FIBERGUY

Morning Glories in Phyllis's yard

These simple, common white morning glories arrested my attention this morning.  They are the very essence of beauty, are they not?

How can you not love this elegant beauty? It’s from a small bit of peony taken from the Hall family homestead up in Lutsen. It’s really taken off in our yard and this year is full of blooms. We don’t know exactly what type it is, but then again we haven’t done a whole lot of research to try and find out. Harald’s mom says it’s probably at least 50-60 years old. And best of all? It’s a fragrant variety with a sweet, old-fashioned rose scent. Heavenly!

Update: After checking out several peony farm web sites, this peony looks amazingly like one known as “Gay Paree.”  How apropos.

As Harald so rightfully challenged me last night, it’s time to get some pictures after promising two weeks ago to do so. Even though I’ve been gathering pictures for several weeks, I am going to start with a picture taken just this morning. Sorry it isn’t clearer, but these are among H’s most precious additions to the garden and they are blooming particularly beautifully this year. They are Martagon lilies, a very old type of lily. Now, if you aren’t familiar with them, you wouldn’t know that the blooms are impossibly small – probably no more than a couple of inches across. Click here to read a good primer on Martagons.

I know most of you have been very patient with me over the last few months. Given the loss we experienced in early April, blogging just hasn’t been at the top of my list of things to get done. But spring has once again arrived in earnest in Minnesota and despite our near-total lack of rain in May, plants are busting out all over. Along with their beauty, hope itself has blossomed once again in my heart. I have been eagerly gathering pictures to share with you all. I’m not going to wait for August this time. I will post them with some frequency, but probably not everyday so as to avoid beauty-overload.

And thanks, really, for being patient with me. I do so appreciate it.

This organization, Playing for Change, is really doing something extraordinary and wonderful. Check out some of their videos below, and visit their website for more information.  Thanks to my friend, Joan, for turning me onto this ..

Several people have asked to see pictures of the nursery, so I thought I would post a few. We got the room put back in order this morning and set up the portable crib and hung the valances and cleaned out the dresser and put all of Siri’s clothes away. This will give you a much better idea of how it all looks.  The color is called “Northern Pear Tree” and it is from the No-VOC line of paints at Home Depot called Freshaire Choice.  This was my first experience using No-VOC paints and I must tell you that it made the painting experience much more pleasant for me.  And the room has virtually no new-paint smell at all, which is a very good thing.

That is Harald and Karin’s baby carriage from when they were born. It’s a Simo Babylux from Norway. They don’t make them any more.

Things on YouTube keep getting better and better ….  folks on one of my knitters lists keep finding the most interesting thing …

A creek that has eroded itself back behind some well aged roots – along the road up to the Hall family homestead property in Lutsen, MN.

A single wild rose growing on an old-growth bush on the Hall family homestead property in Lutsen, MN.