Beautiful Spring Morning

There's a light breeze blowing this morning. That means it's lovely and cool here. It also means K is most likely getting his butt kicked by the howling wind up north at Soapstone where he's mountain biking. Funny thing is, I bet he's having a grand old time. He's odd like that.

I decided the spend a few quiet moments this morning (kids are happily playing together -- well, C's pretending she's still asleep so she can get in a couple hours of undisturbed reading -- could it be that they're starting to settle in to the summertime groove? Knock wood.) taking some pictures while I walked around enjoying the outside.



I love these lilacs. They're a little redder than the average and they smell amazing but not sickeningly strong. The horse in the neighbor's pasture provides a nice backdrop, too.


Yard-long beans aka asparagus beans aka dow gauk aka delicious! I've got my fingers crossed for the survival of these beauties.


Some would say "Needs paint" others would appreciate the patina. For now, I'm in the patina camp (primarily because scraping paint isn't high on my list of summer adventures.


I know... I take a lot of pictures of this tree. I just love the shadows.


Probably the prettiest section of the perennial border right now. This will quickly fade from my memory when the roses bloom (any day now!!!).


Nice iris. At one point, I knew its variety. It looks great in my unintentionally all-purple front bed. I always forget to consider bloom time when I combine plants. Later in the season there will be pinks, whites, and yellows but for now... hello purple!

I love vines. They do so much for fences. I can't decide if this Cascade hops is my favorite or if I love the sweet autumn clematis more. They both smell amazing when in bloom and grow like weeds once they're established.

Any plans for the holiday tomorrow? We're keeping it low-key (partly because we like to and partly because, let's face it, vegetarians aren't too popular at barbecues). I know I'm making some kind of broccoli slaw (that only I'll eat) and I'm making my first loaf of No-Knead bread. Of course, I'm trying to avoid eating bread but these are the sacrifices we make for science.