Keeping track of Irises

Forgive any weeds that you might see. The Irises are beginning to bloom.  When we moved it was in the fall. I tried to keep the different groups segregated but I didn't have any idea which colors were where. They didn't bloom last year so I'm especially excited to see them bloom this year!

These top two pictures are from the North garden just outside of the fence. I have 6 to 8 clusters of standard Irises and there were Siberian Irises in the garden too. Notice the yellow getting ready to bloom behind the rock?

There are purple and white Irises in the second grouping back on the East side.

On the North edge of the West garden the miniature Irises are getting ready to bloom.

Directly behind the mini Irises are more groupings. They are so close to blooming.

On the other side of the garden are several more clusters.  The white and purple are Irises are the Southern most grouping in the center.

Birdhouse gourds

Periodically I get requests for Bird house gourds. They can be used for many arts and crafts as well as for Bird houses.

They grow on a wild, out of control vine. Dale has banned them from the regular garden. So this year I planted them at the edge of the woods. 

If you are wondering, the picture below shows birdhouse gourds that have dried over the winter.

A pure beginning ...

I was blessed as I went out to do chores this morning and this pure white dove was in the yard in front of the barn.  A reminder that the Holy Spirit is everywhere and there to help us as we need.

Later, I went to pick rhubarb for strawberry-rhubarb muffins. I walked by the bridal wreath bush to see it in full bloom! Those tiny white flowers clustered together are so pure.

As I turned the corner I glanced across the water feature and saw a white beauty in the garden.  The first Iris bloomed! This one has always reminded me of a royal formal dress with a delicate soft white top and velure royal purple gown.

In the house, I've been working on making dad a felted heart out of the wool that he spun a few months ago.

On the other hand, it's so cold outside that I hope we don't get any rain today (it just might turn to snow.)

Where are they now?

This weekend, we moved the fence line so that the sheep and lambs could go in and out of the pasture as they wanted to.

With the small lambs they get very spooked when the larger steers and donkeys are nearby. We have two pastures. Last year we moved all the animals back and forth between the two. In other words, one pasture was always empty and growing. I'll see how this goes with half of the animals in each pasture.

I think that I will need to tie the cattle panel better. Creamer and her lamb, Bobbin manages to push their way through earlier today.

The ducks just wander wherever they please.  Dale needs to figure out where and how to create a pond for them.

Productive day

Between sprinkles I dug out the sod from the North corners of the fence.

The Concord, dark purple, grapes are in the NE corner.  There are two plants, one for each side of the fence.

I had to keep a close eye on the weather as spotty showers speckled the day.  They were never long or hard but they usually came with a heavy wind.

The Catabawa, redish-pink, grapes were planted in the NW corner.  Again there are two plants one for each fence. Eventually I would like various kinds of vines growing over the chain link fence.

Surprise!!!!!!  I found Lily of the Valley by the back garage door.  What a wonderful surprise!  Now I need to make sure this section gets weeded.

I'm back!

Sorry for the long absence!  I was reloading the apps onto my phone and I kept doing the same thing wrong over and over again!

I uninstalled it.  This evening I finally got it reinstalled and working again.