what was then....

I was so in the present moment the past was no longer part of me.
(Laurel Hoodwrit)

I shocked myself this morning when I was looking for a "before" photo of the front landscape to post on the front garden tour. This is what the angel garden/veggie looked like in the summer of 2005, I had actually forgotten how big it was compared to the small size it is now.
The arbor was actually designed to be the center of the garden and not on the very edge as it is now.
The big tree in the upper left background blew down in a storm this spring.
and I had to forfeit the huge lilac bush in the upper left background of this photo in order to completely remove it.
While it was great to have fresh veggies and lots of color in the middle of the yard, I don't miss all the extra work :-)

Look who showed up at the rock yesterday afternoon!
Were they here all along and just not coming to the feeders or the garden? Or did this one just bring his lady friend for a short vacation at the resort?

Garden tours, Day one...

Oh I believe there are angels among us.
Sent down to us from somewhere up above.
They come to you and me in our darkest hours.
To show us how to live, to teach us how to give.
To guide us with a light of love.
("Angels Among Us" lyrics, Alabama)

As promised, I'm taking you along on the next 3-4 days as I take my morning coffee walks through the gardens. This morning we head out to the center of the yard to the oldest of the gardens, the Angel Garden. It is now only 1/3 of the size it was when it was built in 1999, in memory of my dad. Jeff needed more room to turn trucks around on the yard so most of this garden had to go including the large attached veggie garden.
Pardon me, while I set down my cup of coffee. This morning I chose one of the "tea rose" cups that my parents received as a wedding gift in 1943. Dad has been gone 10 years and Mom 31 years this week.
I've showed you this weathered sign before, "Leave Room In Your Garden For Angels To Dance"...
but here is a little secret that hardly anyone has seen, if you sit in the glider and look up while you rock there is an inscription on the inside of the arbor behind the angel sign.
Ooh, I'm getting all sentimental here...let's move on and take a walk around for the tour. First the birds can get a drink surrounded in flowers and the cabinet in the back stores my hand tools and supplies...
This whole garden got an update this spring when I took out the rotted landscape timber and field rock edging and put in the recycled landscape blocks we removed from the front gardens. I'm not one to throw anything away...
next we come to the front corner. Here morning glories are slowly climbing the angel trellis and it is still early enough for the evening primrose blossoms to be open...
then we round the corner and head up the east side of the garden.
Next we come to the back where the extent of my veggie gardening is 2 tomato plants, climbing green beans, sage, rosemary & basil.
After rounding the veggie corner we come to the back of the arbor...
which is mostly yellow/blue right now.
Then it is back to the front and time for me to sit, finish my coffee and have my morning conversation with these two.

Tomorrow we'll tour the new front landscape followed by the backyard on Friday and maybe Saturday...there is a lot to see out there right now!

After following bird girl's link - yes I do believe I have a female indigo bunting. She has come back to the rock several more times and close up photos definitely show the two toned beak! How exciting...now where are those handsome males?

Birds on a hot summer day....

Blessed be the Lord for the beauty of summer and spring,
for the air, the water, the verdure, and the song of birds.
(Carl von Linnaeus)
It really has been a busy last couple of weeks so sorry about the lack of posts. I have been spending all my spare time working on our new front landscape which should be finished today and then I'll give you a photo tour of the gardens. I haven't had much time to take out the camera but yesterday I spent a good part of it watering as it is very dry here. Between dragging sprinklers around I sat on the patio and enjoyed watching the birds. A pair of chipping sparrows alternated between chipping, eating and bathing, but the goldfinches just preferred singing and eating.
Then I noticed this little brown bird wanting to come to the rock for a drink but it was very shy. It would fly from shrub to flower near the rock and constantly look to see if I was moving.
I sat very still and finally it came to the rock.
It took a few sips of water and then a very quick bath...
constantly checking me out to see if I was moving or a threat.
Then it flew over to the trellis to do it's post bath grooming.
I thought I saw the slightest blue iridescence on it's wings....could it be??? Is this a female indigo bunting and they are still around, just not at my feeders? I have never seen one so this is just a guess comparing it to my bird book. If you know this bird, leave me a comment or email at the address on the left. It was an extremely shy bird and I feel lucky to have captured it with the camera.

On the previous post, troutbirder asked if those water lilies were hardy. Yes, they are - I just trim off the growth and sink them to the bottom of the pond and they are good until next spring.

two, two and too...

two mourning dove eggs, two beautiful waterlilies...
and life just got TOO busy this week to keep up on blogging.
I'll try to catch up next week!

early morning light...

Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.
(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
I enjoy walking through the gardens with my cup of coffee each morning. This morning I was struck by the way the early shafts of sunlight highlighted this rose & calla lily so I went back inside for the camera.
Most of the self seeded annuals are starting to bloom and color is beginning to pop out all over.
July, truly is a time of the biggest changes in the gardens.

one year ago...

I can't let the day end without wishing my wonderful daughter and favorite son-in-law a HAPPY FIRST ANNIVERSARY! I hope you enjoy your cake top at your special celebration tonight! Check out her wonderful slideshow.

it made all the difference...

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
(Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken," 1916)
We had a wonderful and relaxing long weekend camping and riding our cycles on the roads less traveled. We even tried our luck at river fishing (with no luck) while the pelicans circled overhead.
One of our favorite spots to stop is the falls at Alexander Ramsey park in Redwood Falls...
but this year we saw something we had not seen before...two young men were jumping off the cliff to the bottom of the falls.
It was obvious they were attention seekers as each time they jumped they yelled up to the lookout "get your cameras ready".
It was very hot & humid this weekend but other than some very wilted cabin window boxes, I think the garden held up well. We returned to find this beautiful lily blooming. I bought the bulbs on clearance late this spring and the plant is only standing 9-10 inches tall but the blossoms are 8 inches wide. What a beauty!

Stars and Stripes...

You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev'ry heart beats true
'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.
(from Kari & Kijsa's blog)

I'm joining Kari & Kijsa (click on their names for the link) and many others in displaying the Stars and Stripes through the holiday weekend.
Three of the four clematis are blooming on the arbor complimenting the stars and stripe quilt.
The garden has a few stars of it's own...an about to bloom Queen Anne's lace
Kilian Donahue clematis...
and Big Sky Sundown Coneflower.
There are also stripes to be seen...Peter Wonder Coleus...
Tropicanna canna in the pond...
and this beautiful dragonfly's wings.

Birds in the garden...

I question not if thrushes sing,
If roses load the air;
Beyond my heart I need not reach
When all is summer there.
(John Vance Cheney)
The service berry continues to be a feast for the birds. Daily, I watch as dozens of robins, a few brown thrashers, two flickers and one catbird visit and perform swinging branch trapeze acts while feasting on the berries. They do not even wait for them to ripen so hopefully this young robin is not getting indigestion from eating green fruit (remember those green apples of our youth?).
The bush is only about 10 ft from the house so I just stand at the window to take these photographs. While standing there I saw two wrens start to fight mid-air. They ended up landing on the floor of the gazebo and continued the fight.
One had the other's beak held shut with his foot and continued to peck the other while he pushed away with his feet.

I became obvious that this would be a fight to the death as it lasted about 3-4 minutes before I went out there and intervened. I was able to walk right up to them before the more agressive one finally let go and flew off. The 2nd one hobbled under the cover of flowers so I do not know how injured he was.
They are such cute little birds filling the gardens with song but are one of the most agressive birds out there. They will even go into other nests and destroy the eggs or kill the babies in order to protect their territory. This spring I witnessed a fight to the death between a mouse that had moved into a bird house and a wren. The mouse was bloodied and pecked to death around the head/neck and the wren laid next to it until it too died. Nature isn't always pretty...