Wiley Home Nature Update

Seeing as it is now well into May, I know you have all wondered how our yard is doing this Spring. So here is a Wiley Home Nature Update.

First a little record keeping.
Mother's Day 2009 was great. These beautiful flowers were presented on Saturday along with a clean car. Two things that I love. Then Sunday came complete with sleeping in, a break from usual Sunday chores, a delicious breakfast, a husband whose church meetings were canceled, an easy & delicious dinner, and of course perfect presents. We got to go on a walk after dinner and capped the night off with my favorite dessert -- s'mores cooked over our backyard fire.

I call this series Just Can't Get Enough (enlarge the pictures to see the correlation)





















Now on to the Nature Update.

First of all and quite notably, we have wildlife this year.










Birds & squirrels are a common sight (as are bees & aphids, but we'll ignore that for now) and I have to refill my birdfeeder daily.



Second, we planted our garden and it is thriving (so far).

We anxiously await our harvest of tomatoes (2 varieties), peppers (4 varieties), pumpkin (that Oliver started from seed at school), peas, zucchini, carrots, watermelon, and 7 types of herbs.

Third, and most exciting to me, my Dogwood tree is in full bloom.



This is a tree I insisted on planting right outside my kitchen window, in spite of our landscaper's protests. It reminds me of the beautiful tree that sat right in front of our childhood home in Kensington, MD, covered in delicate, almost exotic, yet classic and understated pink blossoms. My mom used to say their shape should remind us of the cross Jesus died on and the points on the pedals like the nails in his hands. What gave her that idea, I don't know, but it has stuck with me.



Our flower pots were delivered and they are beautiful, we got new top soil, we had a nice display of bulb-blossoms, and about 75% of the perennials survived the fall-splitting. Tonight the boys and I released ladybugs onto the honeysuckle in the front to try to combat the aphids. Hopefully that will work. I bought a new honeysuckle to put in the back that will hopefully be more fragrant. That's another plant that reminds me of my childhood and sucking the nectar out of the blossoms on Melanie Curran's backyard fence.

Dan Reneer of Honeytree commented to me the other day that the best thing about Spring/Summer/Fall in Utah is that every day either the daytime is perfect or the nighttime is perfect. He's absolutely right, and I appreciate the perspective on the impending Dreadful Hot Season. I will try to focus on the nice cool evenings and appreciate the long-lasting sunshine as I'm melting away all day long (exascerbated by my incubation state).

The other evening as Scott and I sat outside watching the kids play contentedly, I commented to him, "We have a good life" and I meant it. We are very blessed that the worst things we have to worry about are the leaning post in the front yard and a growing birdseed bill. Even though it seems like everyone I'm related to is doing something more exciting (a romantic "hawaiian" getaway, my dream european tour, going to Harvard, buying a new home, a picturesque race along the C&O canal -- well not the running part but the location), I still wouldn't trade my happy life for anything.