Before Leaving for Retreat

I need to backtrack to include some Spring flower pictures from weekend before last. Saturday April 18 our Farmer's Market opened (yay!) so i got some spinach, green onions, cilantro, perennials to plant, biscotti, etc. as well as hugs from the vendors who i haven't seen since November when the market closed for the winter. It was great catching up with them. Then i dashed off to volunteer at the Audubon Society.

The next day, Sunday, i did a massive amount of outdoors work since it really and truly felt like Spring. I mowed for the first time (the grass really needed it!), trimmed some trees, weeded the perennial bed in the front a bit, and assembled my new garden bench! The old one managed to last for 14 years while exposed to all sorts of weather, but the wood started rotting (it's cedar, not as durable as teak but not nearly as endangered or as expensive, either) and the bench began falling apart, especially after getting flipped over by the wind several times. Here's the pristine new one, which includes a lovely little brass plaque that says "Paula's Garden." (Thanks, Daddy!) The styling is a little different. Unfortunately one of the screws that holds the back in place split the wood so this one may not last 14 years....but i plan to enjoy it for as long as i can!

The dogwood by the house is blooming nicely.

The old apple tree next to my shed is in full abundant bloom. It blooms early, sometimes getting zapped by frost, and produces deliciously tart apples in late June and early July. It's way too big to be a good orchard tree and has had a lot of problems with tent caterpillar infestations over the years. There's a lot of dead wood, and many sapsucker holes that indicate there are bugs in the trunk, but the tree carries on. All sorts of birds love the apples, as do the woodchucks and squirrels. Little birds like the bugs they find amongst the blossoms...and when i was working out there, the whole tree was humming, it was that full of wild bees who were happy to find an abundant source of nectar.

The bleeding heart is now in full bloom, with the freshest bright pink color.

This little cat statue guards my dear Babka cat's regal tomb, and the violets just appeared by themselves.

I started getting ready for retreat, assembling all the materials for the projects i wanted to work on. Louie and Gingy both kept me company at the same time for a while...this picture of Louie is a view from the other direction of him looking out the sewing room window, while Gingy was perched over the sewing machine.

The evening cooled down and my assistant wandered off to do his impression of a ball!