Epimedium

First time for this to be blooming at my house!  It is called Epimedium.  I  planted this perennial last summer in a dry shady area.  I am so excited to see it blooming - so delicate.  Flowers are about 1/2" diameter.

April Sunshine!

 We've had several days of good rain and I am grateful for that.  Also for the sunshine of today.  My yard may be in the best shape it's ever been.  I have been through twice to weed and dig out iris rhizome rot.  I have fertilized at the proper time.  Today, I used Roundup on the driveway.   The power company has been here digging holes in our driveway to install conduit for the power lines that go through our property.  They have made a small mess.  Not a big one, as before.  Daffodils are in bloom nicely.  Trees beginning to leaf out.

Orchid - What's Blooming Inside

 This amazing orchid is filling my kitchen with a wonderful lily-like fragrance!  I can't believe I found it at Lowes!    The tag says it is easy to grow.  Maybe I won't kill this one - the stems are very succulent like.  I have especially enjoyed this one on those days when the spring snows are covering the daffodils!

Daffodils Blooming at My House

Easter Flashback

This is the only Easter family photo of all five of my sisters with our mother.  I suppose Dad took the picture.  Happy Easter!   I am in the back - short haircut ad glasses.

First Butterfly of 2016

I was out cleaning up iris beds last week on a very mild day and spotted this first butterfly of the year.    I am nearly finished with the yard clean up.  I overdid it and had to give myself a day off to heal up and then the weather turned unseasonably cold and wintery.  This poor creature is probably dead on account of night time temperatures dipping down into the teens. 

The Other Thing....

This is the other thing that has been distracting me from my usual routines (making art and keeping up the blog)............We had our roof replaced beginning in September.  (it took two full months to complete the roof installation due to the fact that the roof is a tile roof in Montana where few people have tile roofs - and there were many issues, setbacks, etc.)

We had many areas inside the house where water leaks damaged ceilings and walls.  Right after Thanksgiving, we moved everything out of our two living areas and brought in a worker to replace, repair and restore.  Ultimately, he stripped off all the "popcorn texture" from this ceiling (600 square feet), replaced some of the damaged sheet rock and then re-textured the whole thing.  That meant the ceiling had to be primed and painted, as well as the walls in this room and another room (my daughter Michelle and I did all the painting).  Whew!  Such a big project.  We went through two full months of drywall mud dust everywhere and no place to sit.

Here is a picture of the roofers setting up last September.

Merry Christmas 2015

 We celebrated the holiday in Central Montana. We shared a wonderful meal of prime rib and spiral sliced ham with many delicious side dishes.

 There are many great cooks in the family, including my mother who is in her mid 80's and made many kinds of homemade candies. 

Sorry my daily posts have been off for a while.  My laptop had some problems and had to be shipped back to manufacturer for warranty work.  I hoped it would be a short trip, but I was without it for two full weeks!  Happy to have connectivity in my life again.  Will get going on the blog soon!

Late Summer in my Montana Flower garden

My yard looks pretty dry and brown, except for a couple of rudbeckia struggling in the drought.  I have been away most of the summer and have not had anyone watering things for me.....the cost of travel. 

Sorry I have neglected my blog for so long.  I truly have been away for much of the past three months.  We took a very long road trip through Canada and Alaska.  It was impossible to maintain the blog while traveling in Canada and Alaska as we were in remote areas with no Internet and no downtime.  After returning home, we immediately had a window of opportunity to do a long backpacking trip with my daughter and grandson.  This was something we had been trying to do for years, but weather and other complications kept it from happening.  Again, no Internet during that time.  Right after we got back from the backpacking trip in the Beartooths, we had a week at Flathead Lake with family.  No Internet at the beach house, so again, nothing has happened with the blog.

I do try to get things posted on Facebook regularly.  If you have not already done so, and you participate in Facebook, I encourage you to friend me.  It might be a better way to follow me than the blog.

I admit I have begun to lose motivation for the blog.  It takes a lot of time to maintain at the daily pace I have kept for the past several years.  I am going to try to get back into it, but I do sometimes feel like I just keep rehashing the same old stuff.....Blog hits have fallen off significantly the past year or so and I begin to wonder if followers have just moved on.

I have kept the blog for several years as a sort of public journal, but I find that Facebook actually does the same thing, and I have a lot more followers on Facebook. 

Anyway, I am back home for a while and am going to commit to daily blogging through the end of 2015.  Stay tuned!  I have lots to share from our summer of travel and family.
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My Garden

Here is what's been going on.  I have not been in the studio.  I have been outside smelling the flowers (and pulling weeds) pretty much every available opportunity for the past several weeks.  Sorry I have neglected the blog, but here is one for today.

Charlie Russell Chew Choo, Lewistown, Montana

I recently had the pleasure of riding this historic dinner train called the Charlie Russell Chew Choo.  We boarded the train just outside Lewistown, Montana.  Our group included my husband and myself, my parents, my older sister and her husband.  Here is what it looked like as we were climbing aboard about 1 PM on a May afternoon.  We knew we would be served a multiple course prime rib dinner and there would be entertainment.  This was our first experience on the Charlie Russell Chew Choo.  Adding to the fun - a film crew from the Food Network was there filming for a segment on their channel.  I believe it will be on "Worlds Weirdest Restaurants", but I do not yet know the dates it will be showing.

Apple Blossoms

I have a very old Transparent apple tree near my house.  As an old variety, it blooms and bears apples on alternate years.  This is a blooming and bearing year.  It is also the longest we have ever had the blossoms stay on.  Often they are blown off by a big wind or something.  Lots of bees buzzing around so maybe we will have a good apple crop.

Bull Snake Crossing

Heading home recently, I had to stop about a mile from home to allow this Bull Snake to cross the road.  Bull snakes are harmless to humans and pets.  They eat mice, etc.  We see these snakes occasionally in spring.

Early Dwarf Iris in Bloom!

More Things We Picked Up Along the Yellowstone River

Daffodils

 I am so glad I planted all these daffodils last fall!  What a wonderful sight to see in early spring!

Marsh Marigold in my Fish Pond

I started this plant in my pond a few years ago.  It has never bloomed this early or this long!  Such a bright spot outside my kitchen window!

Christmas - Family Traditon - Sushi!

It has been a long family tradition to gather for on Christmas Eve at my house and dine on sushi that we make together. 

Road Trip.....

Joe and I decided to embark on an autumn road trip.  We headed North and made it as far as St. Ignatius before we ran into a little snag.  Just 1.5 miles from town, we could not get the spare to release from under the car (we Googled this apparently common problem).  Joe had to walk into town to purchase a portable air pump so we could pump the tire up just enough to get into town, where we made it just 30 minutes before the tire shop was scheduled to close.  Whew!  We made it to Whitefish, MT in time for the delicious dinner my sister, Jackie prepared. 

After School Boating

 

Last week we had grandson Airus with us while his mom spent the week in Portland in a class.

The weather was super warm (86 on this day), so we headed for Cooney Reservoir after picking him up from school.  We enjoyed a few hours on the water before heading back home.

The view from the boat ramp.