Hello again Friends.. It’s been a little while since I’ve done one of these.. ‘These’ being one of those self promotion type posts that I think you all may enjoy. As many of you know, I like to take pictures. I don’t fancy myself a photographer, just someone with a nice camera, some pricey lenses, and some expensive software. A true photographer, one that has studied all the ins and outs of it can take a picture using a magnifying glass and a coke bottle bottom as a lens and make it a work of art. I, like many others, just capture the light and try to make a picture that someone will enjoy.

Each year, I look forward to spring and early summer. Not just because it’s the end of winter but because I know what’s about to happen. I’ll have something to take pictures of. It usually isn’t finished snowing around here when these little guys pop up. Crocuses… About the size of a quarter when fully bloomed like this and they only last a few days here. In fact, a couple days after this picture was taken, we got a couple inches of slushy snow. I didn’t plant any of the stuff that grows in my yard, by the way, it was all here when I bought the house. There was a lot more but mom and sister took some of it for themselves. Mom was stealth about it (I didn’t mind them doing it) but my sister always left a hole where she dug out whatever plant she wanted.

Next in line are the Magnolia trees. At least I think that’s what they are. I wouldn’t mind these so much if they were actually in my yard but I don’t have any. This one is right next to my driveway in the neighbor’s yard. The people behind me have a large one as well. That one doesn’t get on my nerves as much as this one. These blooms last about 3 days tops. Then, they cover my driveway and car, getting in every nook and cranny. They get stuck under the windshield wipers and I don’t discover it until there is a rain storm and the wipers are smearing these petals across my windshield.

Have you ever looked at one of those fuzzy dandelions up close? They, in themselves, are forests of fuzzy plants. I assume the seeds, that get carried away by the wind but still neat to look at. Of course, these sprout year around as long as temperature allows it. Just a bit of a fun fact, this is done with a macro lens and the plant is about half an inch from the lens. Get these to catch the light just right and you can see rainbow of colors reflecting off of them.

No spring around here would be complete without the Lilacs. I showed you these back in May with my Mother’s Day post but that one wasn’t about self promotion. These too were here when I bought the house and the bush/tree is about 12 feet high. I can reach out of my 2nd floor window and pick these off of the top. Not that I do it, I just can. These were a favorite of moms and my grandmother (her mom). Growing up, early years, at grand parent’s house, there was a row of these equally high and about 20 feet long. That house has been out of the family since the early 90s and the last people who did anything with it, ripped the bushes out and they are now gone. I’m not too happy with the way they redid the house either because it no where near resembles my early childhood home and certainly not the one my mother and her siblings grew up in but I guess that’s progress. Out with the old and classic/charming and in with the new and improved.

About the same time, my Ash tree blossoms. These are clumps of tiny white flowers that will eventually turn into clumps of orange berry looking things that are about a quarter inch in diameter. I am usually not able to catch it but a real neat sight to see is that these all get pollinated at once. What almost looks like an entire hive of small bees buzzing all around this tree for a couple hours. Days that follow there are a few stragglers but that one day, you can hear the Buzz coming from this tree.

You just know I can’t go very long without showing you our favorite plant and his contribution to the back yard landscaping (no, Not that)… The Black Dogwood, as he was once dubbed.

What is his contribution? Glad you asked. He is in a constant battle with the roots of that tree and my rose bushes. This has never made any sense to me. I put the dirt back, that use to have grass, he digs it out. I never catch him doing it though. I have had dogs that would dig holes and lay in them to keep cool but this one just digs for no apparent reason. His resting spot is on the side of the house under the Lilacs bush/tree.

Now, what I call the real show begins. The Roses. These aren’t your waist high well manicured and cared for rose bushes though. In fact, I barely touch them except when I’m trying to clean up the grass around them. They typically start blooming in early June but a couple years, they’ve been completely finished by then.

They start with a typical bud and within a couple days, they are full opened except the ones in the shade. Those take a little longer. These both line the back of my driveway as well as most of the back yard fence. Some will bloom into November, mostly though, by July, they are finished. I suspect if it stayed cooler during this time they would last longer but it seems that almost as fast as they completely open, that particular flower is done. Below are a few pictures of them. I don’t think they need any further explanation except to say that in the first picture, that is a 6 foot tall privacy fence you can see in the background of the roses.

I have chosen those photos at random. You can click any one of the images and it will take you to my flickr page showing the entire set plus any that I add from here on out.

Just as the roses begin to wind down, the Lilies start to bloom. This particular picture had the background changed but the flower is as shot. I showed these on my FB page stating that mom called them Tiger Lilies at one time, someone else told me they were Day Lilies. Our DesignDiva pointed out the difference.. They are Day Lilies. These too were here when I bought the house and were a bit of a surprise when they first bloomed. At first I thought they were just giant weeds because they grow about 3 feet tall, making it nearly impossible to get a good clear picture of them. Typically, when I get out the camera to do some flower shooting, the wind picks up and has become my photo nemesis. It isn’t easy trying to outsmart mother nature. They require nearly zero maintenance on my part and just come up, every year. They only get morning light and lately here, in the morning, it’s been raining. At night, the close up until the next day. Typically they last a couple weeks and then they are gone until the next year.

That’s about it for the floral tour of my yard for now. Hope you enjoyed it. To those having a birthday today, Happy Birthday! (whatever day it happens to be when you see this).. To everyone else, just have a great day. Thinking of all my blog friends 😉

Peace, MTH.