It's Iris time!

It's Iris time here in Virginia and as you can see from last week's photo they are all blooming their little hearts out.  Too bad they only last for a little while because they are so beautiful.  Do you have Irises where you are?

By the way the hubby is back at work from his long recovery from his post Christmas fall off a ladder.  No more ladders for him.

Hopefully will be more normal around here without all the bandages, ice packs, therapy and Doctors!

In like a lion

Well, it's the beginning of March and true to it's word In came in like a lion. Unbelievable as it seems yesterday was in the 60's and today its barely 20 degrees and snowing.  To think I went out yesterday with just a thin cotton shirt on!

And I don't need to mention that the supermarkets looked liked they had been looted again.  Now I'm just wondering when it's all over, how I will get down the hill by my house that they never, ever plow!

Not complaining though...I still love snow.  Enjoy these photos and take a snow day...

Thank goodness Crystal thinks about feeding us in all this snowy weather!

But when?  Little geranium asks, Is it going to be my turn?

What is your favorite Christmas ornament...and why?

Every year I have two large Christmas trees that are full of ornaments to the tipping point. They are treasures that I have collected through the years.  Some are store bought, some home made and some just quirky.  I love them all and this December I will highlight many of them one at a time and reveal their history and meaning. 

One of my favorite ornaments didn't start out as one.  In fact it had a bit different use. Except for its first year, it has been on one of my trees for each and every Christmas for many, many years.  To what can I be referring? 

My daughter's first Christmas baby sock is one of favorite ornaments.  She was born in October (quite a few years ago now) and on her first Christmas I dressed her in red and white and put on some candy cane striped socks.  I don't know what happened to its mate but as an orphan it commands a place of honor on the tree. You can usually find the Christmas sock (washed of course) next to the baby's first Christmas ornament ball. 

What are some of your favorite ornaments? 

Abcdefghi…we come to J. J is for jonquil

 Gee, this ABC book is getting harder.  Hmmm what could J be for?  How about Jonquil? Well, I’ve always heard that some people call a certain yellow flower a daffodil while others call it a Jonquil.  Still others insist it is a narcissus.  So what is the difference?

 “In some parts of the country any yellow daffodil is called a jonquil, usually incorrectly. As a rule, but not always, jonquil species and hybrids are characterized by several yellow flowers, strong scent, and rounded foliage. The hybrids are confined to Division 7 and the term "jonquil" should be applied only to daffodils in Division 7 or species in Division 13 known to belong to the jonquil group.”

Source: American daffodil society

The name Narcissus comes from the Greek myth.  It seems that Narcissus was a very handsome and vain hunter. Echo, a nymph, fell hopelessly in love with him.  He wasn’t interested, however, and instead looked into a pond where he fell in love with his own reflection.  Eventually he died and in his place was a beautiful flower—a Narcissus.

So what is it, jonquil, daffodil or narcissus? It's an apples and oranges conundrum it seems.

You can decide, but in my ABC book J is for Jonquil-- whatever it is.

A, B, C, and now D…

And so we come upon the letter D…hmmm

Dandelion you say?  Why in the world would I include a weed in my ABC book? 

Well, it’s like this, ask any kid what is one of the most fun things to do during summer and they may tell you that blowing on a dandelion puff is right up there with catching fireflies (or as we called them when we were kids, Lightening bugs) 

Besides the fun factor, there is also a nutritional plus with dandelions. Yes, you can eat the leaves and the flowers too!  Although I have never tried them, I have heard that they are tasty. It is good to know that if I had to-- there is something right in my front yard (that I can easily identify) and eat.

So I I’m sure you can guess that I will never use weed killer of any kind on my lawn.  It may never be golf course perfect but it is green and green is good. 

Recipe for cooking dandelion greens

ABC book continues…B isfor

ABC book continues…B isfor

B is for Bamboo

I love nature. I just couldn’t begin to name all the plants I adore.  On the other hand the list of those, I’m not too crazy about is a bit shorter.  It contains ones like poison ivy and oak, and maybe the thorns on blackberry vines and roses, but at the top of the list sits the seemingly unimpressive Bamboo. Why you ask?

First of all bamboo grows at an alarming rate, yes, science fiction movie speed.  I swear it grows two feet every day until it reaches heights of 50 feet.  Who needs magic beans when bamboo is around?  Trying to reign in this science experiment of the plant world is an exercise in futility.  In fact my husband just spent his entire vacation in an effort to tame the forest. 

A few hours growth!

No-- we didn’t plant it, a neighbor behind our property made that mistake. You see bamboo sends out underground shoots that laugh at fences.  If you don’t have a pet panda, planting bamboo will be a huge bamboo-boo. Unless of course, you are starting a business making bamboo furniture, fishing poles or plant stakes, all of which are great uses for the stuff.  So there’s the positive, however, I’m not planning that sort of thing so I guess I will just continue to try and contain the stuff as best I can.