April Fool's Day

There was a time when I wouldn't have let this day go by without some kind of April Fool's joke... but somehow I just didn't have the oomph to think of anything this year.

The weather has been rainy today, which is much appreciated. In spite of our long, cold, snowy winter we are only at 70% of normal for rain and snow. Ah well, *Fritz* keeps reminding us that we live in the 2nd driest state in the country.

But look at the very lovely non-April Fool's treat I saw today-

My lilacs are ready to burst. I'm hoping for warm open-window days so I can enjoy their heady perfume.

And see what I spied out my kitchen window this morning.

♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ 

I looked out the window and what did I see? Popcorn popping on the apricot tree! 

♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪

Mutton-Head Sort of Day

Bwahaha!

Yes, at this point it is a lamb sort of day. It is 73*. The windows are open and the sound of beagles baying is wafting in through them. (Which contributes to the mutton-head quality of the day!)

But already I see the forecasted storm clouds moving in. But seeing as how we've had six flawless spring days in a row I won't complain!

Swine-Deer Repellant

Our first year in Springville (this is our 9th spring here), I was delighted to see beautiful tulips in my island planter! I was thrilled! I went out and took photos of them in the evening... AND IT'S A GOOD THING TOO!@$#

The next morning all of the tulip heads were pulled off! Having just moved from So CA I thought, "Punk neighbor kids!" WRONG!! Punk SWINE-DEER! That was the beginning of the battle over the tulips. I tried several repellants, including a very expensive one called Roe-pel! Yeah, they just thought it was a tasty salad dressing.

Our snow just melted this last week so I went out today to see if I had any tulips peaking up through the cold winter ground. I count myself lucky that this is the only clump that have been munched!

But those *svine-deer* (think Col Klink) ravaged my Hens and Chicks! PUNKS!

The good news is that a couple of years ago I found a dandy natural deer repellant AND I'm going to share it with you.

Swine-deer repellant
1/2 c milk
1 egg
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp Cayenne pepper
1-2 T dish soap
1-2 T oil

I whisk all of this together and put it in my watering can and fill it up with water (about 1 1/2 gallons) then sprinkle it on and around the plants I want them to leave alone. It has worked so far. You need to re-apply when it rains. The plants seem to like it too.

What a Difference Three Days Make!

I posted a couple of photos back (way back) on the first... I would never have guessed this much snow would be melted just 72 hours later!

I'm just grateful to see some grass... even if it is covered with deer poo!

3/6/13 Edit...
I'm just finishing up my blog book getting it ready to print and ran across this statement from November 10

"It started snowing yesterday morning and didn't stop for the next 24 hours! Those of you who know me will remember that-

I LOVE THE SNOW!

Yes, if there is still snow on the ground in March it might start to wear a little thin but particularly with the first big storm of the season-

I'M JUST LIKE A LITTLE KID!"

And amazingly I've only had one day of *I can't stand this snow any longer!*

Lion-Day

I've always liked to keep track of the *March comes in like a lion- out like a lamb* thing. But it has only been since I started keeping a blog that I've really been able to remember 31 days later what the 1st of March was like!

This year, 2013, is an OFFICIAL LION DAY! All you have to do is look at the sky! But then we can add insult to injury-

A view of the side of my house, looking north (with Maple Mt wreathed in clouds)...

And the front of my house, looking south...

See that berm of snow to the right of my mail box?  That is the pile 15' beyond the mailbox that ate Fernando!  AND IT IS STILL HERE!  We may still have snow in June! Not really, but sometimes it feels that way...

So what of previous years?

2009- Lamb all the way; 62 degrees!
2010- Lamb day as well; high in the 50s!
2011- Lamb day again! Sunny and warm.
2012- A Lion-sort of day! 3" of new snow on top of 12" ( we got most of last winter's snow in March! and we were glad of it.)

80-degree Lamb Day

I remembered last night as I was getting ready for bed that I hadn't recorded my *very scientifical results* about March and the whole Lamb/Lion thing.

This was definitely a SOFT AND FLUFFY LAMB DAY! A-break-all-the-records-for-highest-temperature-in-Utah-in-March-DAY!

Can you believe how beautiful it is? That's my sweet little house with Maple Mountain as the back drop!

Of course, you must know also that this morning's (4/2/12) low temperature was 26 degrees! Yep, that's how we roll here in Utah... it's called

THE WARM BEFORE THE STORM!

Let's Hear it for Purple!

"Purple? PUR-ple! PURRRR-PLE! That's a stupid name! Why don't they just call it BOINK!?!" 14-year old Stuart.

We've laughed about that conversation for years!

But you know? Purple Boink just makes me happy!

What caught my attention this morning was one of my beautiful, late-blooming, *black* tulips. How can you NOT love this color?



Now don't get me wrong... this wasn't an epiphany this morning, I've known I love purple for a long time... but take a look at the rest of my garden.

There are my happy little spotty-dotty violets (they grow like weeds! Lucky me!)...



Purple salvia, mud splattered from all the spring rain (a lovely perennial)...



Ooh, ooh, and one of my favorites- ruffled petunias (I found these a couple of weeks ago at Carpenter's Nursery in South Provo with DeLoris)...



Regular purple petunias (these are from Home Depot's nursery)...



My purple bearded iris on the *island* with purple salvia in the background...



And purple snow clouds, WAIT A MINUTE!! WHAT ARE THEY DOING HERE ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND?

Hmmm, welcome to life in the mountains... reminds me of Greenville.

Smells Like Heaven

One of my favorite things about spring (oh, let me count the ways!) is my lilacs blooming. I think heaven must smell like that!

I've always enjoyed spring, but I think it is an even happier time this year because it has been so slow in coming. My sweet lilacs stayed in the bud stage for the better part of April!

This lilac lives just outside my back door and is ruffled. I've blogged about it before it is called My Favorite Lilac (which is so true!)



I also have the un-ruffled variety like we had in Greenville when I was growing up.



When we moved here 6 years ago I added the three lilac bushes that are along the back of the house. Imagine my surprise when I found that there were 4 other lilac bushes in my little 1/4 acre of heaven! The ones not pictured here are a variety I'd ever seen before. They are very frail... that's the only word I can think of that describes them. They still are in the very beginning of bud stage.

The other beauty that caught my eye when I was out on my photographic explore was my back door neighbor's pear tree... just beautiful. (I can already taste their luscious, juicy fruit.)

April Fools!

Lasterday and the day before that (the real April Fool's Day) were beautiful, sunny, warm, temperatures in the high 60s and even creeping into the low 70s...

BUT LOOK WHAT I WOKE UP TO THIS MORNING!!!

8" OF FRESH HEAVY SNOW... what the chicken?

I just mowed the lawn yesterday!



And, apparently, I am doomed where my globe willow trees are concerned. You will remember that last August thunderstorms took my front yard willow.

Lasternight it was heavy snow on the backyard willow... sad, so sad...

San Joaquin Snow

Saturday afternoon I drove from Palmdale up the San Joaquin Valley (pronounced /ˌsæn hwɑːˈkiːn/ bwahahahahaha... AKA san wha-keen) to Coarsegold to visit with Rebekah and family. I've always loved the drive up Hwy 99 with the ginormous *freeway-bushes* that are bigger than houses growing in the median strip. In August the oleanders are a riot of blossom in all the hues from lightest pink to deepest fuchsia.

But I digress...

Now, in March, most of the orchards look as if a blizzard has just swept through the area. But it isn't really-for-real-destructive-snow just tons of blossom petals from the acres upon acres of fruit and nut trees.



THIS PARTICULAR *SNOW-STORM* IS AN ALMOND ORCHARD

1- A Lam-bie Day

March showed her happy lam-bie face this day. I love the month of March with all of her extremely severe mood swings... so this day a taste of spring... right inside on my kitchen window sill.





BTW- I got this sweet plant from my daughter-in-law, Suzi, a year ago. Is it an African Violet?

124- Tulip Bouquet

On days like this I feel a little decadent... I can walk right out to my garden and bring in fresh cut flowers for my enjoyment. It just makes me happy every time I walk through the kitchen to see these beauties.

123- French Lilacs

My lilacs have toiled bravely through the recent snow storms- trying very hard to bloom. I remember as a girl going out to knock the snow off our lilac bushes with a broom. It always distressed me! I don't get too bothered about it now... no point! But I've missed the warmer temperatures so I can open my windows and let the lilac's fragrance waft in.


FONT- Albemarle Swash, ACTION- DPMoms Perfect Workflow, PW Lovely and Ethereal, BRUSH- RhonnaFarrer_2ps_SnapShot_Horizontal6, MCO_BohoFlourishes06, 17GrungeBorderBarsBrushSet, TEXTURES- WritingonParchment2

On a side note~
I spent most of the day cutting out bridesmaid dresses. I have 4 of them all cut and ready to sew.

And by 5pm it had finally dried out enough to go out and mow the lawn. It had been 10 days! I had to empty the bag every few passes! I keep hoping that I can just mulch and put all of those wonderful nutrients back in the grass... but no luck so far; it's just been too wet.

114- Spotty Violet

In my backyard tucked in a shady little corner is a patch of beautiful little violets. They come back every year right on the edge of the lawn. But today I noticed this lovely little spotty violet. Did it just mutate on its own? Most of the others are the normal purple. Happy chance.



Two weeks ago I mowed my front lawn for the first time. It was very patchy and not so green. The next day a traveling-aerator-guy came and made my lawns look like a pack of wild dingos had been there. The next day I fertilized with my new *secret mixture* (Scott's Turf Builder and Ironite). Then I let it snow and rain for much of the next two weeks. I know there are those who wouldn't like my version of getting to where I am today but I have a June lawn in APRIL!! I was grateful that today it dried out enough for me to mow. Look at that verdant green... I just love it!



And lastly, can you believe this riotous display of tulips? They have just gone crazy this year. I'm wondering if my *deer repellent* is also a wonder fertilizer.

110- Peach Blossom Time

It seems that spring arrived. The blossoms are popping out on every bush and every tree! And I love them. These are my early peach blossoms. Couldn't you just curl up inside that blossom for a fragrant nap?


FONT- Albemarle Swash, ACTION- DPMoms Perfect Workflow, PW Boost, BRUSH- RhonnaFarrer_2ps_SnapShot_Horizontal6, MCO_BohoFlourishes06

I went on a little spring explore in the backyard today and look what else I saw! These might look like dead blossoms, but if you look closely you will see tiny little apricot starts. Thank you... my prayers have been answered. I do believe I will have apricots this year.

109- Narcissus

Narcissus is what my mama would have called this beautiful little flower. We always referred to these as narcissus and the all yellow flowers as daffodils. I bought a bag of *mixed daffodils* at Costco in the fall of 2008.

This is my second spring to be rewarded with these beauties. I've been so pleased with these happy spring bulbs. I don't know if this spring is really nicer than the normal spring but I am feeling it more this year.


FONT- Albemarle Swash, ACTION- DPMoms Perfect Workflow, BRUSH- RhonnaFarrer_2ps_SnapShot_Horizontal6, MCO_BohoFlourishes06 TEXTURE- texture 5

105- Spring Cleaning

Today was one of those days that we live for and thoroughly enjoy here in the Rocky Mountains. It was sunny and 70! How can you argue with that?

After mowing and edging the lawn I decided that the *job-of-the-day* was to rearrange my garden shed. It was on the property when we moved here; the previous owner had built several nice shelves and then this *cockeyed* boxy thing in one front corner that was good for nothing and only took up valuable space.

Ah-ha! DE-MO-LI-TION!! I got out my cordless drill to get out the big screw (where I could... some were badly stripped), my big sledge hammer and went to town! This is the demo debris and leftovers from my new beautiful fence (photos still to come after it is stained).



I dragged out all of the junk, hauled the wheelie-bin over and started sorting and cleaning. Luckily, I'm not someone who tolerates clutter so it wasn't too bad. What it needed mostly was organization. (Notice the plum tree in bloom over the fence? I love it!)



I had several unsuccessful attempts to get all of the dirt and dust out of there.

First I tried the house broom; too slow.

Then I tried the push broom; too dirty! and the handle broke again (Notice it in the photo above? Bye, bye broom!).

Next up was the grass blower! BIG MISTAKE... all I did was create a giant dirt cloud that settled all over me and everything else in the shed. I'm surprised I can still breath.

Finally I brought in the hose... that should work. Right? Nope, the slab wasn't poured level or with a proper slope so all the water wanted to drain to the left side... I got my big garage squeegee and splashed and squeegeed until it was finally somewhat acceptable! Whew!

After a couple of hours I started putting things back in. My daddy taught me that if things have a place, and you KEEP them in that place, then you can find them when you want them! Novel concept! I had fun screwing in screws to hang tools from. I moved my big tool corral to the left side of the door where the silly box thingy was.



Ta-da! All finished! The tools and ladder are off the floor, a place to park all the machines and carts, everything is nice and organized! Yay, little Joanie!



What shall I do tomorrow?

104- Happy Spring

101- Spring Flowers

As I arrived home from church today I saw that my spring bulbs are just starting to bloom. I love these happy spring flowers. My mom always had lots of flower bulbs in her gardens. I love the way they *take turns* showing off their wares!

The hyacinths have such a strong heady fragrance! I love the way it hangs in the air.



As a funny aside- do you see my poor cropped off tulips? I used the homemade deer repellent and it seems to be doing the trick. The commercial brand I got a couple of years ago only seems to attract them more!

091- April Fool!

♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ I woke up this morning and what did I see?
Snow all over my apricot tree!!♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Spring didn't bring me such a nice surprise, blossoms dying right before my eyes! ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ I could take an armful and make a treat... ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪

Well, you get the picture!



I'm not too hopeful about my apricot crop for this year. I wish that the planter of my trees had realized that this variety of apricot was too much of an early bloomer! Ah, well, there's always next year.


FONT- Albemarle Swash, ACTION- CoffeeShop Sweet Bakery Glazes, CoffeeShope Vivid, BRUSH- RhonnaFarrer_2ps_SnapShot_Horizontal6, MCO_BohoFlourishes06