It’s Memorial Day holiday weekend here in the USA. True to typical weather patterns at the end of May in WI, we’ll be having rain on and off throughout the weekend. I was able to get my flower seeds planted just in time. Hopefully, the rain will be gentle and soaking and they’ll survive to bloom later this summer.
Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.
Rumi
Did you notice in the feature photo that Tom the turkey has a patriotic colored head? He’s been strutting his stuff around our yard a lot this week.
It’s about to rain as I type this post. Maybe there will be more double rainbows to enjoy in between the rain and the glimpses of sunshine. I feel as though I’ve struck gold just staying close to home.
The good thing about rain at this time of the year is the early summer flowers love it.
Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul.
Luther Burbank
Our yard only has a few flowers ready to burst and shine in their glory.
There are the bleeding hearts.
And the irises are in their let’s pause before we take a peek mode.
Oops, I moved while trying to capture a still shot of them.
Then I steadied myself to focus on just the buds.
I look forward to the bearded irises in full bloom. They’re so resilient. I’ve had them as a staple in our gardens for 30+ years. Every summer they’re able to grow through the weeds and bloom.
If you tend to a flower, it will bloom, no matter how many weeds surround it.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Soon…they’ll all burst open at the same time!
The chives survive the winters too.
Delicate baby-like purple onions peel away thin layers as they bloom.
The blossoms squeeze their way free.
Every year, I wonder, should I pick some blossoms to use for garnishes or to make some flavored oil? I’ve yet to do so, I just like to let them grow. The bees like my lack of efforts to harvest them.
The deer leave all of the above flowers alone to grow and thrive. Maybe the neighbor’s yard has better pickings?
Same with the bunnies and birds. Even the turkeys move on past them. This dynamic trio of two hens and a Tom (the periscope in the field) have discovered the birdseed under our bird feeder. Along with the yard being 3 years free of doggie smells, they only run away when I chase them. We mostly just watch them and take lots of photos…😏
When in doubt, make no sense. No sense is good. And nonsense is good.
Genesis P-Orridge
Well, my fellow blogging buddy dears, it’s time for me to move on and figure out what kind of projects I can get done inside the house while it rains!
I’d be remiss if I didn’t leave you with a favorite quote for the Memorial Day weekend. 62 years later and the dream of peace still resonates, doesn’t it? Thank you to all who served and died for the freedoms we enjoy.
Americans may not only pay tribute to our honored dead but also unite in prayer for success in our search for a just and lasting peace.
John F. Kennedy, “Prayer for Peace,” Memorial Day 1962.
Post Inspiration – Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “move.” Use it as a verb or a noun; write the first thing that comes to mind. Have fun! And Sofia for Lens-Artists #301 – Floral where she encourages us to look closer at how we take photos of flowers.
Beautiful photos, Shelley. Your spring is a bit behind ours, but it’s nice to see the blossoms again. I’m glad you leave them out there, although it’s tempting to pick some. Also glad you let the turkeys have some of the snacks.
Thanks for adding the quote. We definitely need to remember and say a few prayers.
Thank you, Dan, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and the quote. Yeah, we’re a bit behind for Spring. This week we’re having chilly temps to slow growth down again. The turkeys have claimed our yard and the flock keeps growing. It’s been entertaining to watch.
Happy Memorial Day to you, I hope you have a great week!
Your yard looks much like mine. I love May! We planted the seeds for our wildflower and zinnia gardens yesterday. We’re hoping for a little rain now…not a gully washer…but a little rain to get those seeds to germinate. Love your bleeding heart. I have one too, it’s been with me almost 30 years. My favorite in the spring.
I love May too! It’s so fun to see green instead of white and dull browns. Our rain has been gentle and steady, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the seeds will survive my random acts of planting them. My bleeding heart has had its struggles this year, it’s coming back though and new sprouts are starting. It’s always so fun to see the first blossoms. Mine is only 12 years old – it was one of the plants in the flower arrangement my cousin gave me when my mom passed away. I treasure it so I’m glad to hear they are a long-lasting plant!
PS – it was so fun to see Penny’s post and all the yellow flowers and the family photo! Yay for spring and adventures!
Wonderful flower pics, Shelley! Have a fun holiday. 😊
Thank you, John! I hope you have a fun holiday preparing for your trip to MI! Rest a lot so you’re ready for all the work. Stay cool – your week ahead looks might HOT!
Yes, starting Tuesday the daily high will be just over 100 degrees. Normal weather here!
That is SO hot…good thing it’s less humid there! 🔥🥵🌵
Yes, just 13% at the moment. 😂🔥
Wow! It’s only 46 degrees here this morning!
That’s cold! 🥶
Yes, it is, and it’s only 47 this morning too! It might get up in the mid-70s today. 😂
Beautiful flower photos, and I love the quote. Always hopeful, grateful and praying for God to bless are great country.
Thank you, Lisa. Well said 🙏🏻🤗💗
I’m glad the critters leave your flowers alone! It’d be a really bad day to come out & see them chewed up. I’m looking forward to your photos of the irises. They look like they might be purple?
Yes, I’m glad they’re leaving these flowers alone. I’m not so sure they’ll be kind to the annuals I’ve planted, we’ll have to wait and see.
I saw one iris open up yesterday so soon I’ll be able to get some more photos. They have a slight purple in them but they’re a rust color. Not like the rust ones you shared. I used to have one yellow one, not sure if it’ll survive this year or not.
You know I love that bleeding heart! ❤️ Once in a while I miss our gardens. But I found a farm near us that has a little flower stand with a cooler and a metal cash box. She makes up bouquets from whatever is blooming that week and sets them out for $12. I was thrilled to find it.
Enjoy the weekend!
Hi Laurel! Yes, I remember your love of bleeding hearts and your gardens. That’s so awesome that you’ve found a place to get fresh flowers from. That’s a deal of a price too. The photo you shared on IG made me smile – I hope the bouquet blooms for a long time.
Thank you – I hope you have a great weekend too!
Quite a lovely scene Shelley. I am glad that the surrounding nature enjoys your efforts as well.
Looks like WP has stolen your feature photo of good old Tom turkey head 🙄 Or my computer just didn’t want me to see it
Thank you, Brian, I’m glad you enjoyed the scene. The turkeys have been a hoot to watch – they circle and circle and circle the yard.
That’s odd – did you go directly to my blog? I see it when I do that, it doesn’t show in Reader, I’m guessing. You’d be impressed with Tom, he’s quite the performer!
As I read your post Shelley, torrential rain has been coming down for about an hour. We were to have two bouts of severe weather this evening. The first was a lot of rumbling, but the worst is yet to come, but thankfully nothing tornadic, just rain and rumbling.
Very cool double rainbows – yes, you have struck gold. I’m still waiting on that elusive rainbow that a fellow blogger challenged me to find. So far all I could find was the chalk rainbow.
I like your bleeding hearts. I planted multiple bleeding heart plants together as my mom liked them and the bunny got them. I was a dumb bunny and decided to try again the following year, but the furry bunny got them, so now I take pics of them at Memorial Park or the Botanical Gardens. My bleeding heart pics in today’s post are from the Botanical Gardens.
That’s great you got the picture of the deer going over to the neighbor’s garden. I like the purple onions – unusual and I’ve not seen them before.
That is a nice prayer for peace quote by JFK – if only it could happen.
Oh, dear, torrential rain again. I’m glad the storm didn’t include tornadoes!
That rainbow was cool to see – it was huge and we walked in the rain under it until the rain became too hard we turned around and went home. It felt kind of cool to be walking under it though. I hope there is a gentle rain someday so you get to see a rainbow to capture in a photo.
I remember you telling me about your bleeding hearts and that the rabbits ate them. I haven’t seen our scoundrels eating them – maybe it’s because they prefer the tiger lilies that will not bloom this year, they’ve been munched back down to the ground. 🤔🤨
I took a bunch of photos of that silly deer. She was wise enough to stop to let a car go by before crossing the road.
I’m surprised at how resilient the chives are and how they keep growing all summer long. Not with flowers, but I suspect if I trimmed them, they might. 🤔
Yes, I agree, if only JFK’s wish could happen…what a wonderful thing that would be!
We had that torrential rain last night and this morning and when it stopped, I went to the door to look for a rainbow, but nothing. I’ll keep trying.
The bleeding hearts, irises and tulips at Memorial Park (next block over from me) thrive, with no regular waterings, fertilizer, TLC, etc. I saw one elderly volunteer gardener digging and that was all. I have to figure there are bunnies over there – maybe only “residential bunnies” are “munching bunnies”.
The chives are pretty – I’d never seen them before now.
That deer was smarter than some, who get scared and bolt across the street and lose their life.
If only … well, it’s wishful thinking that JFK’s wish could happen.
Yikes, more torrential rain! I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you’ll see a rainbow one of the storms this summer. The one I shared occurred at sunrise as the gentle morning rain fell. We walked in the rain and under the rainbow. It’s kind of fascinating.
Those three flowers seem to be resilient here. Except for tulips – they seem to be tasty to the voles underground during the winter.
I’ve seen the ornamental chives that are bigger than these decorating streets. Downtown Chicago had them when our daughter was living there.
We have those not so smart deer too. Yesterday we saw two yearlings that crossed the road – thankfully there wasn’t any traffic at the time.
Yes, I agree…if only!
It would be a little surreal to walk under a rainbow wouldn’t it? We had a torrential rain again and were supposed to have storms – we had a big crack of thunder and some rain, but we’re getting another storm this evening, with more torrential rain and again tomorrow morning. I’m thinking if I go out Thursday and Friday as planned (seize the day – sunshine), it might be soggy and puddley on the pathways, so I’ll aim for venues where I think/know doesn’t flood.
The chives return every year? You planted bulbs for them I’m guessing as I know your new seeds did not sprout already.
Thankfully the yearlings crossed the road safely!
That’s so much rain!! We had rain on/off all day yesterday. It held off so we could walk in the early morning and believe it or not, we had another double rainbow following the 6 pm rainstorm.
Yes – go when you can seize the sunshine and dry pathways!
Yes, the chives are perennials. My brother had a ton of them growing in his garden years ago and he gave me one of the plants and I stuck it there in the garden and it has come back every year all on its own.
I agree, we would’ve been so sad to see them get hit. That section of the road is notorious for animals crossing when they shouldn’t and not making it. 😢
I forgot to look outside for a rainbow today. Weatherman said a little rain by mid-morning, so I decided to do another day of decluttering. No mention of storms and high winds, so I was feeling good about going tomorrow. But around 3:00 p.m., it started rumbling and it got very dark (sensor light came on which always means a bad storm or solar eclipse), then torrential rain. So I don’t know. It wlil be beautiful though and cooler so a shame, but I think a big venue with trails will likely be flooded, even on the asphalt, so I’ll just stay local.
You should get more of the chives if the bunnies haven’t eaten them.
I stay clear of Lake Erie Metropark in November … rutting season and deer running into the street left and right … bad for them and bad for us. Friend of my boss had an SUV and a big buck crashed into his front windshield. Totaled the car – they were fine though. His head with the antlers were laying on the console.
Good thing you stayed home to declutter! Yikes, more rain. You’re right, the pathways would be covered in water with all that rain.
The chives do keep spreading a bit each year. I should look up if they deter rabbits of if they just don’t like to eat them.
It’s wise to stay clear when the deer are running. They can be very unpredictable! So sad about the buck crash. Thankfully they were okay – we’ve had car crashes happen near us when the cars hit deer. In WI we’d ask, “So did they mount the antlers as a conversation piece to hang in their house?” 🤔
Unbelievably it was so pretty today, I decided to take a chance and stay on the asphalt or cement paths and no flooding – yay! I knew any rustic trail would be dicey. I had a great time and saw one of my bucket list birds, a male Wood Duck. No fawn or colt, but a pair of Ospreys in the nest, so that was fun.
I just Googled about chives and rabbits … so go to town and plant them everywhere because:
“Chives and other alliums (such as onions), sage, yarrow, and catmint are just as distasteful to rabbits as they are to deer. Like deer, they don’t care for strongly scented herbs.”
Yes, I can imagine people would do that just as if they were a prize from hunting. We had a client that liked to hunt and went all over the world in search of trophy big game heads. My boss didn’t know that about him until he went to his office once and in the client’s personal office, he had heads mounted all over the entire office walls.
That’s awesome news that you had a beautiful day and saw a bucket-list bird too! YIPPEE!
That’s very good news about the chives…I need to research when is the best time to split them up and spread the love around the yard!
I grew up with mounted trophies on the walls in our house. Fish and deer and I learned how to do taxidermy when I was in junior high. A hobby I didn’t ever take on, but my dad was glad I took an interest in his hobbies at the time.
Very exciting Shelley. I hope you do that with the chives. I thought of you today as I went to Memorial Park when I got home to see if any butterflies were there yet – not a one unfortunately.
That is interesting that you learned how to do taxidermy. Our client went big game in Africa and took pictures of each of the animals and e-mailed them to my boss.
As I’m watching the critters and the birds investigate the gardens for new sprouts, I’m more convinced I need to spread the chives around! Aw, bummer you didn’t see any butterflies.
Big game from Africa would make for great photos. I’m sure your boss was impressed.
Yes, they are pretty – do they keep the color all Summer Shelley? If so, go for it.
When the client send the photos, it was before my boss used e-mail and before he got his Blackberry, so this has to be before we moved, so more than 20 years ago. So, it was me who opened the e-mail and had to see it – pretty gory sights to be honest. Then I always printed off business e-mails for the file – I said “let’s not print Carey’s pics” and he said “just delete them, I’m not interested.” Hmm.
I think they would keep blooming if I trimmed them, but I’ve never tried to do that. Hmm…maybe I should try half of the plant and see what happens.
Oh, dear, you’re right, those photos do not sound like good ones to see.
You should plant some in a corner and kind of play with them – if it messes them up, you have not destroyed the “stars” of the garden. I liked how they look.
No, they were horrible … kind of distasteful actually. I understand the thrill of the hunt, though it is not something you or I embrace, but I don’t think that was appropriate posing with a bloody carcass.
I looked at the chives yesterday – they are in full bloom so I need to act fast or plan the move later. Hmm… 🤔
Yeah, that’s not the kind of photos I was imagining. Wild Kingdom like of them in their natural settings are more enjoyable to see.
I hope you can divide and move them – no critters munching on them is good!
I would prefer a Wild Kingdom type of encounter and photo too. 🙂
It’s been raining and I’ve been considering doing so…I just need to make sure I have space for them and now my seedlings are taking off so not sure where I’d plant them. I may need to wait until fall or early next year?
Good job on the seedlings … we’re getting a “cool” spell after this severe weather goes through tomorrow. I hope a cool spell for you doesn’t mean you have to cover them. Probably best to mess with them in the Fall since they are perennials/bulbs.
Yes – and we had heavy rain and all of the seedlings survived!! Now they just have to survive the growing phase without the scoundrels eating them. We had HOT weather just in time for our A/C unit to go out. It was fixed at the peak of the heat. Yippee.
That’s what I was thinking too…I’ll wait for the fall to split and move the chives.
You’re lucky the seedlings didn’t get washed away if it was anything like our rain today – yikes! Too bad you don’t have some glass bottles to put over them til they get taller for a hothouse effect. That’s what I did the year I planted the sunflower seeds. Several seeds, some got eaten when they got taller, but one seed took, got bigger than the neighbor behind’s garage.
Interesting…I hadn’t thought of putting anything over the seedlings. I may need to try that sometime… I checked on all of the seedlings last night before the next storm arrived. I didn’t space them well when I planted the seeds so they’re clumped up and hanging on together. They’ll have quite the challenge growing when so crowded. 😏🤔😆
It will be survival of the fittest!
YES!!
Your florals are so beautiful, Shelley! I really like the oops shot of the irises where you capture the fence–which to me look like flowers blooming! We had overcast so far, and a bit chilly temps, but fairly average for the Spokane area. Happy Memorial Day weekend.
PS, I got my sunflower garden shoes! They are amazing, thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Terri – thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and appreciated the oops shot too!
Aw…Memorial Day weather is always a gamble! I hope the sun shines some for you! Happy Memorial Day to you too!
YAY – I’m so happy to read that your garden shoes worked out!! I love that you picked the sunflower pattern 🥰😍🌻!!
Lovely iris buds, Shelley and gorgeous photos. Mine don’t seem to me as resilient, just very moody (they show up when they want). I do the same with my chives, I just let them do their own thing and they are spreading, slowly. Such a lovely flower and bees love them too.
Hi Sofia! I found your comment in my Spam folder, sorry for the delay in doing so! WP is so wonky.
Thank you for your feedback and for hosting the fun challenge. I have a few garden beds with the irises and oddly, the one with the most weeds is the one to bloom first every year. The chives have become the first flowers of my garden to take off each year. They are a fav of the bees when they can’t find the dandelions. 😂
I like your photos, although you don’t look too springy yet. The quote at the end says it all. Memorial Day is often overlooked around here, which gives me pause. Hope you had a good one.
Hi Ally, thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. Yeah, we’re slow with spring this year. I waited until the catalpa tree leaves started to open before planting any seeds so it’ll be a bit before I have fun colors to admire.
Yes, it is sad to see the lack of recognition of Memorial Day. We had a nice, quiet and reflective day with some sunshine and some rain and we hung a new flag on our flag pole. I hope you had a good one too.
Shelley, besides all the beautiful flowers you shared, you also picked great quotes. I especially liked Rumi’s quote.
Hi Egidio, thank you for your feedback! I so enjoyed your take on the prompt – it was so inspiring to see how you played with different angles and the variety of spring flowers you get to see in Texas made me smile too! Well done!
Beautiful pictures and your words make them even more beautiful. Memorial Day is a much needed reminder of why we have freedom to even celebrate it. +
Hi Betty – thank you so much for stopping by to share your thoughts. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and the reminder about Memorial Day. I hope you enjoyed the day remembering the fallen and the gifts their sacrifices gave us all.
Love these photos – especially the ‘eyes’ in the fence! Linda 🙂
Hi Linda, thank you for stopping by! I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and appreciated my oops one – I agree, it does look like eyes. 👀 😉
Beautiful post Shelley – loved the flowers and the rainbow. Especially loved the Kennedy quote which I’d forgotten. It’s perfect!
Hi Tina, thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Yes, that quote is a good one to treasure and remember. 🥰🤗
Lovely flowers and lovely quotes, Shelley!
Thank you, Ann-Christine! My flowers are lovely, but nothing compared to the Wisteria Tunnels!! WOW – I’m still in awe of your post about the moments you witnessed walking by the Wisterias!!
Beautiful! I love the bleeding hearts photos. Superb.
Thank you, John, I’m glad you enjoyed the post! I enjoyed your take on the prompt too.
The bleeding hearts are awesome, I have always loved those, but the peekaboo shot of the fence was a great add. Such creativity, Shelley. I have just learned irises will grown in our desert, usually in April, so I am experimenting. Also loved your selection of quotes. Rumi never disappoints….. Happy weekend.
Thank you for your words of encouragement, Donna – I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and quotes and the post. That’s cool that the irises will grow in the desert too. I hope we get to see them in appearances on your blog. 😉 Happy weekend to you too – I’m looking forward to seeing your prompt for 6/8/2024! See you again soon.