Blooming Purples

I have anxiously been waiting to see what colors my Iris' were going to be. For some reason, my yard seems to be the last to bloom. I guess it is the positioning and the amount of sun mine get. When we bought this house it was Fall, so I have enjoyed the Spring surprises and the colors and scents of our yard.
The side Iris' are mostly the Burgundy, with some Purples, and some Whites. (Sorry no pics of them). My favorites aren't in my yard but the neighbors. He has some lovely Purple & Whites, and an exquisite Purple and Black that I absolutely love!
My neighbor, Larry, has moved. The house sits empty and is not For Sale yet. He is a sweetie, and doesn't mind when I have helped myself to a few. Especially when they get so heavy and lay on the ground. So I go over and snip a few. I also do this with his Peonies which are also so very lovely indeed!
I get to thin out his plants and anxious about transplanting some into my gardens. I am not sure about when to do this (I don't think it's a good ideal when they are in bloom... I have done this before but in March when they are still stalks). My Dear Sister-In-Law has also offered some of hers, as they have taken over her beds.
Larry also has (as many of the neighbors do) a couple of gorgeous Miniature Iris groupings. Oh My Gosh! These are so pretty! I had some at the old house along with my traditional Iris'. They are so dainty and pretty. Because they are small, they don't bend down to the ground from the weight of the flowers the way the traditional ones do.
It is a beautiful day. The sun is shining, a cool breeze. Birds are chirping and the yard is calling me. I am waiting for the U-Verse (cable guy) to get here. I have a four hour window and we are just hitting the second hour. I hope he remembers to call ahead so I can put my Man Eating Dogs away. I love the quiet times in the morning when I am the only one up (well, Annie is up but has already left for work). I am going to enjoy this day. I hope you do too.

It's Back!

I thought this was over. Sergio thought it was over.

We started to have warmer days that walks in the neighborhood were delightful.

Look's look we jumped the gun.

Mother Nature wasn't done!

The Birds

Remember this classic? Who could forget it. This movie changed how many of us saw birds. Alfred Hitchcock was an incredible story teller and this movie did him justice.

My oldest daughter HATES birds. She finds them extremely Creepy. One of the Besties does too. This is one of the things we know Emily inherited from Sheri. They would both be very content in a Bird Less World.

I love them. Not in a creepy way. (once when I taught Preschool a mother came in to her daughters parent-teacher conference with one of her birds. She kindof made out with it and was quite disturbing, I always worried about the daughter after seeing this bird freak). SORRY, I got sidetracked, ANYWAY, back to today. I have noticed that at our new home, because of all the trees, we have a bird friendly yard.

My cats love to sit and watch. Mischa has several spots to sit and watch. Her favorite spot is on the window seat in our bedroom. She thinks they can't see her and she crouches low and makes her little "I'm gonna get you" sound.

This morning we have a scene right out of Hitchcock's thriller "The Birds". There are hundreds of birds in the yard and trees. Maybe a birdie convention, I don't know. The dogs are barking and Mischa is in attack mode. I could not get a shot of the yard because: 1- they fly up when I get outside, 2- they are even creeping me out a bit and I am a bit scared.

I am just thankful Emily and Sheri are not her to witness this!

Lady-Bug, Lady-Bug, Fly Away Home

One of my trees is full of Lady-Bugs. Every day I see dozens of birds swooping in to have breakfast, lunch, then dinner. The tree is so full I get kindof freaked out to walk under it. I certainly know better then to look up with an open mouth. They favor this one tree, and stay off the others.

They are everywhere in Indianapolis lately. A seasonal thing. I excused myself yesterday as I offered to brush a couple off a woman's jacket. She grateful thanked me. They land in our hair, they fly into us and are quite a nuisance.

My sister, once had a home that they would get into through any nook or crack they could find. Being a old home, they would have success finding ways in. Sis, made the mistake of trying to kill them. Big mistake. They smell horrible when crushed. She'd have to vacuum them up and throw them out in bags.

When I was a little girl. I loved Lady-Bugs. I remember believing they brought us good luck when they landed on us. Same as a Butterfly. Funny how pretty bugs do not scare little girls.

I guess I should not complain. This is what is in my neighbors tree:

It is one big bad ass hornets nest. I couldn't believe my eyes walking the dog the other day. I made Sergio come with me the next day to show him and take this picture. We guess it to be about 18 inches tall and a good 12 inches round. Loaded with tons little nasty hornets. Yesterday, I stepped on one in the yard. He got inside my clog and got me three times. Two little stings then the big one with his sting token hanging out of my heel. Owe. (I'm okay, rather me than the dogs).
With the changing weather, these "bigs" are all dying off, and going into hibernation. Soon, like the leaves, they will be gone.

24 Trees

One of the lovely amenities that I fell in love with at our new home, is the trees.

I have twenty trees in the back yard, and four in the front. The twenty in the back have me smitten. There are Seven Pines, Four Fruit Trees, and Nine Leafy Trees. They are fabulous! I love the breeze they give. I love the shade they give. I love that they house so many birds and critters.

Because we do not have a fence (yet), I have to walk the dogs a dozen or so times a day. I am getting quite good at handling three leashes at once. The dogs are starting to understand this does not mean...leash? WALK!!. It now means...leash? potty-time! We walk all over the yard. Certain areas have become favorite..uhm.. spots.. for each dog. We are very grateful that the big trees shield us from the rain when it is time to go out. One of my Big Puppies, not mentioning names, but one fellow, is becoming a bit of a frady-cat when we go outside in the dark, and the wind whistles through the trees. This certain little guy is bugging out and I am trying to get him to realize, the trees are our friend! Would be easier if the birds wouldn't creep us out swooping out when we walk under them.

Autumn is on it's way. We Hoosiers may complain about the changing Indiana weather, but we are so very proud of the colors our trees turn during the Autumn. My backyard I hope will be a lovely splash of color!

I promise to post pictures soon.