Pretty Peonies

Good morning, my friends. Well, you can rest easy. Two of the peonies have bloomed. It's a paltry showing for the number of buds on the plants, but at least I got to see them before we leave. Finally, finally, finally, two flowers on the Joker peony are showing themselves. 

I'm really hoping to see at least one poppy before we go, and it would be wonderful if the Edda clematis would bloom. Now that these peonies have opened, I can turn my obsession to a different part of the garden.

Speaking of opening, now I have two kitties giving me the Big Mad glare. Why isn't the door opening at their command?

Well, they got a chance to go outside yesterday while I was out weeding. Mike was working on the camper, and so they had plenty of adult supervision. Mike will be out spraying weeds today, and so they'll get a little time outside today too.

While I was out, I noticed the garden was alive with bumble bees. They're especially fond of these chive blossoms.

Remember when I was worrying about getting enough chive blossoms for vinegar? Well, time was really the culprit. The chive blossoms were ready to do their part when the weather warmed up enough for them. We're celebrating our *actual* anniversary here at home today with a steak dinner and some baked potatoes. I'll have some nice fresh chives for the potatoes.

And I needn't have worried about the vinegar. I filled two quart mason jars when I strained out the flowers yesterday. These will go into the freezer for the time being. I want to share some with friends later on. The color fades over time, and I'm hoping that freezing it will help preserve the color until later in the year.

The hesperis is still blooming in the bee garden. I was hoping we'd see more color before we go, but I'm only seeing the usual weeds that bloom most of the time. Hopefully, we'll see some more flowers on our return. With as many sunflowers as I planted a few years back, it wouldn't surprise me to find some volunteers.

Smitty accompanied me on my walkabout.

He would like to remind you that there are this many kitty dinners remaining until we depart.

Today's preparation will be emptying out the laundry hamper and washing clothes. Also, I'm going to get packing on some of the items that I won't need between now and Tuesday. I can pack some of the food, and some of my clothes. Sunday and Monday, I'll be packing in earnest. Sunday will probably be reserved for food, and Monday for my essential clothing and toiletries. Time is ticking down for sure.

There was time for some slow-stitching yesterday, but I didn't make any progress on the little Spring Flowers quilt. It'll get highest priority today. The Raggedys will be going with us for my on-the-road project. It would be nice to finish off the Spring Flowers before we go.

So there's no time like the present. I'll probably work on this for my slow-stitching this morning and save the Raggedys for later in the day if I have time. Right now, I'll get a bite to eat and then get started with my day. I'll keep reminding you that I may take a few days off from blogging until we get underway. If you don't hear from me sooner, look for me no later than next Wednesday when we'll be preparing to cross the border into Canada. And Canada, we're coming! You might want to batten down the hatches.