Sunday, June 19, 2011

Father and Flowers

Hello dear bloggers, it certainly has been awhile...I sure hope you are enjoying your Father's Day celebrations.  It is not a great day for me, Dad is gone now as most of you know...since 2008.  He is gone  forever as I knew him....But his spirit lives on through me; his love of flowers and nature has passed to most of his children with me having a bit more than my siblings.  His thumb was much greener than mine but hopefully with time, my efforts will improve.

Spring was rainy, the month of May was a grey misty blur as each day wore on, the sun decided to shine elsewhere leaving our area saturated, flooded and sloppy wet.  The ponies could not be turned out, our  entrance area flooded, the pond developed a sink hole draining lot of the water and it was dangerous to mow the wet muddy hills.  The green grass was very happy as it almost looked like a jungle on our farm.  I must not complain though, we have been fortunate to still have our home unlike so many who suffered from those evil tornadoes.  Bless those poor souls who had to endure such misery.

Thankfully as May moved on, the rains ceased their daily torment and June allowed us to get out in our gardens.  The huge Man Garden has just been plowed and planted.  The good husband and his brother planted their usual corn, cucumbers, green beans and tomatoes but decided to cut back so I planted some pumpkins and blueberry bushes.

 


My nostalgia for both my grandmothers has come forth with a fever as I planted some hollyhocks that were six foot tall!  They are biennials so I won't see them next year and hopefully my little hollyhocks from last year will come back.  I have added some more phlox as it seems to love the back garden and grew many babies this year.  I have also added evening of primrose and delphiniums in a new little shaded bed, though the larkspur despises me and refused to enjoy the special soil and shade I provided for it, so forget that species.  It is too hot here and they prefer a different area.  My foxgloves love the front yard and hated the back yard as the brick radiated too much heat.  I remember Dad saying he used to trap bees in the blooms by squeezing the ends.  Poor bees, thankfully he released the bloom and allowed the poor things to escape.  Silly Dad, he was a demon when he was a kid! :)




Speaking of demons, as I was photographing my blue hydrangeas, Cricket, the mean lean killing machine, lived up to his reputation much to my chagrine!  He was enjoying following his 'Grammie' around while I snapped the pics but when I approached the new little flower bed, he disappeared.  I didn't think much of it until I heard the loud clicking of a Flicker.  That darned cat was up  in the hawthorn bushes and raided the nest capturing a helpless new born bird baby.  I heard its little screams of pain as my head was in the branches trying to find Cricket who was way up top!  My screams pierced the quiet morning as I attempted to get the bird from his huge fangs but he ran away into a wooded area full of poision ivy.  I ventured in only to see him gobble the entire baby within seconds.  By the way, poison ivy attacked me with a vengeance a few weeks ago, so badly that I had to go in and get a shot.  My lower arm swelled days afterwards so I thought I had better get some professional help.  The shot eliminated the swelling but not the itching.


The deer have all delivered except Peanut who if you remember had her little Autumn in September.  I am shocked that Brownie already gave birth.  I knew they all would be early this year as they went into heat in the beginning of October and the boys were crazy in rutt.  So far, they have not introduced me to their babies yet.  Bossy does hide her baby in the brush while she eats corn.   I can hear his thin little calls.  There for awhile I did not see Bossy or Brownie which worried me but just a few days ago they graced me with their beautiful presense and now come back more frequently.  Shy Girl has trusted me and hidden her baby close to the barn.

There is still so much more to do on the farm to catch up from months of wet weather.  I look forward to July when all of my flowers will be in full bloom and the pumpkins begin to grow.  Happy Father's Day to you dear Dad.  I miss you tremendously but somehow feel comforted when I am tending to all of the flowers.  And to you bloggy buddies, thanks for your patience and keeping Farm Tails on your favorites list.  I truly appreciate that and have popped in from time to time to read your posts.  Have a happy day! 

16 comments:

"GB" said...

You inspire me with your photos and words. I am glad you survived the rains and flooding, wishing you a most wonderful summer.
Smiles

lisa said...

Your flowers are doing beautifully! It started out pretty wet but now we are getting some dry spells in between but with the hubby gone it is hard to get our hay made and I am afraid that we will end up mowing and letting it lay again this year. I can't imagine not having my father and so I do have you in my prayers because of course no matter what we do there will come a time that he won't be with us. We live like there is no tomorrow and enjoy today as much as we can.

Buttons Thoughts said...

Well it is nice to see you back. I know how hard a day this is for you I remember we lost our Dads about the same time for the same reason. I hope more time will make it better, it has helped. It is nice to see you doing so well. Your garden is beautiful and I love your photos. Take care. B

♥I am Holly♥ said...

What a beautiful tribute to your dad! I know he really would love reading this post very much! I sure did. Happy Father's Day to him in Heaven. Lots of love, Debbie

Louise said...

I've been absent, too, and just back a couple of days ago. I'm glad you're back, and that things are growing and blooming where you are. It won't be long, I bet, until your beautiful does bring their babies to your feeding grounds. That will be a sight to see.

Country Gal said...

A lovely post and photos !
I lost my dad 15 years ago and it still is a hard day for me , as is mothers day as I lost mum 3 years ago! I know they are always in my heart and my memories !

Teresa said...

So glad you are getting some sunshine now. The flowers are absolutely beautiful. I'm certain you've inherited that green thumb from your father.

Lori Skoog said...

Yes sir! I thought you dropped off the face of the earth. Thanks for the update. Looks like things are going well after our crazy spring. Stick around....please.

Flat Creek Farm said...

Missed you! Glad you're back, and thanks for popping in now and again ;) Your posts are always filled with such "goodies"! I loved the story about your dad trapping the bees in the foxglove! I normally have foxglove, but it didn't show its pretty self this year ;( I can just see an ornery little boy doing that ;) Your flowers are gorgeous. I haven't had luck with larkspur and it breaks my heart as I adore it, and it dries so nicely too. I also don't grow hollyhocks well. Can you believe it? Thank goodness for coneflower! and a few other varieties that I can grow. Bless you, and hope that poison ivy stops itching. I've had good success with Zanfel. It's about $35/tube but it works for me and cures the itching. When I get a case of P.I... it's usually a bad one! Take care of yourself! -Tammy

Ranch Girl Diaries said...

What a sweet post and tribute to your father!
Glad spring is settling in. I love your flower pictures and updates on the deer critters! :-)

Kritter Keeper at Farm Tails said...

ranch girl diaries, i could not access your blog by clicking on your name...not sure if you will read this...would love to visit your blog, help! :)

Michaele said...

I wondered where you were. Busy! What a great tribute to your father.

Edward said...

You’re BACK! I’ve missed you, this time stick around for a bit longer. So sorry about your dad. You have a nice assortment of plants. Will you be doing a post about the deer and their babies with photos? I hope so.
Regards
Edward

animal lover, quilt lover said...

Hi there,
Thanks for your visit.
Yes, I lost my sweet Bambi June the 3 of congestive heart failure. She was 13 years and 8 months and 3 days old.
I love your blog with all the pretty flowers. You take great pictures!!
xx, Fern

Tipper said...

Nice to peek into both your spring and start to summer : )

Your Father sounds like he was wonderful.

Mary Ann said...

Just getting caught up on blog reading tonight, and saw this lovely post. It was a wonderful Father's Day comment, and I liked it very much!