in the ground for years but every year they self seed and come up on their own. Last year I added a 6 pack of moss roses around the garden and this year I have them everywhere...I love colorful surprises like this and they bring me joy!

The hydrangeas are in full bloom as well as the balloon flowers...imagine yesterday's cardinal flower in the mix and we have 4th of July patriotism :-) I wish you a wonderful and safe holiday!
My new lily I added this year is finally blooming...introducing "Tango".

By His hands we all are fed...

For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass so fresh and sweet;
For song of bird and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear and see,
Father in Heaven, we thank Thee!
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

The garden is really coming to life these days. I have white, pink & yellow lilies blooming...the annuals are starting to fill the black spaces and the hydrangeas are blooming. This is my first year growing a cardinal flower in my pond. The foilage is a dark burgundy and these are my first red blossoms. On another note, I just love my new bird feeder! Several years ago I saw one like it on another bloggers photo site and loved it ever since. While shopping in Duluth, I happened upon one and it was one of those "gotta have" moments ;-) You'll probably be seeing it again and again.

Buzz..zz..zzz

BUZZ! goes the bee,
Hour after hour,
BUZZ! goes the bee
From flower to flower.

I heard him before I even saw him...the biggest bumblebee I have ever seen! I have lots of bees and hornets this year but the butterflies are in short supply and I am missing the numerous dragonflies from years past. Is this a sign of drought or just a coincidence?
Maybe I'll just sit back and wait as in the quote from Field of Dreams - "build it and they will come"....hopefully they find the garden soon :-)

Yellow...

Yellow is a star...Yellow is the sun.
Yellow is the moon...When the day is done.

For a pink and purple loving girl, I don't know how I ended up with so much yellow in the garden but the yellows sure are prominent right now. They do brighten things up and make me think of sunshine even on a cloudy day.

Yesterday, as I was watering the inpatiens tower I came across a surprise. I look forward to seeing if we actually see eggs soon :-)

Home is for hugs...

Home is for hugs
And encouragement, too.
Some praise and a smile
Will uplift when blue.

Home is for togetherness,
Laughter and sharing,
And when one has a problem,
It's for listening and caring.

Home is for growing
And learning how to mature.
It's for displaying good virtues
And values and more.

Home is for forgiveness
And a merciful heart.
If someone is sorry,
Extend a new start.

Home is for loving,
For God meant it that way,
A haven for kindness,
Strength for each day.
(Linda Grazulis)

Just got back from 4 days "up north" helping Jayme and Scott paint and move stuff into their new home. First time homeowner's...what an exciting time for them - I wish them a home filled with hugs, togetherness, growing, forgiveness and loving all the days of their life!
It seems like the garden grew by leaps and bounds while I was gone. The tamarix is in full pink bloom and I discovered my first calla lily bloom this morning. It was fun to walk through and see the changes 4 days can make at this time of year.

Never boring...

“May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night and a smooth road all the way to your door.”
(old Irish Blessing)

I was watching "Paul James the gardening guy" on tv the other morning and he said a gardener should always be trying new plants and rearranging the gardens and it would never be boring, thus gardening is not work but an experiment each year. I wholeheartedly agree...every year I look for new plants to add that I have never tried before and things just seem to be rearranged each year.
Because I have been so busy and not devoting as much time to the garden this year...I cut down on all my container gardening to save time on the watering. I love this old wheelbarrow planter Jeff made and it tends to dry out quickly so I did not plant blooms in it. I was missing having it filled so came up with the idea of a sedum garden which can stand dry soil and I think I like it just as well as blooms. This spring I was looking at bulbs and tried pineapple lily for the first time...definitely not a boring bloom. This is just a bud as the package says bloom time is September. I added the old door this year as an attempt to hide the LP tank.

Red Door, Sedum planter and Pineapple Lily...definitely not boring to me :-)

Watchful eyes...

Have you ever had that feeling you are being watched? This pine tree is in the garden and mama tree swallow watched every move while I was out weeding yesterday. I thought it would make a cute shot so went in to get the camera. By the time I got back it was the more blueish male swallow on guard at the nest box.

As I was taking his photo, mama flew back in - she took me by such surprise that I didn't have time to focus the camera but it still is a cool enough shot to share in a smaller format.

Wishing all the dad's out there a peaceful and relaxing evening to this Father's Day!

One year ago today....

I had the wild idea to start this garden of life blog...With my very first "morning has broken" post I showed you an early June morning view of the cabin and I tried to take the very same shot this morning.
I look around and see a lot of black dirt and not much color but then I look back at 6/18/06 and I guess it was the same scenario. I guess I am just an "inpatient gardener" waiting for peak July color :-)

How fitting the "Morning has broken" lyrics were again today as I sat outside in the early sunshine after last night's "sweet the rain's new fall" listening to the birds and marveling at God's recreation of another new day!

Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for the springing fresh from the world
Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall, on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where his feet pass
Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God's recreation of the new day (Cat Stevens..)

Three weeks until the wedding celebrations begin and then I hope to have lots more time on my hands to get back to taking a few more quality garden photos.

In the pink again...

I caught a nasty bug and was down and out for awhile but an early morning walk through the garden to visit the "doctor", Dr. Ruppel Clematis that is...and I was feeling back in the pink again...well almost :-)

The raspberry blast supertunia was definitely feeling the "pink" too!

Blowin' in the wind...

How does Alexis get her pigtails to point straight forward?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,

The answer is blowin' in the wind.

It is very windy here today but Alexis wanted to go out and feed the fish. The food went flying and she thought she had to lean forward into the wind to walk along the paths.

We picked some blooms with scents to experience the smells...
Which she had to share with the fish...

and Ruger!

I so enjoy my days with her visiting :-)

Blue Delphinium

Last night as we were eating dinner on the patio the sun was setting and the blue delphiniums were gorgeously backlit. They looked almost neon so I ran to grab the camera and take a few shots before going back to dinner. Later, I noticed the white stripped sphinx month on them so took some more shots to share. What an enchanted evening...a wonderful welcome after being gone a few days.

Harbor rainbow...

If I could catch a rainbow I would do it just for you.

And share with you it's beauty on the days you're feeling blue.

If I could build a mountain you could call your very own.

A place to find serenity a place to be alone.

If I could take your troubles I would toss them in the sea.

But all these things I'm finding are impossible for me,

I cannot build a mountain or catch a rainbow fair

But let me be...what I know best, a friend that's always there.

(Khahlil Gibran)

I just got back from a few days in Duluth helping Jayme with wedding stuff and packing for her move in a couple of weeks. Last night was a stormy one and we were blessed with seeing a double rainbow over the harbor after the rain was done. Of course by the time I could get the car off the highway and to a photographic vantage point one rainbow was gone and the other was quickly diminishing but I still thought the shot was worth posting.

Back to the garden tomorrow...

The tortoise and the hare or is it...

The turtle and the "hairy" Dog? We have had a large painted turtle on the yard for the last 2 days which is unusual out here in farm country. He is slowly making his way across the property having only made it about 100 yds from Monday to Tuesday. Of course progress is much smaller when you have to "contain" yourself everytime one of the dogs comes to check you out :-)

The turtle can't go out to play,

Or sell his house or rent it;

For when he moves,

His house moves too

And nothing can prevent it.

Plant a Rose...

She who stoops to plant a rose

whose fragrance wafts toward the sky.

Plants splendor not for self alone,

but shares with strangers passing by.

She who plants a rose plants friends,

unknowingly though it may be.

The language of the blossoms weaves

a mystic spell of harmony.

For those who pause beside the bush

are strangely somehow richly blessed.

By language only flowers know...

and roses seem to speak it best!

(Helen Phelps)

The climbing roses are blooming and they are beautiful. I often have a "visitor" on them as this is one of her favorite perches. Did you see her in the 2nd photo before I zoomed in for the third?

Good Times...

Thank you for the good times,

The day you filled with pleasure.

Thank you for fond memories,

And for feelings we will always treasure.
(Karl Fuchs)

I had a busy weekend of fun and family so haven't posted for a few days. On Saturday, Jayme's wonderful aunts and cousins hosted a beautiful bridal shower for her and mom thoroughly enjoyed it too! We can't thank you enough for all the time and effort put into the day...it was perfect.

The garden is still very wet so I am working on keeping all my newly purchased plants alive while I wait for perfect planting conditions. Looks like I get a couple more days to be in "wedding planning mode" :-)