Monday, May 1, 2017

April Showers and All That

Spring has landed on the Mountain Top in the most beautiful way this year. 

It takes its sweet time getting here, but once it does, it's glorious. 


We've had abundant rains this spring, which, combined with our late season snowfall, have made the grass green up nicely. 



I mowed for the first time on Saturday. The property always looks so nice when it is freshly mowed. 

You almost can't tell that it's completely taken over by dandelions. 

Let's pretend, shall we?



Every year at this time I consider getting myself a ride on mower. I have just under 2 acres of property, and it takes me much of the day with a push mower to get the grass mowed. 

With a ride on, I'd probably be done in a half hour. 

Maybe then I'd have more time to dig up some of those darned weeds. 

Or read a book and relax. 



I think I'm afraid of the maintenance involved with a ride on mower. Currently I use a battery powered mower and the only maintenance I have to do is plug in the batteries when I'm done. 

It's a great little mower, made by Worx, and it gets the job done.
If I was retired, perhaps I wouldn't mind being out there for hours doing the lawn. After all, I'm out in the fresh air, getting some excercise. 

However, I work full time, and my time off is both limited and precious. 

Anyway, I'm on the fence. If anyone has a good electric ride on mower out there, I'd love to hear about it. 



Meanwhile, the Lilacs will be blooming soon, and I truly can't wait. Last year, only one Lilac bloomed, and only produced a few flowers. This year, even a couple of the young shrubs have blooms. 



Along the fenceline, the Ninebark and Barberry are both leafing out. 

Someday this is going to be a spectacular combination. 



Just look at how gorgeous the Lemon Candy Ninebark is! You can see the Tangelo Barberry to the left, it's an orange variety. This is their third season so hopefully we'll see a little more growth. You can see more on those shrubs in this post, they are both great specimens and contrast beautifully with the evergreens on either side. 



This gorgeous display greets me when I come home each day. When the bulbs are done blooming they will be planted in the new bed next to the garden cottage

Which, by the way, is doing well! All the Peonies came back (whew!) 2 of the 3 Bleeding Heart plants came back (note to self, order a replacement.) Like everywhere else, it needs to be weeded desperately, before it blooms.  The garden was planted last spring, so I don't expect much from the perennials this year, but it sure is exciting to see what made it through the winter!

Meanwhile, back inside, someone else was pretty excited as well. 

May I present......



....the little Monkey, with her newest toy! She's so cute with a new toy, she has to sniff it and squeak it, and lick it all over. 



I saw this in a display of dog toys at the garden center last week when I bought all the compost for the veggie bed. 

I couldn't resist, it's a little fat cow and looks remarkably like her!



Tubby Bubbles was happy with the bag of peanut butter cookies I brought home for her. 



Hey, can I have a little privacy here, please? 

Hmmmmppphhh. 

34 comments:

  1. LOL at the little monkey toy! That pupster gets cuter all the time. I always mowed almost 2 acres before this house--1-1/2 acres with this place. I have a John Deere rider -48" cut and I can cut it in well under 2 hours---could probably be faster but I have lots of things to cut 'around'.
    Have a wonderful week- xo Diana

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    1. It's either that or I consider a lawn service, Diana, because on Saturday that grass kicked my A%& !!! :)

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  2. How precious is that! She does love a new toy. Everything turned green here while we were away for a week, now lush and glorious green. I am totally envious of your hyacinths - mine never bloom like that.

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    1. They probably won't bloom like that ever again, Carole. I find with Hyacinth they have a great bloom the first year and then it gets weaker every year after. The scent is amazing right now, and I cut the two that were drooping and brought them inside to enjoy! Love spring so much!!

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  3. Haha she does love her toy! So sweet. Your yard looks great. Ive never heard of an electric mower.
    Lisa

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    1. They make electric ride ons as well, Lisa, but they are expensive and I'm afraid they won't be worth it.

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  4. Your lawn looks fabulous! Dandelions? What dandelions? Thanks for the closeup of the shrubs. I was unfamiliar with that variety of barberry. Very pretty... I vote for a riding mower...that is a lot of walking. Monkey is too precious...the toy does resemble her somewhat...don't tell I said so...ha!

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    1. Oh believe me, Donna, there are millions of dandelions!!! I spent an hour last night after work trying to dig them out of the flower beds but I draw the line at spending too much time on the ones in the grass!!

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  5. I can't imagine mowing that much land without a ride-on mower! I think someone needs a present for Mother's Day or their birthday. :-)

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    1. Ha ha I think so, too, Melanie!! I get about 18,000 steps on the days I do the lawn - I wouldn't mind as much but some of it is uphill, which is always a workout!

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  6. Monkey's so cute! I just checked my garden calendar and my husband mowed the first time on 3/25. It's a pleasure to see the spring encore from your point of view. :) Happy May, Debbie.

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    1. Wow, that's early, Rita - I think we were still under 4 feet of snow at that point! Happy May to you also!!

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  7. Monkey is adorable! I wish my dogs could figure out how to play with toys. Can you imagine they just look at all the toys like they have no idea?
    Brenda

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    1. That's a riot, Brenda - I'm sure you have tried all sorts of toys for them? Perhaps the soft, fluffy ones would be better? I had a dog that used to curl up with them like a teddy bear and suck on the ear until he fell asleep. Such a baby!

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  8. Little Monkey is so sweet I can see why you love her! Coco only likes one thing now and it is a fleece toy we call her comfy toy because she sucks on it like a pacifier! As always your place is beautiful but mowing a full day would make me think twice but I am no help on a riding lawn mower. We have never had one and now they do the mowing here. Nancy

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    1. That's adorable, Nancy! I had a Pomeranian who did the same thing, it was so cute!! I'm tempted to hire a lawn service, I'm weighing it at the moment. I hate to pay the money, but maybe it's worth it in the long run.

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  9. Monkey is just the cutest Deb. He must make you smile every day :)

    I vote for NO ride mower...then you can eat all your good food guilt free!

    xxx

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    1. That's a good point, Doreen....I guess that means NO to a lawn service as well, huh? :(

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  10. You're a better woman than I!! We had a huge yard growing up, lots of mowing and yard work, and I think that cured me! Our yards have been small, quick cut and off to the beach!

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    1. Ha! And we had a postage stamp sized yard that we cut with a rotary/manual mower, took about 5 minutes to do the whole thing. I guess that's why I went the opposite way, huh? You're obviously a lot smarter than me! Even when I was in Long Island I had about 3/4 acre, I used to cut the front grass every Friday but the back only every other week. I was also 20 years younger!!

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  11. She has such a cute little compact body! I love her seriousness in "taking care" of her new toy.

    I wrote down the name of Lemon Candy Ninebark, never heard of it but I love the color and the pretty leaves. A push mower? My goodness, I'm impressed! I'm sure your calf muscles are better than if you rode a mower.

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    1. It's also a compact version of Ninebark, Dewena, so it should be a good size for the fence line. It's just so bright and pretty, it makes me smile! As for my calf muscles, I am thinking you're right, but I also think I pulled a muscle in my chest this weekend pushing that darned mower up the hill!

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  12. Oh my, I can't imagine mowing your huge yard with a push mower! My goodness, that is a lot of work. We have a ride on, but my husband keeps it maintained, so I can't help you with that! Your blooms look amazing, I agree it is so exciting this time of year to see everything come out into blooms! My grape hyacinths are just starting to bloom, and I'm patiently waiting on my tulips to bloom, should be any day now! Your home looks so lovely, you have done some amazing things with your yard since you bought the place. So exciting isn't it :)

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    1. I've always been a gardener, Marilyn, so I was so excited to get out and put a little of my own stamp on the gardens when I bought the house. The previous owners were also gardeners, so at least I had a good base....however, I'm fixing other people's mistakes, also, which isn't fun! Like the Mint fiasco last year, yikes. And the Tansy, which I'm going to have to start ripping out.

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  13. The little monkey would be so cute with her nails painted. Lol!!!

    I always love your yard tours. You are so lucky to live in such a gorgeous place. And I love all the plant and flower additions you do each year.

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    1. She would be, wouldn't she? She's got some long nails, my little rascal! I think this year I want to add a Pee Gee Hydrangea, I'm not quite sure where, yet. And I want to finish off my garden cottage (I bought lattice for around the base) and plant a few things around it. I'm still kind of working it out in my head....and figuring out how much my back can take!

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  14. It all looks so pretty especially the hyacinth in the pots!!!

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    1. I brought a few of them inside to enjoy close up! They smell heavenly!

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  15. So pretty and springy at your side of the mountain! Girl, I think you need a riding mower. Now which one, I don't know but you don't have time for all that pushing.

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    1. You are so right, my friend! I don't have time...and I need to free up time to take care of other things in the garden instead of spending all day on the grass!

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  16. Monkey always cracks me up...what a character she is! I say go for the riding lawnmower...it really is a huge timesaver. We had one growing up to mow our acre lawn.

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    1. She truly is a rascal, isn't she, Debbie? She's my little goofball and she makes me laugh every day!!

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  17. Little Monkey is so adorable playing with her new toy. Molly gave up playing with toys when we had to put Dudley down. It's so cute to watch our new little Sadie Sue play with all the toys now. She hauls them all around with her. As for your lawn, if we had two acres I know we would have a riding lawn mower, but at the condo we don't have to worry about it and there's not much yard at the cottage.

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    1. Awww, that's awesome, Carol - your little Sadie Sue is such a cutie pie, I'm so glad she came into your life!!

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