Shades of blue. . . . and travel ahead!

 This will be a busy week around the cottage and garden as we'll be leaving

 early next week for that first big overseas trip since the pandemic arrived!

Thankfully, I seem to be over the food poisoning episode, a really debilitating

 two weeks, and now feel up for all the preparations required for a long

 distance flight and spending time with my much missed family and friends

 in England.

MEMORIAL DAY weekend flew by even though we did little out of the ordinary.

Still staying cautious and away from crowds with travel coming up, we enjoyed 

the garden which is lovely right now. 

There were a few surprises. 

Sitting on the porch yesterday afternoon enjoying a cup of tea, a beautiful

 large deer bounded across the lawn in the sunshine.  A baby bunny nibbled

 on our freshly mown lawn.  A chipmunk flashed by my feet when I took a

 break on the back deck, while the usual large family of squirrels were

 omnipresent under the bird feeders. Butterflies are back and quite a few

 bees, both lovely to see. Birds have hidden nests in our shrubs and I hear

 babies chirping. The 'dawn chorus' is awesome and I love opening the

 windows early to listen as the sun comes up.

I've been cutting some hydrangeas to enjoy indoors, sharing some with

 my new next door neighbors. With the intense heat we are having (it feels like

 mid-summer) and which will reach 100F on Thursday, the lovely blue flowers

 will be struggling in the sun even though we'll be watering daily.

Here's to a pleasant week ahead everyone.

Dahlia dreams -

Have you ever stood in your garden and wished you were a tall

and graceful flower?

The dahlia plants have all returned and are growing by leaps and bounds.

We have rain today and this one is opening as a bi-color bloom which I

find quite unusual. I believe it's named 'Fireworks'. The plants are already

 tall so I've staked them with bamboo canes and tied them with soft 

natural garden twine.

My mother grew beauties in her garden, the large dinner plate

versions. . . . . they were a childhood favorite.

"She is surrounded by stalks of dahlias, orange and yellow and pale

 red, with leaves so big you could write your life story on each one.  

She looks like a flower in the garden, just like her mother said."

Alice Hoffman ~ American Author 

*************

Memorial Day weekend is here and our local weather forecast looks

 good for outdoor activities and cookouts.  Do remember the real meaning

 of this holiday though.

To all my British family and friends, may the upcoming Jubilee celebration

be special.  We will miss it by a few days. . . . . .but won't miss the 

huge crowds.

This year Her Majesty The Queen became the first British Monarch to

 celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years of service to the

 people..............God Save Our Queen.

Glorious Garden Days -

First I must just say that nothing we can write will take away from the

 horrific happening in Texas this week. Our hearts are heavy with grief, 

broken from sorrow, and full of great sadness for so many families and

 friends of the departed little children, their teachers and others still

 fighting to survive their injuries. Home and school is where we always

 hoped our children would be safe. Sadly, far too many times now, we

 have come to realize there really is nowhere completely safe

 for anyone.

  This week has been another busy time in the garden, much to do before

we go overseas. I'm just sharing a few photos here after some heavy rain

early in the week followed by cloudy, cooler days which have made such

a huge difference in growth of flowering plants and shrubs.

Note the late Easter lilies are now in bloom and the gardenia's perfume is

filling the air. Clematis, rhododendron, roses, hosta, and my favorite

blue hydrangeas are blooming and adding color to all that greenery!

Yesterday we mulched the front beds. Note the new, quite large and

 heavy, stone rabbits flopped by the bird bath - recent fun gift from a friend.

The waiting empty pots will be planted up with Summer herbs when we

 return from England, just too much work to expect someone to water them

 daily if it's stifling hot whilst we're away!

My bout with food poisoning is hopefully over after 11 days!  Eating is still

 requiring care and hesitancy when deciding what to add back into my diet.

  Have to say, bland steamed white rice has become a delicacy. . . . . . . who 

would have thought that possible!

Stay well. Enjoy nature. Be grateful.