Friday's Flowers 5-30-08

It's finally warm in Upstate New York!  That means that things are blooming in the gardens, and I was able to buy the plants for my deck containers.

This is a miniature iris "Flight of Butterflies" that we've had for years.  It didn't bloom!  But this winter we lost a tree next to our house, and that section of the garden gets more light.  You guessed it!

 

My deck is off the second floor of my house.  It's my private spot, and I love to container garden there.  Here are just a few that I planted yesterday.  Future weeks will show more.

African Daisy - "Vanilla Spoon"  (I had this last year in blue/purple!)

 

Dahlia

 

Yellow begonia in hanging basket.  I had just finished planting (note the dirt in the center ;-( ) and had watered. 

 

Unfortunately knitting and spinning have been on hold this week.  Maybe if it rains?

Memorial Day weekend

It was supposed to rain on Memorial Day (it didn't!), so DH and I decided to drive to a county park north of Naples, NY where the Finger Lakes Trail crosses.  It's one of our favorite hiking places, and we felt that the wild azaleas should be blooming.

As we walked from the parking lot we saw many, many trilliums.

And then we saw the azaleas!

 

 

 

 

Ontario County Park is one of the highest places in that county.  From a point called "Jump Off" you can see a long way north.

 

We hiked for over two hours, and the following are just some of the flowers and plants that we found.

It looks like a wild orchid, but isn't!

 

Nature's fractals.

 

 

 

 

It's wonderful to find examples of humor in the middle of the deep woods!

 

It was a wonderful day.  Bright blue sky and perfect temperatures in the high 60s!  We'll be back again when the blueberries are ripe!

Friday's Flowers

I found Friday's Flowers on another blog, and I love the concept!  So, I'm going to participate.

My darling husband went to the grocery store and bought me a flower:

Then I decided to "play" with a set of macro magnifying lenses that I purchased some time ago.  The flowers in our yard were willing participants!

 

 

 

 

 

... and I just loved the light coming through the Japanese Maple!

The mailman brought me new fiber

This is a mix of merino and tencel, purchased from Dyeabolical Yarns and Roving.  I bought 8 oz and have spun about 2 oz.  It spins like a dream!  I wish that the percentages of each fiber had been indicated.

The color name for this fiber is "Dance Mistress", and it's a mix of lavender, gold and green.  My only complaint is that the green sections are too long and rather overpower the other colors.  However, I haven't plied any as yet, and that could change my overall impression.