Lovely Lilacs

Alas the lilacs have come and nearly gone.

(These photo's were taken March 29th)

There are still a few left

but most have faded and turned brown. 

The display was better than last year

and that's probably thanks

to the amount of rain we received

this spring compared to last year.

Still overall it wasn't as good a display

as we had in 2010.

2010

2010

The groves are old (1947) and 

the drought last year probably

took it's toll on the oldest plants

but they still looked and smelled

WONDERFUL!

The fragrance filled the air and behind

this wall of lilacs about 20 feet to the left

is the front of the house.

When the windows were open the

scent was heavenly!

In the photo below if you look through

the trees from the house on the right

to the left of the photo...

you will see the grove in the above photo from the other side.

We're very fortunate that the prevailing

breeze (wind!) blows through

those blossoms towards the house :)

Not only are we fortunate enough to have that

grove of lilacs but we also have another

shorter but thicker grove that I see from 

our kitchen window. 

The two smaller windows below?

That's our kitchen.

And this grove is approx 30ftx20ft.

It's a wonderful sight to look out 

on while I cook.

It's always sad to see the lilacs fade 

away for another year...

but maybe in a way it's that short

season that makes them so endearing to us.

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Our computer is back from the repair shop

and even though it seems a little slow

it's good to be on here again.

~~~~~~~

I'm joining Karen

over at 

My Little Home And Garden

for 

Sunlit Sunday

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!

A Taste Of What's To Come

We had a good weekend...not much

went on but the snow/rain

that was predicted 

earlier

in the week

never materialized.

In one way I think that's great

but we really could

use a good heavy snowfall 

or rainfall to get us out of the drought.

This time of year most of us need

a good 

'pick me up'

or maybe a

reminder of what's to come.

So...I thought I'd post a few photo's

of flowers that I took here on the farm

over the past 2 years.

I hope they brighten your day!

Our Lilac Lane

One of our old chicken feeders

Old roses that were here on the farm

when we moved here.

What you drive up when you come to the farm house.

Well here are a few of my old photo's

that I hope you enjoyed looking at.

I hope they made you smile and 

maybe think about what's to come

in a few months.

I hope your day is a sunny one

:)

I'm linking with Karen for

Sunlit Sunday

I hope you enjoy visiting the other ladies

and soaking up some 'sunshine'

this January day!

Our Weekend (Part2)

It's wonderful to be

outside working in the dirt

after what seemed like a

very LONG winter.

It was a busy weekend

but a good one.

While hubby worked on the 

picket fence

I planted hosta's 

ferns and columbine

in the shade garden.

I've still got a lot more to 

buy and plant

but we're going to have to 

do a bit at a time.

Perennials are SO expensive!

Here's a few more pictures

of the start of the 

fairy garden.

If you look closely 

above the windows

you'll see something 

amber...it's a

lantern 

that comes on 

when it get's dark!

I'm sure I'll find little

things here and there to 

add as time goes on.

If you look closely in the above picture

you will notice a curving line

in the soil in front of the

trees.

It took me two days to put

all these rocks in place.

You're only seeing the

tops of most of them

as many of them are

over 7" deep 

5" wide and 

12" long.

There was LOTS of digging

and lifting involved so by

 the time I was done

my arms felt a 

couple of inches longer!

A few of the rocks were

about this size.

Once the plants are in place

it will be time for mulch.

If you look closely at those photo's above

you'll notice little white things

in the garden area and where

the  new lawn is starting to 

grow.

It's elm tree seeds!

You know what I'll be pulling up

for some time to come.

Unfortunately the lilacs are

about done.

I'll miss them when they're gone

so I've been trying to 

get a whiff of them as often

as I can.

Chelsea likes to come with me when

I walk the lilac lane to the mailbox.

This is a 'hitching post' 

that we found in the old barn

before it burned down.

I had hubby put it out by the 

picket fence.

One day maybe I'll

 have a horse again!

Me in my flattering overalls

looking up at hubby

in the JLG lift.

After this picture was taken 

I went up with him.

The picture above shows you our

lilac lane with the lilac 

grove on the right and our south pasture

on the left. The house actually sits sideways

on the property and looks out on the lilacs

and pasture. 

The road in the background is the dirt road

we take either to town or to the city.

See that orange rust colored thing 

in the center of the picture?

That is our propane tank and it

was once bright white. 

This is what our water does when it

touches it.

This is why we can't paint the fence white!

This last picture is hubby's brother

burying the foundation of our 

old barn that burned.

You can see some of the tree's 

that were damaged in the fire.

Some of them are starting to leaf out!

So as you can see it was a very busy weekend.

Lots of work...but it felt great.

Have you got some outdoor projects going on 

right now?

Have a wonderful week!

Maura :)

Lilacs and Butterflies and FFF

They're here!

Our lilacs are in full swing now

and every time you open a window

or step outside you are greeted with that 

wonderful heady lilac fragrance.

I close my eyes and I am taken back

to my Grandparents home in 

Canada

where they had the most beautiful

English style gardens.

They had two lilac bushes 

that would fill the air with that

beautiful scent that

would drift into the veranda where

I sometimes slept on weekends

and summer holidays.

Funny how a scent can do that...

take you back to a wonderful

memory.

For the last two days I have been

trying to photograph

our lilacs

and some beautiful

Monarch Butterflies that have

been flitting around the farm.

Unfortunately 

the wind was blowing so 

hard that the butterflies were

having a hard time trying to find a spot

to land where they would't get blown away!

I finally got a few photo's

but it wasn't easy.

The wind was so bad that in nearly 

every shot the lilacs are a blur!

The grove of Lilacs as you come onto

our farm. 

This grove is between the house 

 to the left and our south pasture. 

Here is a pretty Swallowtail

I found in the grove

behind the house.

It was very hard to get good lighting

as they were flitting all over

the place trying to find a 

calm landing place.

The lilacs aren't doing well this year.

I noticed that we don't have many blossoms

and they are faded and not as 

colorful and lush as last year.

I took a closer look at them

and I see that our late

frost killed some of the

buds before they opened.

Such a shame but that happened

the year we moved in.

A late frost had killed 

all the blossoms on the lilacs

and the fruit trees on the farm.

So no lovely lilacs or fruit that year

but last year which was our first spring

here on the farm we had an abundance

of everything!

The cottage is waiting for it's new

paint job

and the front porch is waiting for

steps and a sidewalk.

The door is waiting for it's 

new trim boards.

We did manage to get the 

porch swing up though!

Everything is on hold until

we get the picket fence up

and stained and the veggie

and flower gardens in.

There's just no rest for the weary!

I have to keep

reminding myself

that 

Rome wasn't built in a day.

It's not easy ;)

I'm linking up with 

Amy at Verde Farm for

So hop on over and 

check out all the other 

Farm Friends...

I know you'll have a ball.

I hope you all have a

WONDERFUL

Thursday, Friday

and 

Weekend!

Maura :)