Colorado wineries

Today L and W went to wineries.

They were riding in style. Went with his mom, her friend and his grandma.

Enjoying some wine.

And W cooked dinner for his family. I thought that was a pool behind him but it's a pickleball court.

Meanwhile in Chicago our air quality is horrible because smoke from Canadian wildfires has moved in. It smells smoky.

Sunday gardening

We bought these two pots of Black-eyed Susans at Costco on Thursday. Got around to planting them on Sunday.

While Andy was digging, I was weeding the hostas. They do so well. Hopefully in the spring I can divide them again and bring more from outside the fence into the yard.

My clematis seem to be done blooming but now the side of the garage has coneflowers!

More flowers

I mistakenly pulled out a lot of our phlox a year or so ago, thinking they were weeds. Luckily, a few survived.

I planted marigold seeds and are surprised they're blooming. Seems early to me, but maybe not. I'm not a gardener so I don't know. The potted plant was nearly dead when I moved it from the basement this spring. It's recovered nicely.

We seem to have a lot of daylilies this year. At least more than usual.

I went outside to get a picture of a Monarch that was on the milkweed but it flew away before I was ready. I did get a picture of a busy bee though. No Monarch caterpillars yet.

Trellis troubles

A heavy rainstorm blew through yesterday afternoon and once it was over, Andy took some garbage and noticed our trellises by the garage got so heavy with rain they were falling over.

He used some butcher's twine to tie them up and secure them to the garage. It may not be a permanent solution but it might be.

I did notice our milkweed have lots of flowers this year. No Monarch sightings yet ...

but the bees are enjoying the coneflowers.

Summer in bloom

Our former neighbors planted daisies in their yard years ago and I've been trying to coax them into our yard ever since. They're spreading pretty well and they're blooming.

And the coneflowers have started to bloom.

Hard to miss this chicken and hen that's about to bloom. It looks ... very happy.

A new clematis bloom

This was a surprise. I planted two clematis plants in May and thought they were eaten, but then they started growing so I've been tying the vines to the trellis in hopes of getting them to climb. The maroon one bloomed a bit in early June and now the purple plant has one bloom. I'm pretty thrilled they're both alive.

Time for a new grill

We're not sure how old this grill was but it was time to let it go. We've replaced the burner covers a couple of times and were planning on pitching it last fall, yet here it sits.

We finally bought a new one Thursday night and Andy stayed out long after sunset to get the thing put together. The instructions weren't very instructive. My job was to hold the flashlight on his phone so he could screw the thing together.

Almost 10 p.m. and it's done! We did forget to slip the knob covers on but we can do that when the sun rises.

Another new visitor

Another new visitor stopped by today. This time it was a red-winged blackbird! According to google, folklore says a red-winged blackbird as a symbol of protection, good luck and prosperity.

We often have male (red) house finches stop by the feeder, but I'm pretty sure this one brought a lady friend finch this time. Again, according to google, a house finch visit "is widely seen as a positive omen, traditionally symbolizing joy, harmony, and resilience. Because they are adaptable, cheerful songbirds that often thrive near human spaces, their presence is commonly interpreted as a reminder to find happiness in ordinary moments and bloom where you are planted." That's neat.

Hello, pretty lady

I love when the cardinals stop by.

Spring surprise

Since the clematis by my garage does so well, I thought I'd plant two in the yard and see if I had any luck getting them to grow. I thought the plants disappeared the day after we planted them, perhaps a squirrel or rabbit ate them? The other day I was filling the bird feeder and noticed the blooms on one of the plants! Maybe the other one survived too?

The clematis behind the garage are blooming strong! This was a little over a week ago.

And my milkweed have return. They're growing like weeds. No surprise there.

My first blue jay

I've had this bird feeder for almost a year and the other day was the first time a blue jay stopped by. Those feathers are beautiful.

And the bird's close-up. I googled to see whether it's a boy or girl but apparently they look exactly the same to the human eye - monomorphic. I learn something new every day.

Hummingbirds welcome

The hummingbird feeder the kids gave me for Christmas has been set up outside. So far, no visitors. So we wait.

Clematis and irises

Our clematis started bloomimg while we were in Jamaica. Allison took this picture for me. Hopefully, I can keep it trimmed enough it will continue to bloom for a while. I had cut it down to about eight inches in March so that seemed to be beneficial.

And the irises in the parkway are blooming. I say every year we need to divide the bulbs, but we never do.

Blooming bushes

Our Bridal Wreath looks really good this year. I should have taken a picture earlier before the delicate blooms got battered by rain.

Pretty bushes in our yard.

And the hostas look good. I transplanted some from outside the fence into the yard just a couple of weeks ago and they seem to be thriving. I need to add some more dark green and variegated ones to this area.

Oh, no! The vase of flowers I set on the dining room table got mysteriously knocked over while I was at work Thursday. Pretty sure I know who is to blame. Interestingly, they only messed with one of the vases. The one on the buffet was left alone.

Gas prices on the rise

This has been a crazy week, especially the last few days. Gas in River Forest on April 30.

A few hours later on my drive home. Wowza.

LaGrange that evening (hard to see but $5.29 cash, $5.39 credit).

Forest Park ...

and Berwyn.

More spring blooms

We never planted this, but it shows up every spring - Woodland Phlox.

The darker purple flowers are lunaria, the money plants.

And our Bridal Wreath is blooming.

And look at the progress my clematis has made in less than two weeks!

That’s a fire

Rather than stuff this dried, decorative grass in yard-waste bags, we had a fire and burned it.

Turned out to be quite the fire.

Parkway tulip

Our second parkway tulip on April 16, getting ready to bloom.

In full bloom Tuesday.