More Colors of Spring

In the Morning Fog...The garden takes on a magical quality, distant images fade into the mist. Breathtaking...
Golden Delicious by Morning Haze...
Crazy Daisy...
The Bearded Iris Begin Their Show.....These are a dependable perennial that come in a wide variety of colors and scents. There are also 'reblooming' iris that bloom again come the fall...

Earliest Greens...
The Dainty Teardrop Budswell of the Chive Blossom...
My Bear Butte...Green, under the fast moving clouds of Spring....
Local Wildflowers.....
The Heart of a Tulip...and her tulip sisters...
Another Foggy Shot...The spindly bud of the Columbine, a delicate but hardy perennial. They enjoy afternoon shade.
Columbine...
Almond...Bartlett Pear...This tree has been on the land since I arrived in 1989...It is a dependable bearing tree and with some care and pruning it has truly grown into an impressive tree. Pears can live 150 years. I vote them my favorite, least hassle, hardiest and most dependable fruit tree for this area. Apples are good too, but they do that every other year thing...
Baby Bing Cherrys...Local Wildlife in Restful Repose...Whitetail Deer .....
Snapdragon...another favorite perennial. I have too few of these and am always impressed at their hardiness, beauty and long blooming time...
Digitally Enhance Buster...

Parting Shot...Pepper, the World's Smartest Pup...
After the coyote shot all posts will now pale in comparison. What a gift that was. The land is alive with color, warmth and sound. It is an amazing thing to witness the flow...thanks for joining me. Peace. Jj

Always Carry Your Camera, I'm Glad I Had Mine

IT Was a Coyote Dream...The Inquisitive Early Rising (nocturnal?) Coyote....crossed my path as I embarked one morning...
He Ran Passed... Stopped... Took a Gaze at Me...
Looked Back From Where he Came.....
And Turned to Run Away........Precious moments on the hill.

Nature Calls

The first inklings of wildflowers appeared many weeks ago, but the fields and gullys are now alive with color, as the bloom reaches it's peak. I am sorry to report that there is a significant lag on this blog -no realtime- I've pictures in the can, that are not to hit the blogosphere for maybe days...these pics we get to enjoy today are just a week old, yet they are already ancient history in terms of natural history!! I am amazed at the rapidity with which nature is brought forth. Truly, it is a time of abundunt life. The budswell of evening, is the columbine blossom of the morning. (They are starting to bloom now as well, sexy, dependable perennial. Images of which are still locked in pixel jail. ) I am irrigiting, even though we just had rain less than a week ago. The wind and very moderate temps (over 70* all week) are really drying things out. The garlic and onions are loving it and really starting to do their thing. Weed and feed now!! The brassicas are a wash, and are slated to be soup, quiche and compost this next week in favor of other hobby crops...


The Native Oak Trees .............Amazing in their beauty right now, I love the hanging tendrils of their 'blooms'
Pakistan Mulberry ............
CLOSE UP Of the Mulberry Fruit ....
Bartlett Pear ...........First year this sweety has fruit . It is just 4 years old.

MORE Tulips.........I have grown to love the tulip. They are a bit fussy, and all of them seem to eventually peter out, I still really enjoy them.With so many varied colors and the sweet way they open and close with the day, they are a great addition to the springtime garden.
Vineyard.....Baby baby vineyard. I am Adopting a very OLD vineyard for the season and it makes these grapes look very puny.My vineyard is only 5 years old, but they all have fruit this year!
Catalog of Daffodil Favorites soon to come...........
DAWN REDWOOD: The Deciduous Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) Sprouts!
The Last Glimpes of The Purple Crabapple..........in blossom form anyway, killer little 1" applets to come

More Springtime Pics

The Long Road Home...............


Snoopy's NEW restraining/Training device, a HALTI tm. Great little halter for controlling the out-of-control puppy. As his weight increased, it became more and more difficult to throttle his pulling during our " walks", which were more like tugging matches. I would come home sore and annoyed. This little unit makes walking your pooch effortless, like a bear at the circus or a horse on the farm. He can be led around quited easily by the snout! Once he adjusted to it, most of the sad face and struggling were just for show - no pain with this contraption - he walks along quite readily. Two finger contol. Sweet.
Silhouette of Rock Outcropping..................
Baby Plumset.........Some are starting to blush already, cute.........
Red Pear................
Tulips Showing Off..................
Heart of Tulip..........
Trillium.....
Heart of Trillium...

The Wildflowers....Pint Sized Beauty..........
Cloud Action ...... Bear Butte to the East, a view I have yet to grow tired of .....

Sweet Pansies.......
Prowling Buster Makes the Blog. This cat is a real wild thing. He showed up in our wood shed over a year ago. I eventually trapped him, and had him neutered. By the time he was to return from the vet, his owner, my neighbor from nearly a mile away, showed up to claim him. Although he was disappointed I had had him altered, as he wanted to breed him, don't laugh, "cuz he's 1/8th bob cat!!", he took "Emerald" (as was his name, it turned out) home. We were happy, b'cuz he is a big eater and was driving poor Tigger crazy. Low and behold, about a week later, who comes crawling through the space in the step? And barges right into the house to his 'spot' upstairs?? Buster, our pet name for him, as he "busted" right in. When he does amazing things, of course his pedigree of 1/8th bobcat must be mentioned!! He is a real user this cat. 4 can$ of gravy a day, or he cries out and claws us! He is doing his part on mouse patrol and for that we are grateful. But seriously, he is the most tree climbing, cat harrassing, dog loving, all black but for 7 white hairs on his chest, claw out, ear tufted, user cat u have ever seen! He picked us. Thanks a lot bussy. We love ya for it!