Spring... or Summer?

Lily of the Valley bush

I spent most of the afternoon outside today and even though that meant I didn't post what I wanted to (I have Whistler trip photos and stories to share) and the washer, dryer and dishwasher are still running late into the evening, I wouldn't have spent my day any other way. The sun was out and it was our hottest day so far this year. I don't know what the temperature was, but there were a couple of kids walking around in bathing suits and quite a lot of people working or playing in their yards. Families were making good use of their spring break and spending time together riding bikes or taking walks down to the water. A few driveways are empty here and there and I imagine they are on a warm sunny beach in California or listening to the waves on the Oregon coast.

It was too nice out to spend the day inside so I decided to work on the yard. I split and transplanted irises to different spots in several flowerbeds in my front yard and my neighbors back yard. I dug out at least 50% of my daisy "bush" as the patch was at least 4 feet wide and since they grow over 4 feet tall, I thought that was a little much! The center of the daisy patch was so tightly grown together that it was like chopping through a log buried beneath the dirt. The flower beds look new again because I raked all the beauty bark to hide the weathered top layer. The best part about doing all these things? I got some color on my shoulders and a natural dose of Vitamin D. Being in the sun gives me so much energy, but also takes a lot out of me, I'm exhausted!

No, this moss was not in my yard. I pulled it all up though. I almost felt bad because it looked so pretty!

When I was working in the yard, two hummingbirds kept coming by and diving at my head. They are so tiny and they make such a high, tinny, vibrating sound that it almost sounds synthesized- like something you would hear from a computer. I'm not talking about the vibration of their wings but the sounds they make. They don't tweet, they "chip" or "zee" and I am pretty sure I heard the "zee" variety, but I could be mistaken. You can hear the sounds here half way down the page. The hummingbirds I saw were a brownish green color with an amazing sparkling bright orange-red neck. I think they were either Ruby-throated hummingbirds or Rufous hummingbirds. Once they had circled and dived at me a couple of times, one of them came over for a closer look and stopped right in front of me, hovering for a few seconds. It was amazing! I really need to get a hummingbird feeder.

Petra got to play with a neighbor dog and I got to meet a new neighbor. It is amazing how you can live only a few doors down from someone but not know very much about them. I always enjoy spring and summer because people spend more time outdoors and there are more chances to run into them and get to learn a little bit about who they are. Here are a few pictures of Petra relaxing and getting some sun.

I love how relaxed she looks! This girl loves her sun.

The frogs are in full swing and they serenade us each evening. A few of them have been found in the yard recently much to Petra's delight. She loves to play with them. What she doesn't like on the other hand, are salamanders. They play dead and possibly make her mouth feel funny. Either way, they are no fun for her so if she sees one in the yard she searches until she finds her voice and yips at them. She is not a barker, so if you ever hear her bark there is usually something out of place in the yard. I think three or four of the times it's been a salamander, once it was a fluffy cattail blown into the yard and once her water bowl got flipped upside down on the cement and she thought it was stuck. Weird dog.

Hiding from Petra.

Whoops, it's Tuesday now, so I should really go fix my "todays" to "yesterdays." Oh well.