Happy Mother's Day

When I looked out the window this morning, I noticed another poppy had opened. The first one opened on my birthday. This one is opening on Mother's Day.

Just yesterday, I noticed more buds. The poppies in this particular whiskey barrel have something like ten buds between them, while the other whiskey barrel has at least two.

We're expecting a lot of rain next week, and so I'm hoping they don't get beaten to death in the deluge.

Smitty got too warm on his window perch yesterday morning. No problem. He just side-steps about of foot to where he can get on top of the china cabinet. It keeps his belly nicely cool.

Later, we let him outside, and he sat on the deck in a shady spot. He was feeling reflective here.

But not Sadie. She was feeling zoomie. She often gets the zoomies when she's outside, which is what makes it hard to get an in-focus picture of her.

Inside, I was putting the finishing touches on my Bailey's Chocolate Chip Cheesecake. I've linked to this recipe many times, but if you missed it, you can find it right here.

As far as cheesecakes go, this is a pretty easy one to make. It's a whole lotta cream cheese and a cup of Irish cream. (I use the cheap stuff for this...save the Bailey's for drinking.) For the first time ever, I got the chocolate curls right. I did them the way the Pioneer Woman does them. When that was finished, I got outside for my daily walk-around.

The hydrangeas are getting their first buds. They are some of my favorites in the garden.

I noticed the star lily is getting lots of buds. It has a ways to go, but I'm happy to see it return this year. I'm afraid the calla lily has gone to the big garden in the sky. It has not yet poked its head above ground, and I've given it up for dead.

These are little flowers on the thyme. They are no bigger than the head of a pin.

Here's the bright red azalea. The azaleas are the stars of the garden right now.

The white one is getting its first flowers.

The fourth rhododendron is getting flowers now.

The flowers are mostly open on the lavender one in front of the house.

This next one is always the last to bloom. It's a very dark purple, and my favorite of the bunch.

I noticed the rose has buds on it now. It's always hit or miss with the roses. Sometimes we get to see the flowers. Sometimes the deer eat them before they have a chance to bloom. The deer eat roses as if they are candy.

We'd taken out all our roses when the deer wouldn't leave them alone, and we replaced them with herbs. Then, for my 50th birthday (which was 16 years ago...I can't believe that...I think there's something wrong with my math), our former neighbor gave me this one. It's a mini rose and very fragrant. I'm surprised it has survived these many years, but I'm glad for it.

The golden chain tree is the current most-watched bloomer in the garden. Not quite there yet.

Soon, this peony will become the most watched flower in the garden. I expect this will be the first among the peonies to bloom.

You might remember when Sue and I visited Adelman Peony Gardens last year. I wanted to see the flowers before ordering. This one is called "Rosy Prospects," and below is the one we saw at the peony gardens last year.

You might also remember that I gave one of the peonies to Sue for her birthday last year. Yesterday, she sent me this picture of her bloomer. This one is called Coral Sunset.

I have one too, but mine is still a ways from blooming.

So, for a change, I thought I'd give you some long shots of the garden so you can get the lay of the land. In this next image, I'm standing on the sidewalk in front of the house. You can see the lilac right in the middle of the image. In front of it is the white azalea.

Walking over and standing near the lilac, we can turn around and see the front of the house. You can see some of the azaleas, the dappled willow, the andromeda, and the dwarf Japanese maple. You can see that the squirrels have denuded with top of the maple with their little sh*tty teeth. (Little rat bastards.)

Turning around and looking out toward the field, it looks like this. That's Mike's whirly-gig in the middle of the picture. He saw it at Costco, and he needed it badly. It has two "pinwheels" and it spins in both directions at the same time.

Walking around to the back of the house, you can see the peonies planted on the lower side of the wall. The herb garden is above.

Then walking around the bend, you can get a look at the herb garden and the catio. Also, that's the first rhododendron that bloomed...the peachy one. It is weighted down with flowers now.

And that's about all I have for you. We had a really nice get-together with the kids yesterday evening. We had a delicious prime rib...sometimes you get a really excellent cut of meat, you know, and this was one of those. Honestly, sitting with my adult children is like sitting with good friends. I'm so proud of all of them, and the lives they are building for themselves. Erik left his phone here last night, and so he'll be back again today to pick it up. Aside from that, I'm not sure what the day holds, but I know there will be sewing involved.

I hope you have a lovely Mother's Day. My day is going to be sunny and warm.