As Our Life Goes On

Our driveway is U shaped making it easy to get in and out of the drive without having a turnaround. The top of the driveway offers plenty of parking without being in the way of the garage doors. The area next to the drive within the U shape is getting shadier with the passage of time and growth of trees and shrubs. Therefore I will be developing a wide border of shade plants and ground covers in the strip that runs along the drive at that spot. Seen above is a rotting stump with violets, ajuga, hosta, may apple, ground ivy, moss and other assorted native wild plants brightening the area.  Ground covers seem to do well in this heavy dense soil that is in this part of the yard. There will be a lot more work to do to make this garden look good. I would like to add some ferns. There are some ferns down toward the swamp but when I checked them out today I found that the whole area around them is infested with poison ivy.  I had a very bad case of poison ivy a number of years ago so that

There are so many of these Ajuga or Bugleweed plants growing around our yard at this time. The small start of them that I got a few years ago has just amazed me with the increase in numbers and areas of coverage. I am actually transplanting many of these to other areas. They are just so pretty. If the entire yard were covered with this it would be a fine thing.  That will not happen but I can dream can't I.  A great deal of time has been spent in the yard today but first I grabbed a couple of bags and headed for the three way intersection at the end of our property. I had noticed that drivers were using the North side of the road as their dumping grounds. The two bags were quickly stuffed. What pigs! 

Solomon's seal plants do well in shady spots. This plant is under one of our Hemlock trees. It took a few years to get strongly established and it has spread just a little. That is OK as I have some perennials in the flower beds that are so aggressive that they are crowding everything in the flower beds. I am hoping to thin these flowers and give starts of the plants away to friends who may want them. The cooler weather has slowed down the growth of many things including the grass but it will be warmer with rain next week so we will keep that mower handy. 

A robin has been landing on the window sill outside of my room where I do my computer work. It seemed to be peering in to see if I was any kind of a threat. I went out to see what it was up to and found this nest on the sill of the bathroom window. I sure am wanting to see exactly what the silver thing is at the right bottom of the base of the nest. There is a robin using the nest at this time though so the nest won't be disturbed until the babies have flown away. We will have to retrieve the hose nozzle with great care as not to cause any concerns to the birds. 

Make your own sunshine When skies are dark and rainy Imagine bright days -Caroline

Trilling sound of wrens Sing all you wish in our yard We love your sweet songs -Caroline

High Winds Yield New Firewood Supply There were only twigs, small branches and other small debris laying around our yard after high winds lasted most of the day in our area yesterday. A large wild cherry blew down at a spot down the road. Mr. Firewood Gatherer is very tired tonight after cutting a heavy load of the wood. The trailer was riding low when he drove up the road. The unloading will not occur today. There will be a lot of wood to split and put into the woodpile. The air temperatures have been much cooler for the last few days so the airtight wood burner still needs to be fed. 

Cold day in April  Deceptive sunshine, green grass Strong gusty winds blowing  -Caroline

It is Spring again and the hiking, biking slobs have littered the edges of the bike trail with drink cups,  food wrappers, cardboard  and chunks of foam. Some of the foam chunks have floated to the middle of the swampy area and we don't have a boat. When it gets a bit warmer I may chance going down the steep bank on the other side of this outlet channel to pick up some of the crap that the inconsiderate people have discarded within my sight. We usually see people out along the roads doing general cleanup on earth day but it is cold today. 

It was a windy warm day yesterday when I took a picture of this may apple. The mid seventies felt warm and it was easy to get some work done around the yard. Today the sun is hidden under  gray rainy skies and the temperatures are only in the mid forties. We do need the rain so the gentle sprinkles are welcome  Brrrrr!  Spring in Ohio can be so changeable. I have kept my Winter clothes close at hand for days like this. 

Our youngest granddaughter Jordan helped to plant the tulip tree that this cocoon is attached to. The tree seems a bit slow to leaf out so I may put a bucket or two of water on it this afternoon. The other tall tulip poplars are far ahead of this tree so it may be under some stress. It is hard to believe that Jordan was so little when she put on some of my boots on to help grandpa plant the little tree. The boots were very big on her but they protected her little feet from the mud. The tree has undergone some trials and setbacks from being chewed on by deer but the bark has healed and the tree has emerged as one of the prettier trees on the property. I'm off to water Jordan's tree!

The moss garden is doing well. Ferns are being added slowly. I found a flower pot tray with no hole in the bottom today so it is being used as a bird bath or drinking pond. There is low moss growing in the areas that look dark in the pictures. I would like to cover the whole area with the bright green moss.  I even place some moss in the crotch of the Japanese red maple tree.  An old thorn apple is getting ready to bloom. The large pine trees are sending out new growth.  The large wetland area just across the bike trail from our back yard is filled with the sounds of Canada geese honking, quacking ducks and noisy frogs and toads. This is music to my ears.  The sweet fragrant odor from the Russian Olive blossoms wafts through the air. I just want to stay near them and relish that sweetness.  Toadstools grow at the base of a large dead tree. This is down over the big hill near the swampy wetland.  When I was taking the above picture I hear a noise

Red and yellow blooms Light a corner of the yard Pretty spring flowers -Caroline

The early arrival of warm weather has caused the grass to grow fast. It is very green as there has been no lack of precipitation. It is sprinkled with dandelions, spring beauties and violets. There are other green things that are not mentioned above and our policy is to let it grow. The Yazoo mower makes the work go very quickly. We are allowing some areas of the property to grow into little fields of high grass. This is great wildlife cover. This policy makes less work and saves on gas also. 

Strong winds from an approaching weather front have invaded the area today. It is not a good time to walk under the trees around the yard. There will probably be lots of branches and perhaps some limbs to pick up after this weather passes through. The petals from the flowering crab apples are blowing away from the driveway and that is a good thing. They are actually laying in a large area through  the back yard quite a distance from the trees. The warm air and sunshine are enough to brighten the day and my mood. 

The moss garden is coming along quite well. It is a few feet from our breezeway door under the red Japanese maple tree. It takes a lot of moss to cover that many square feet so I have made many trips to the back yard to dig different kinds of mosses. The moss seems to be taking hold and growing into place but some of the types are not doing as well as others. A few smaller ferns have been planted and more ferns will be placed into this area.  The last load of moss had a little grub or caterpillar in it. It was at the bottom of the bucket and It is possible that this is a post mortem picture. The trowel may have injured it mortally. It seems a bit unresponsive. There are many birds in the yard so I suspect it may end up as a bird lunch. 

Vivid color displays often happen when the sun sets or rises. It is always good to have a day where there is no cloud cover and these miracles can be seen. 

Helicopter seeds Singles, doubles and bunches New generations -Caroline There is an abundance of seed pods on the silver maple trees in our yard this year. The ground is quite littered with the large bunches that have fallen together. The squirrels eat the seeds from these so there should not be a lack of food for the bushy tailed rodents. I like to see the single pods fall as they rotate in the air when they fall. 

Transient Blossoms A short blooming time for us to see your beauty -Caroline

We awakened to see a light coating of snow on the ground and lots of heavy wet snow falling. The ground has warmed up significantly from the recent warm weather so there was little to no snow left on surfaces by noon. The red Japanese maple tree may have suffered from this cold onslaught. There will be another very cold night tonight and the tender leaves of that tree are drooping. The flowering crab apple trees can be seen in the last picture. They appeared to have puffy white snowballs on every cluster of blossoms.  Ohio weather can be so changeable. 

Yes, It did snow today from time to time. It has been such a mild Winter and Spring that it really doesn't matter to me. The grass is green and the blossoms on this old wild crab apple tree are very pretty. There are a few of these old trees in the woods behind the house. Little hard green apples appear on these trees in the Fall. They are bitter to the taste. If enough could be found they would probably make good crab apple jelly. 

Above are two peaceful looking views of Lake Pippen near Brady Lake, Ohio. Very good! A nice Spring day. Good! Lots of pretty rose color blossoms. Good too! A huge decaying tree trunk that looks like a big monster coming toward you. That is good too! A farm that is well cared for. Very good! An old farmhouse that does not get a lot of attention. Too bad! A lady and a young man cleaning up trash along the road. Too bad that people throw their trash out but very good that someone cares to pick it up. Graffiti on the Hudson Road underpass. Bad! UGLY! The ignorant person who threw these 4 old tires in the wetlands should be greatly punished. This is really ugly and dangerous to our ecology. ______________________________________________________________ Easter Sunday was a great day to take an afternoon drive around the Lake Rockwell area. Above are some of the things that we saw. The day was cool but sunny and the drive was mostly pleasant with some exceptions