The Royal Iris

 During this past Iris season, 

I saw so many gorgeous Iris in local gardens 

and I started to wonder why I don't have any in my gardens, that has to change.

The most common meanings of an Iris are hope, wisdom, trust and valour...

and come on, they are primarily my color.

The traditional purple Iris represents wisdom, courage, respect and admiration.

Blue symbolizes faith, hope, trust and inspiration.

The yellow Iris symbolizes passion.

- the iris is the February birth month flower -

- irises are the state flower of tennessee -

- butterflies and hummingbirds love them -

- most iris bloom in early summer -

These pictures are from everyone's garden that I passed during Iris season.

Do you have Irises in your garden?

The First Picnic Of The Season

Tuesday was a beautiful day so we decided to go for a picnic, the first of the season.

The sky was so blue, 

the air temperatures were perfect and we decided to go to the inlet where they have nice picnic tables.

I was so excited...

We enjoyed BLT sandwiches from The Beanery, ice cold, super sweet ice tea and the best view in town...

the company wasn't bad either.

The Northern K sailed by.

 And because I have never seen this boat before,

I googled it and found some cool information about the fishing vessel here.

Recorded in this information, as it follows the fishing boat, is that it departed Point Pleasant at 16:51,

just as we were having lunch.

Nearby...

and years ago we placed a lock here, there were only a few when we first joined the group.

I had the lock made, it was purple when I hooked it on the fence.

Chuck and Debbie our wedding date is on the back of the lock.

Here we are enjoying our sandwiches.

I have no idea why the hubs face is so red, he wasn't hot and it did not appear red in person.

And where in the world do my eyes go when I smile.

Well, no matter, we were having fun and it was a great picnic.

A picnic was on The Summer Bucket List

- it is checked off now -

May Whimisicality

 Where did May go?

Seriously, I blinked my eyes and it is just about over.

Here are a few fun things that happened that I have not shared here, fun to me anyway.

We live on a cul de sac, in the suburbs...when we get to the top of our street, 99.9% of the time we turn left.

The other day I told the hubs to turn right, I don't know why, it is the long way around.

Long story longer, we came across 5 or 6 deer in the middle of the road.

I couldn't believe it, I had no idea we had groups of deer in our neighborhood.

They all stopped for pictures then ran toward the river.

What a wonderful, unexpected, joy filled experience.

and may I just say that these people need to clean up their property and weed!

This is a tulip tree...I had never heard of one before and now I keep seeing them everywhere.

On our drives, I always stop to photograph flowers like these...

a bee is a bonus!

Knowing how much I love seeing deer, my friend Liz told me about a great spot where the deer hang out.

I saw at least 6 until some children came by on bikes and they jumped off in to the woods.

This one is huge and looks about ready to pop.

I'll have to stop back again soon, I'm sure I will get to see a couple of fawns.

This storm rolled in on Memorial Day, there was thunder and downpours.

I was happy to be home.

I released my 8th and 9th butterfly, there are 5 more chrysalis in the butterfly cage.

I have my dill planted and I am ready for the next season.

Sometimes they hold on tight and we spend time saying goodbye.

Best of all was knitting with fiber friends, talking, 

laughing...lot's of laughing,

lunch, cake and belated birthday celebrations.

- Happy Almost End Of May -

The Memorial Tree

I have shared pictures of this tree before,

it sits outside a local restaurant, we enjoy eating there.

You may remember that they decorate it for every holiday or season.

This is The Memorial Tree

I must go back one night and see it with the lights on,

it must be so pretty!

The tree is kept alive and healthy by collecting rainwater and then watering the tree with it.

People have been placing hand painted shells at the base of the tree.

I am going to bring one of mine, for the next time we go.

I love this tree and always look forward to seeing it!

This was my online puzzle yesterday, isn't it great?

Happy Memorial Day

 

- thank a Veteran -

Wise Words On Sunday

 

Saturday Critters #545

More from the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge Center

This refuge center is about an hours drive from home and one of the best I have ever visited.

It protects more than 48,000 acres of southern New Jerseys coastal habitats and wetlands.

There are several hiking trails and one 8 mile wildlife drive, 

where you can stay in your car and observe the wildlife from the comfort of your vehicle.

You are permitted to leave your car to take pictures.

We visited on March 31, and I have yet to share all of my pictures...

Atlantic City is in the background of many of these pictures.

It was so uncanny, a nature preserve in the forefront and a city like Atlantic City in the background.

This was a nice big fish and this osprey did not share it with their partner.

There were so many nests, after a while, I focused on other wildlife.

They are pretty and loud, I will remember their call forever.

I am going to be knitting with my friends today at the farm, I am so excited!

Sharing today's images with Eileen at 

Viewing Nature With Eileen 

for Saturday Critters

Before & After

It took me a long time, 

a really long time but I am finally ready to do the "final...final" reveal of the living room makeover.

We use this room every day...

You can see a little of what use to be the dining room in the background, it is now our home office.

If you have been reading here for a while, 

you will remember that the husband spilled a can of oil based paint on the carpet in this room.

The paint went everywhere.

With no way to clean it up, the room needed a complete overhaul...

it needed it anyway...the room needed, well...everything,

and this was just the kick in the pants we needed to get started and do it.

So here is the disaster I started with...

 

We put area rugs over the carpet where he spilled the paint, 

until we could catch our breath and get started.

Those rugs are rolled up in this picture.

We did a complete overhaul, 

the only thing I kept was the coffee table/trunk that pulls up and toward the sofa...

to be use that way when eating.

This is the finished room, I could not be happier!

This chair and the painting pictured below were the last two things I needed to finish up this project.

I didn't rush, I took my time because I knew exactly what I wanted.

And just in case you missed my post finishing up the home office, here are the pictures of that room done.

I think it looks great and functions super well as a home office.

We still own a lot of properties, 

this gives us a very comfortable space to work and a lot of file cabinets to keep all of our records...

there are a lot!

The hubs built us this home in 1984, it sits on an acre of land and a beautiful river.

It's way too big for us now but I have a very deep love and connection to this home.