Happy Late Mother's Day & More!

Happy Mother's Day!

I lied when I said the robin was gone...first one egg, then two...and now four eggs! Momma robin hardly leaves the nest and we try really hard to not use the front door. Can't wait to see the baby robins hatch. How did I spend Mother's Day? Buying plants for my window boxes of course! Every year for the past five or six years I purchase and plant my window boxes.... it takes LOTS of plants to fill them- I think this year I've got around 30+ plants per box. I never plant them the same (year by year). This year I wanted something with more orange and some purple. I have a vision in my head how I want the boxes to look like. I am very limited by the plants available to me so I work with what I can get. I know that coleus and impatiens do very well so I make sure to have some of both. I love trying out new combinations every year. As they grow they will change and it's always neat to see what does really well and what doesn't.
Nearly finished...I fill the boxes partially full with potting soil and composted manure, figure out the plant placement and then finally add dirt around the plants and gently tamp around the plants to ensure good soil contact. After I put them in place I water them thoroughly.

Box in place...I have no idea why this photo is sideways. Grrr...

Now since I've got so many plants in such a tight space I do have to fertilize frequently (like once per week). I check their water daily - stick a finger down an inch into the dirt- if it's dry I water & if it's moist I don't. I water them gently until water starts dripping out the bottom. Window boxes tend to need more water as they dry out quickly.

We were blessed with a brief but fun visit from Grandpa! He even brought along his accordion! Mark and his Dad had a fun polka jam session. The girls both tried playing along on their toy accordion.

Morels, morels and more morels! Holy schmoly did we ever find some morels on Saturday!

I had NO idea we had this many.... nearly an entire sink full of them! We made a delicious morel cream sauce that we served over fettucini noodles for dinner. Plus we had some fresh asparagus from Grandpa's (& Aunt Beth's) garden. YUMMY!

(why oh why is this photo sideways?)

The clothing choices of a three-year old...Ava decided to put on tights OVER her pants. I can't imagine that being very comfortable!