My Everything Corner

This funny, little mushroom has chosen to grow about 8 feet up in one of maple trees. No danger of being tromped on up there! I love the purple these Irises have to offer, it's just too bad they don't bloom a little longer.  But their long grassy foliage makes a nice back drop for blooms later on. The first of the marigold blooms.  I started them all from seed this year, and am so excited to finally see a blossom!  Isn't that a happy color? More irises. and I'm not sure what particular type these are either.  I dug them out of a friends' garden and they bloom like crazy every Spring. I planted a little patch of chives last year and they have produced better than I could have expected.  I know they are delicious, but I keep them more for their blooms. How cute is this little guy???  He loves the chives even more than I do.  This patch of flowers is always humming with dozens of bees. Another cute little thing. ...

Spring has been flying by and I have been as busy as a bee in my yard.  Early on, we welcomed back our killdeer couple.  They nested in the lilacs again, but this time out in the open where, as well camouflaged as they are, we could see them.  Here are their eggs, which hatched yesterday morning.  By the end of the day, one of the wee tikes was already out and about, tripping on his own feet.  Needless to say, they are ridiculously adorable and I had very difficult time keeping my hands off and my visit short, (but I did).  That's Mama, (or maybe Papa) in the grass doing her broken wing dance.  They do this to distract visitors from their nest and lead them away.  I'm always sure to follow her and let her know what a good job she is doing taking care of those babies. I shared this post HERE , with Saturday's Critters.  Thank-you for hosting eileeninmind! Other than watching plants grow and babies being...

I enjoy a good, clean April Fool's Day prank.  Last year, totally off the cuff, I told the kids I was pregnant, and they completely fell for it.  This year, I was certain there was no way I was going to get them with anything because they spent the whole day yesterday talking about what they could do to trick people.  But this morning, after picking up a few scattered cat toys and carrying them to the basket in my daughter's room, an idea came to me.  While standing in her room, pretending to search the trees behind our house through the window, I cried, "Oh no!  Not again!".  Of course, they both came running to see what I was 'oh no-ing' about, and I told them I seen a little white kitten playing back there.  A couple of years back, that is where we discovered two of our current kitties, Georgia and Crush.  Well, "We have to save the kitty Mommy, he'll freeze!".  So they dress, more quickly then I ever thought they could, and o...

We had our first Spring rain!  I stepped out onto the deck and just listened to it.  I was already feeling good with the warmer temperatures, but that sound rejuvenated me from my winter slumber even further.   This is the first year that I've walked my dog out of the yard.  Even though we live on 10 acres, it gets a little dull walking around on only our turf.  I was worried he would take to wandering about the countryside on his own if I took him off our property.  Now that he is older, and much more relaxed, I started walking him, on leash, in all directions, and so far so good.  He's never had to be on a leash in the yard, and it surprises me to see him get so excited when I bring it out. With so many of the roads dry, the kids wanted their bikes down.  They've outgrown them though, and while they served their purpose that day, we will have to go shopping soon.

While browsing through my Flipboard in the photography section a few days ago, I came across these incredible photos.  It is what inspired them that surprised me.  Powdered coffee creamer.  Yes, these photos are part of an ad campaign for common powdered coffee creamer.  While they didn't give me the urge to run out and buy some, they did instill a sense of calm and that made me want to sit down with a cuppa and share them here with you.  The article on this little project is here , and the talented photographer, Jeffery Vanhoutte has a website definitely worth browsing through here .

There was little color to be taken from these photos in order to make them black and white images.  A grey sky covering a landscape on the first day of Spring in the Canadian prairies has little to offer by the way of color.   I enjoyed the walk and taking the photos, and was looking forward to bringing them here, but when I opened them, I found the photos to be extremely dull.  So, off to Photoshop they went, and after a little of this and a bit of that, and a wee bit more of that, I came to like the once lackluster images. I love black and white photography for the same reason everyone else does, the dramatic simplicity.  Black and white imagery always seems to flow with whatever mood I'm in.  I can take from it whatever I want or need.

The toilet paper took a major beating this morning.  I have no idea what it did to offend Sooty, but it must have been something terrible.  Very little of it survived to go on and fulfill its original purpose.