In the Sun

Scenes of Summer

 

(I should probably repost this in January or February to remind us just how beautiful and warm Hadley can really be!)

Chicks and Flowers in the Autumn

It's such a beautiful day today that I had to let the chicks out to enjoy it.  I hate keeping them cooped (!) up, but when I'm not home most of the day, and when I know I'll have the new dog outside, I tend to let them just roam their run and coop.  But today is gorgeous, and they are enjoying the freedom.

 

They are hanging out under the lilac bush -- in these pics you can see Penelope (top), our Buckeye chicken; Olive and Ivy (middle), our two Speckled Sussex; Clementine (bottom), our Buff Orpington; and in the bottom picture on the right, just out of the frame is Mabel, our Silver-Laced Wyandotte.  They are happily dust bathing, napping, scratching for bugs, cooing and chirruping, and staying warm in the sun.

And now, just a few more...

I was happy to notice this week that our Mexican sunflowers have finally decided to bloom.  What a wonderful burst of colour for the fall! 

A few days later, and we have a few more blossoms and more getting ready to pop.  What beauties!

Enjoy these opening days of October.  They have already been amazing!

Mid-August Pictures

Just a few of my favourite pictures from the week -- a little frog on a black-eyed susan, the amazing wing of a Buckeye chick, the Deerfield River, and my first home-grown pod of Jacob's Cattle beans.

Views From the Garden

Butterfly Garden, pt. 2

Remember when I posted previously about the butterfly garden going in at the elementary school?  Well, it's been started.  Take a look at the early stages:

I need to get down there and take some more current pictures, too, but I bet it's going to be beautiful!

Remember -- if you'd like to help or donate, contact Debbie Windoloski at Gardenscapes!

Butterfly Garden at Hadley Elementary

If you have been any kind of follower of my blog, you should probably know by now that I love gardens.  And I love butterflies and flowers and birds.  And vegetables.  So I was very excited to learn that Debbie Windoloski of Gardenscapes, in cooperation with Principal Jeff Udall and school mom M G-O'C, is building a butterfly garden at the Hadley Elementary School this month.
From the letter requesting donations:

The garden will be located on the front right end of the school and will be a special place for butterflies, birds and pollinators, and more importantly, the children of HES who will enjoy the garden and help plant and take care of it. In the future, we hope to build vegetable gardens as Phase 2 of our schoolyard gardens project.

I think every school should have gardens -- butterfly, flower, and vegetable!  What a wonderful way to teach students about nature and healthy environments and sustainability and nutritious food.  This is a great project, and I look forward to seeing how it turns out.
Students are already growing annuals for the garden -- some butterfly zinnias, mini-sunflowers, and butterfly cosmos.  Ground will be broken (clearing space for the garden) Saturday, May 4, at 7:30 AM, but the big event, the dedication ceremony, will be in June. 

For more information about, to donate (they are happily and readily taking donations of labor, tools, butterfly plants, and more), or to support this garden project, contact Debbie Windoloski at Gardenscapes (phone and email contact available).

The Crocus Grows

While I work on amending my garden and getting things planted (yesterday the peas and spinach and radishes went in), and while I set up my next post on those very things, I thought I'd share a taste of spring:

Two Hearts Beet as One

When I was younger, I remember my mother making heart-shaped meatloaf for our family for Valentine's Day.  She says she only did it once or twice, but I seem to remember more frequency than that -- it obviously made quite an impression, with that heart-shaped border of ketchup.  When I moved out of the house and started living on my own, I took up the heart-shaped meatloaf as a yummy, simple, and slightly odd way to celebrate the holiday, and I've been making heart-shaped meatloaf semi-regularly for Valentine's Day for years.
This year, however, with sickness in the house and lots of appointments and errands, I didn't have time to make meatloaf.  Instead, I made:

That's right -- heart-shaped beets!  I sliced them thin, steamed them, and then used a cookie cutter to cut small hearts out of the beat slices.

These were fresh, local beets and they steamed up soft and sweet (oh, so sweet!).  They were quite a success and may become a new favourite Valentine treat. 
(And just think of all the clever "heart + beet" valentine quips that could be developed. Two hearts beet as one!)

Valentine's Day isn't just about beets and meatloaf, though, and for those of you who need more post-Valentine's cheer, here are some beautiful roses Mr. Madley brought home for me.

Aren't they lovely?  And if you need your holiday chocolate fix (I know I did), check out last year's post (worth every single bite).


*Mr. Madley suggested the title for this post.

A Butterfly in the Bush

This is the butterfly that visited my butterfly bush today.  Isn't it a beauty?  (Click on the picture to expand the view.)

 

(Photo taken through the window.)

Wasp, Blue Flowers, Baby Peaches

(Click on the images to enlarge.)

Flowering Season

It is the first day of spring.  Perhaps you've noticed a change in the weather....
Last year I planted my first few crocuses; yesterday, the first one began to bloom.

Yesterday there was one, today there are three, all fully in bloom.  Perhaps tomorrow a purple one will pop its head out of the ground.  And this fall, I will plant more.

Spring has Returned from a Long Winter's Rest

Spring has been late in coming to our house this year -- last year at this time, blossoms had already been on the apple trees for a couple of weeks, the viburnum and lilacs were thick with blooms, and young plants were much further out of the ground.  But this week has finally brought the warmth and rain and sun needed for spring blooms and growth.  Every day (at least twice), I walk the perimeter of the house and notice new shoots that have appeared from the earth and fresh colours that have opened to the sky and new leaves that have unfurled.
Spring has returned from its long winter's rest, and it feels, smells, and looks wonderful!
(For a clearer, larger image, click on the picture.)

Violets decorating the lawn.

The ostrich fern unfurls.

Vinca blooms blue.

More fern unfurling.

A lone grape hyacinth.

A single narcissus.

A cluster of vinca.

The forsythia sunshine.

Rhubarb!

Happy May Day -- it's sure to be a glorious month!

PS -- the birds have also decided it's spring -- the catbirds are back!