Awww Hail - Not Again

(Oh, and this flat was on the porch, next to the house!)

More April Showers

Snow showers....

April 11

8:00 AM April 16

4:00 PM April 16

7:00 AM April 17

7:00 AM April 17

Out With the Old

The tulip bulbs arrived while I was on the road. 

Time to get to work…

First, I dug up the tulip bed.

I had to remove the old bulbs.

Sometimes I would get the 'Mother Lode' of bulbs,

A clump with mama bulb and all of her 'babies'.

More often, I had to sift through the dirt, 

picking the bulbs out one by one.

Some were teeny-tiny.

Here are the old… and the new.

I placed the new bulbs in the bed.

5" deep and spaced 5"-6" (or more) apart.

I replaced the soil, 

still finding more old bulbs in the process.

Stay tuned for the end result….

in the spring!

OK…but which one?

You may recall that I love tulips. 

So do the deer…

This year our entire tulip bed was mowed down. We only had two or three bulbs (out of more than 100 bulbs) that managed to blossom, as they were smart enough to hide amongst the iris. You can see the row of iris on the left in this photo from a previous year. (Oh, and yeah, you can see the ugly wire I strung around the tulips to keep the pesky deer away… I neglected to put the "fence" up before we left for the winter this past year.)

We planted the tulip bed in the fall of 2011 and it provided two years of enjoyment. However, the showy tulips tend not to be true perennials. They don't do well year after year. So, I decided to buy more. But… how does one choose?

My catalog from Colorblends has 150 pages of incredible, knock-your-socks-off, breathtaking floral beauty. It was a daunting task, but I finally narrowed it down to one blend with 100 bulbs. I wish I could plant more, and have masses of tulips like I saw at Keukenhof Gardens, but as much as I think the deer are cute, I don't particularly care to feed them!

I will have my work cut out for me come November, when I thin the iris, dig up the old bulbs and replant the new. But, it will be worth it in the spring - I hope!

Dazzling - Even on a Dreary Day

On our recent trip we visited Keukenhof Gardens. 

The gardens exceeded my expectations. 

In fact, they were totally over the top!

We were two of the 848,984 spring visitors...

viewing some of the flowers from 7 million bulbs....

Some in massive plantings...

Others in whimsical displays...

The colors were astounding...

Whether viewed in masses....

or individually....

There were three huge indoor greenhouse displays....

with orchids...

and azaleas....

and so much more....

There were gardens featuring single colors...

and others showcasing stunning color combinations....

There were tulips of every shape...

and size....

and so many things...

to catch our eyes!

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch: Tulip Tuesday

Holy Tulip Tuesday.... I can actually sit a spell and chat with Patrice and her friends on her porch today! Patrice reports that it is spring in her neck of the woods...

I am crossing my fingers...

and declaring that it is spring here...

finally! 

At least this is the first Tuesday in 6 weeks where we haven't had snow on the ground, or when we weren't expecting snow later in the day!
My spring has been about tulips. I love tulips. Perhaps it's because I lived in the south where tulips were nigh impossible to grow. Two years ago we planted a variety of Dutch bulbs, and last year I dug up and separated some tulips that had magically appeared in my garden, having been planted many years ago by some previous owner or renter. This year it has been all about protecting the tulips from our 'spring' snows and temperatures in the teens.
I became adept at tent making. This lovely tent was constructed and deconstructed 4 times. Each time the component pieces were moved a shorter distance away!

Here is the tent on April 9

Here we are again on May 1

But, the end result made practicing my

Girl Scout skills well worth it...

QUESTIONS 1. How many load of laundry do you do each week (about)? 2. Where do your household pets sleep? If you have no pets, please skip to the next question. 3. What is your favorite thing to listen to while you drive? 4. Do you have to do a big clean-up when you have company, or are you always ready for guests? 5. What's your favorite breakfast food?

Here are my answers to Patrice's questions. You can join the chat, too, by responding in comments on my page, or on Patrice's page, or by linking your blog to Patrice's blog.

Answers:

1. Oh, my gosh! Thanks for reminding me. I started a load yesterday and turned the machine off because the dogs were going to eat dinner. They are afraid of the washing machine and won't go in the laundry room, where their bowls are, if either the washer or dryer are running! Oh, but I digress, I average two loads of laundry a week. When I had the horses I probably had to run at least one extra load as horse dirt magically jumps from horse to human in a heartbeat!
2. Tucker and Gypsy have beds in our room. They don't discriminate about who's bed is whose. Tucker is the funniest sleeper. If when he gets too warm he will move to another location. So he is on and off the bed all night. When he lies down... he groans, a long drawn-out pleasurable groan. It makes me smile to hear it.
3. I switch between an oldies station and NPR when I drive. When the car was a major part of my day, driving hours for work, I would listen to books. I kinda miss that now, but I generally spend so little time in my car now, that it would take too long to get through the book. By the time I got near the end, I would have forgotten the beginning ;-)
4. We always have a 'rush-around, throw things in cabinets, wipe off the counter' type clean up when folks are coming. When my house is neat and clean I swear I'm going to keep it that way, but before I know it, the horizontal surfaces have acquired piles of stuff, dog hair clumps sprout on the rug, and tumblefluffs roll on the floor in the breeze created as we walk by. 
5. If I didn't care about my size, I would eat French toast made with thickly sliced cinnamon bread, and coated in panko bread crumbs. A sweet vanilla sauce on top would be heavenly. Knowing that I wouldn't stop at one piece, and that if I happen to have a loaf of bread like that in the house, I'd be compelled to make it every morning, I just don't buy the ingredients. Instead, I limit myself to a piece of oatnut bread, toasted, or a small bowl of granola. Most mornings I make Mr. Dreamy one egg, over easy. I've become masterful at flipping the egg, and sliding it onto the plate, without using utensils.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! 

Tu-Many Tu-lips

This spring we were blessed with tulips. 

They thrived with the water and attention they received since we moved in. The original bulbs were probably planted 6 years ago and needed to be divided.

So....

late last spring, 

after the leaves had died back, 

when it was sufficiently hot to make this task almost unbearable, 

I dug up bulbs.

After they dried I snitched a bit of hay from Pippin and Doc and layered the bulbs in the hay. I almost filled a laundry basket! They spent the summer in the cool of our basement, but now it's time for them to be reintroduced to their garden bed.

I have enjoyed working in the garden this week, since the weather has been sunny and just warm enough for a T shirt. I love mucking around in the dirt. I cleaned up some of the perennials. I tagged some so I woudn't forget what they were. I moved some that had grown far too large for the space. Then, as I worked at removing weeds, I dug a little deeper and planted tulip bulbs.... and planted some more.... and some more!

Our guest dogs, Jesse and Clyde, helped me with my chore. They were very careful about dropping the ball into the garden, but not coming in themselves!

Tu- days, and tu-baskets of bulbs later, I am finished. Well, sure, I could plant more. I figure I planted about 120 bulbs and probably have that many left! Hmmm, should I put a stand up at the road with a sign, "FREE Tulip Bulbs!"? Oh, wait, maybe I should do that the next time they need to be dug up and divided!

Tuesday's Treasures: Tulips

Last year we ordered tulip bulbs. 

We prepared a bed and planted them. 

It was worth every penny spent

and every minute that we worked!

Like chips or cookies....

and other good things....

I want more!

This to That

From this:

To that:

81 degrees on Sunday; 29 degrees today!

Yay! Colorado!

(If I posted this on April 1, everyone would think it was a joke!)

They're Here!

Look! 

Oh look!

They are here.

Here they are.

I see.
I see the box.

Is it something to eat?

Is it alive?

Yes, Tucker.

They are alive but they are not something to eat.

They are tulip bulbs!

We will have pretty tulips in the spring!