A World of Wonderful Webs

I love spider webs. I love the way they spin a magical, beautiful web. It's fun to photograph them, too! Here are some of my better shots.

This is in the front yard, around the pine trees

These are from the same time period, but might not be the same webs.

Isn't this cute? This one was attached to the ornamental flower tree, and there must be mist or sunlight shining on it so it's easy to see.

I was lucky to get this neat shot! Morning dew made this web visible, on the bushes in the front walk.

different web, same bush, same day. I wonder what kind of spider made it?

I have lots more webs with the spiders, but those pictures aren't loaded into the computer yet! So I'll save those for another day!

What Garden?

  It's a little bit ironic that I started a blog about my yard and garden, and then for the first time in years, my garden didn't happen!!  There are many reasons for this: cool, rainy weather for most of spring, and not getting the space ready in time. Lack of time to get the job done is also a factor, though I hate to use it as an excuse.

  Still, there may be time to put a few basil plants in pots, my my motivation level is pretty low right now. The fact is, I let the yard get away from me. The trick is to keep up with it before it gets out of hand. I didn't, so now the yard is overgrown. 

   One good thing about procrastinating is that the prices go way down on the plants! And they've been growing, so you don't have to wait as long. I haven't even been to the Garden Center this spring. Maybe this weekend. I have a long window box size pot I bought last year that I can place in the sun, so that's not too much of a challenge.

   Another reason we have yet to reclaim the garden I mentioned before that has walnut and apple trees in it: In the thirteen years since I "temporarily" put them there, there's a lot more shade than there used to be. The ewe tree has grown tower tall, and there's two other trees we'd likely have to remove if we want the garden to have adequate light. It's a good thought, but on the other hand, the shade the trees provide keeps things cooler in the summer, and that's important too. And taking trees down isn't a small job. Easy to see why it's been put off for so long.

   So what else has been happening in my yard? Lots of critters! Not so many the past couple of weeks, since I ran out of birdseed. But there was an adorable chipmunk coming around daily, that I managed to get a few pictures of. I think he was raiding the bird feeders, since the seed level was going down so fast, and he was getting fat!

There was

another interesting bird in the pussy willow tree, not sure what it was, but he was bright red. Maybe some type of finch?

Then, I finally saw my goldfinches! Just one day, the bright male was on the other side of the driveway. He stayed long enough for me to get a nice video and some decent pictures. A few minutes later, his female companion came along, and they flew away together! I didn't get any pictures of her. I ran out of the nijer seed too. It's expensive, but I'd love to have a feeder full of goldfinches in my yard someday.

I could go on, but I'll save some for my next post!

Until then, enjoy the summer!

There's Nothing Like the Smell of May!

  As I've already stated in my other blog, "Life Is What You Make it", May is my favorite month. I just love watching the flowers bloom, especially flowering trees, and the lilacs. It's great to be able to go outside and be hit in the nose with real perfume!

  We had rainy weather the past three days, and between that and the wind, it spelled the end of the petals on my flowering tree (ornamental apple?) I'm not sure what is is, but the flowers are pink and white. Later they'll be green berries. The pear tree is dying, but there were quite a few blooms on it as well.

   My lilacs are in bloom now, but don't seem to smell as much as they used to. I didn't prune it the last two seasons, and now it's getting too tall and only flowering at the top. When it's done, I'm going to have to prune it back to get it bushy again, and spur new growth.

  But getting back to my yard, and what I accomplished this week, it's slow and steady.  I have five barrels to fill each week, but if I want to really put a dent in what needs to be done, I'll have to tie up bundles of branches, and use the popular brown paper lawn bags. 

     The back yard is going to take a month to clean up! Oak leaves, dead branches, saplings, you name it. The back yard isn't the ideal place to hang out anymore, but I still want to get it cleaned up. The last few years it's been out of sight, out of mind.

     I did manage to fill up my five barrels yesterday, by picking up leaves and rotted wisteria vines in the front hedges. I also picked up lots of leaves in front of the white wall leading into the front yard.

    I took lots of pictures, so I'll leave you with some shots of the flowering trees. Have a nice week!

Here's the pear tree

These flowers smell REALLY good, whatever they are. 

This is a violet that grew out of a crack in the stone wall. Those dark things are sunflower seeds! The bird feeder is broken-I need a new one!

Here's another angle on the flower tree-finally some branches drooping down low enough so I can sniff them directly!

Here's another shot of the pear tree, with some dead branches mixed in

No wonder my sinus allergies have been bad!

The squirrels did a number of the feeder, but I'm getting a new one soon.

Welcome to Karin's Yard and Garden 2013!

     I thought it was time to create a new blog, this one will record all the progress made in my yard and garden in this season of 2013. 

      Hopefully, this will help me get more done, and faster. Join me as I attempt to beautify my outdoor space, and grow delicious vegetables!

     As of right now, the yard is a disaster area. I've already raked and picked up about 15-20 barrels full of leaves and branches, but I still have a lot to do!

    The mini daffodils I planted last fall started to sprout, but only one of them actually bloomed. Not sure if I planted them too deep, or if the lack of rain prevented them from growing.

     I have lots of goals, and who knows? Maybe this will finally be the year I fix up the ornamental pool with waterfall. It's been dormant for decades, and I'd love to see it in action again, with lily pads and fish swimming around. Not sure how much it would cost to get it back in working order.

     Other fun things I'd like to do include making my own birdbath with mosaic tiles, and add some nice chairs and table with a huge umbrella. I still want a rain barrel, and some type of composter. It would be nice to have an archway with lovely heavenly blue morning glory flowers. 

     The way I want my yard to look and how it turns out are usually two different things, but I'm going to try harder. Cleaning up this yard is a full time job, and as I age, I understand why people hire landscapers. I've always wanted to do everything myself, and wouldn't want the expense of paying for yard work. But it sure would make it easier to have help with the big stuff. There are trees that need to be cut down, some that need trimming. 

     I got rid of a lot of poison ivy, and naturally caught the rash even though I was careful. There are lots of thorny bushes that need digging up, and the gardens have to be turned over. Backbreaking work. But I'll do the best I can! I'll try to post at least weekly, so anyone interested can go along for the ride!