We are sad right now and very tired. Mom died last night and is at home with her Lord. There is much to do.
I'll post again when time allows. The funeral is Saturday.

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We had garden club today. We always meet at noon for our meetings and have a pot luck luncheon. I brought lemon squares, a recipe I found a few days ago and had as my find of the day. I haven't made them until now because I knew I'd be eating way too many if I made them just for us. They were delicious! If you like lemon and like to cook and missed the find of the day with the recipe, you might want to make them. They are so easy and use things you probably keep around all the time -- flour, butter, sugar, powdered sugar, eggs and lemons.

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Find of the Day: Smart Parrot

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Soft Cover is the name of the iris below. The next picture is my patio Clematis. It has done great this year.

The northeast corner of my backyard garden is alive with color right now -- with poppies, larkspur, and coreopsis. An orange poppy is next in front of white Love in a Mist.

I was so happy when the iris below bloomed today because I didn't think it had made it. Diamond Ring is its name. Ornamental Focus is the Daylily in the last picture. It is one of those rare daylilies that had a great bloom season in spring and fall.

It was very hot today -- in the high nineties. That is just way too hot for May. I worked out most of the morning, before it got too warm. Pulling weeds mostly. There are lots of them. Taking care of our puppy, Rosy Joy, has sure cut into my garden time. She's worth it, though.

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Find of the Day: Plantage -- Strange and Wonderful

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Chris, Gill, and I went to Will Rogers Park today and had a great time. There were lots of wonderful flowers, but we also spent a lot of time following a mother mallard and six babies around and watching an egret fish. Click any image to see a larger size.


   

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Find of the Day: 20 Cool Clouds

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Conjuration is the name of the bearded iris below. It has its first bloom on it today. After the decimation of my irises last year with a bacterial rot, I didn't know what survived and what didn't. I'm so glad this is one that made it. I love it.

I posted one picture yesterday of the tropical amaryllis that is blooming now, but this one shows all eight blooms from the one bulb.

I've also posted pictures of the Nearly Wild Rose. I'm really loving it.

We took Rosie Joy to our vet this morning for the first time. He checked her over and declared her healthy in every way that he could tell. She got two shots and wasn't too happy about that. She hasn't felt too chipper today but I think that is just natural after shots -- for a puppy especially.

Rosie chewed up a fireplace match tonight while we weren't looking. We found it in pieces, so I don't think she ate too much of it.. I hope she didn't ingest any pieces big enough to cause a problem. If I could change one thing about Rosie, it would be her inclination to eat anything and everything. It's a worry. She has oodles of toys to chew, but she doesn't limit herself to those.

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Find of the Day: Overcome Grumpiness

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It was a perfectly beautiful day and I worked outside all morning in the garden with Rosie Joy watching me outside in her play pen -- complaining a lot . We are calling it a puppy jail, and I can't really say that she likes it at all. I have hopes that she will get used to it because I was able to get a lot done in the garden with her safely restrained. It has been very difficult to work in the garden since we got the puppy. We can't leave her unattended inside or out because of her penchant for eating everything.

The white iris above is named Holy Fire. I love white irises and the red hot beard makes this one very special.

My tropical amaryllis came back again this year -- better than ever. It doesn't seem to know that Oklahoma is not tropical. I'm sure the sheltered location right next to the house is helping it survive the winters. The iris after it is Bel Esprit.

Someone asked for a long shot of the garden, so this will have to suffice. A patio clematis is next. 

The bi-colored iris above is named Shah Jehan, and the next one is Sky Hooks.

Gaura is in the next shot in front of a Knockout rose. Love in the mist is the last picture. Click any of the pictures to see them larger.

Rosie goes to the vet tomorrow morning for her booster shot. She had her first puppy shot before she came to live with us. This will be the first time our vet sees her, so he'll check her over good.

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Find of the Day: FireFox Cheat Sheet
Another: 60 Fun Things to Do for Little or No Money

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I hope all you moms out there have a great Mothers Day -- and the rest of you have a great day, too.

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Find of the Day: A lovely analogy

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I'm happy to report that Rosie Joy is doing well. She is eating good,
growing, having lots of fun, and also doing much better with her house
training. That's a real biggie. Also, on the few occasions she has to go into her kennel when we
have to be gone for a while or when we can't watch her for a short
period, she settles down quickly with a minimum of crying. She still
wants to put everything in her mouth, so we can't let her have
free reign of the house yet. I have hopes that she will gradually quit tasting EVERYTHING. Grown dogs sometimes eat odd things, but I think it is
mostly a puppy thing.

We bought a sort of play pen
for her so she can be close to me when I'm out in the garden without
the danger of her eating everything in sight -- like mulch and dirt,
two of her favorite things to grab. I had it ordered for over a week, but it just came in today. I'll try it out tomorrow morning to
see how she likes it.

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Find of the Day: 40 tips for a better life

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An unusual Dutch Iris is the first photo and a white peony is second... the first bloom on the bush I planted as bare roots four years ago.

A red peony is above and then the lance leaf coreopsis which is finally beginning to bloom.
 
Annie's rose is the first rose pictured -- a pet name for the rose we planted on Annie's grave. It has the most wonderful scent ever. Nearly Wild is the last rose.

My gaura is just beginning to blossom. The bearded iris is named Lady Friend.

Heart Beat Away is the iris above and the last flower picture is more Dutch Iris.

Of course, the last picture is Rosie Joy again playing with one of her favorite chew toys.
I believe that she is making progress toward being house trained. It is slow progress, but at least we are making some headway.  

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Find of the Day: Walrus Performing

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It is often difficult to get a good picture of Rosie Joy. She doesn't mind the flash, but she won't sit still for long, so when Chris was over tonight I held the puppy still and Chris took some shots.

I've often heard it said that poodles are "one person dogs" and I don't know if that is totally true, but just like the other poodles we've had in our family, Rosie has made her choice. She loves my husband, and Chris -- in fact she greets everyone as if she already knows and likes them. If I am gone, then she is quite content to be with my husband, but there is no mistaking the fact that if I am in the house, she prefers to be with me. 

It has rained on and off all day, and we even had a tornado warning. It
wasn't anywhere near us, but this one touched down close to Gill,
too. A few weeks ago a tornado was less than a mile from her house, and
this one was almost as close. I don't know yet if there is much damage.
I hope not.

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Find of the Day: Graham’s Hierarchy of Disagreement

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