Alone in a Field

The sun and the clouds. A slight breeze.

www.wefeelfine.org

This site is so amazing. I heard about it on NPR yesterday. You can see a collection of peoples feelings from around the world.

We Feel Fine

Leahm

This is my nephew Leahm. The first baby in the family! He will be two in late August. Blond hair, blue eyes and adorable!

Here he is at 6 months. He has his dads ears, LOL.


More current pics. This is Leahm with our dog Alex. Alex had to be put to sleep shortly after this photo. He was 17 years old. We have had him since he was 1 year old. A perfect family dog.

Tooter

My brother Chris's new baby Jack Russel Terrier, Tooter.

When In Rome

"do as the Romans do". Well, when in Michigan, you should buy a boat. So I did. It was cheap enough and perfect for the "party barge" that I intend it to be. It's a lot of space for friends to gather and float on our greatest resource here in MI. Massive lakes surround me so why not?




So she isn't the prettiest but that can be fixed. The toons are in perfect shape and the 25 ft deck is new as well. A little paint (to cover that ugly blue) and some customized features such as tiki bar, tiki torches, coconuts, well you get the picture. It will make her the best boat ever, well, that I can afford.

How much you ask? Well, there are great deals to be had right now. Boats for sale every where you look in MI. She was $750 and in case you are wondering, boats are always female. I split the cost with my brother and friend Ella so technically its our boat. We still need a motor and trailer so she isn't quite water ready yet but we have time.

Until then I gaze at her longing to be on the water with drink in hand.

Iris Time, My Favorite Time!

Not to bad of a show this spring considering how over grown they are. Soon it's dig and divide time though. Here are a few that opened up so far.

Anyone want to buy some?

beverly Sills


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Pacific Shores


Chiffon Ruffles


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Speculator


City Lights


Dance for Joy


Beverly Sills


Bubbly Mood, i think.

As promised, here are a few irises that have come into bloom this weekend.

Winter Scene

Presence

Hells Fire


A few unknowns.



Raspberry Fudge

Lilacs Past

These were in bloom last week in my mom's yard. These photos don't do them justice. The darkest one is much deeper purple than the photo shows.

The blooms are all gone now but it's worth the wait.

What Eight Months Can Do

Last summer was one of the best summers I have ever had. People were lively and there was lots of fun to be had. It seemed that every weekend brought new adventures. When I returned to MI this spring I notice something is different. A silence in the streets that was wasn't present before. The local pub is closed at 10 pm on a Saturday night. Lights out early. Houses with tall grass line the streets. In these lawns are signs. It's obvious that over the winter my home has been hit hard by the economic turmoil of our country and the auto industry. In the news, 20,000 more jobs scheduled to be cut here in MI.

It's so hard to watch this place that I love so much fall on such bad times. Even our schools are downsizing. We have lost so many children that they are going to consolidate the two grade schools and add them all to our 6 through 12 high school. Kindergarten through 12 will all be in one building! At a time like this it's absolutely necessary but heart breaking.

All I hope for is that all the people that lose their jobs can find something else and that this doesn't last much longer.

Garden Update

I haven't been a very good poster lately so I thought I would do a quick garden update. I spent last weekend in the garden with my mom. We raked up the last of last years leaves. There were so many! I can't believe what two large Oaks can do.

I did some edging and weeding. We dug up the rugosa roses that are running everywhere. That freed up tons of space for more irises.

Mom arranged the shed and all the junk behind it. That was a big task. She is a worker!

I found two morels in the garden, one was bigger than a beer can. I will post a pick of it soon.

Tulips are done but the giant alliums, gladiator, globemaster and gigantium are opening up.

My first tall bearded iris should be open by this weekend. Let the iris season begin!!! Of course, it's the season that I long for all year. Some new ones are going to bloom so I can't wait to see those!

Still much to do. I'm hoping for a good weather this weekend. I still need to prepare the veggie bed. It's almost ready.

I will be back very soon with lots of pictures, I promise!