Sunday, May 31, 2015

Photo Blogging Challenge: Spring

For May, PJ chose "Spring" for our theme. Since I had already posted photos from almost all of our spring events throughout the month, I decided to take a few minutes this rainy Sunday to get some shots of the things growing around the property. There is a reason spring is my favorite season!


We have at least 10 mulberry trees scattered around the property, and this is the first one to get some ripe fruit on it. While we do eat some of them (Playing outside and feel a bit hungry? Mulberries all around!), the chickens get the most benefit out of them. We pick gobs of them almost daily. Many go straight into the chicken pen, but others will be put into "pies" for the freezer to feed the chickens when fresh produce isn't so handy.


The lilies in the front flower bed popped open just yesterday. Lilies are some of my favorite flowers in the world.



The apple and pear trees are full of fruit. Good thing, as we are on our last jar of applesauce and only have a few jars of apple slices left from last season.


One project this summer is to get the perimeter of the entire house cleaned up. The dogs and weeds have taken over. We'll be spraying for weeds (We've learned the hard way. If we pull them, we will all get poison ivy rashes.), putting fill dirt down to repair the damage the dogs are doing to our basement, get a ton of mulch to put down, and planting some flowers, bushes, and other plants. Hostas will be the main thing we plant. They have proven to withstand all of the digging the dogs do, plus they do well in all of the shade we have around the house.


The garden is doing so well!! The rabbits have stayed away, and since I don't have an injured knee this year, I can help with all of the weeding. Thanks to injury and all of the travel last year, the beans were almost all wasted. NOT THIS YEAR!! I'm planning on canning a whole mess of green beans this summer.

What does spring look like where you live? Feel free to head over to PJ's and link up your own photos!

Have a lovely day!

35 comments:

  1. Love the photo of the lily. it's a gorgeous colour. love this time of year too, late spring heading into summer - light nights and early mornings, birdsong, and everywhere is just so green : )

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    1. I don't even remember planting a yellow lily. Perhaps the kids did. I do love it, though.

      Frist it is!

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  2. Hi Christine, I like all your photos, especially the fruit growing around your home, looks so fresh.

    https://claresphotospace.wordpress.com/2015/05/31/spring-is-here/

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    1. Thanks! We lucked into a great property with lots of trees bearing fruit.

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  3. Gorgeous! I'm going to see if I can find five photos I haven't posted yet and join in!

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  4. Oh the lily is my favorite. I love all the wonderful colors of spring and it's my favorite time of year too. The world comes alive.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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    1. Lilies are so pretty, aren't they? So many pretty things blooming and growing all over the place. Spring is the best.

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  5. I love garden photos. Lilies are one of my favorites, too. And the fruit - wonderful. Hosta is such a peaceful plant in a shady garden.

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    1. I will be planting lots of hosta. Even when the aren't in bloom, the leaves are pretty.

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  6. I love the first three close up nature pics.
    Our peach tree has its first peach on it. We look forward to eating peaches while you eat apples!

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    1. We had two peach trees when we moved here. The best peaches I've ever had! Unfortunately, they died a year later. This is an old property with old trees... The new trees aren't giving us much yet. Someday. I hope.

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  7. Mulberries are WONDERFUL, and that's a gorgeous pic of them :)

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    1. They are! I'm going to make syrup with them this year. (I say that every year, but this year I mean it!)

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  8. I am amazingly jealous of your garden. WOW!!!! I especially love the mulberry - the shot is gorgeous. We have black raspberries growing wild in Corolla and by next weekend I think we will be eating them. Can't wait!

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    1. We have come a long way in our gardening skills. We're finally able to grow enough to actually make a dent in our food bill. :)

      Thanks!

      We have quite a few raspberry bushes around the property, too. We still have a bit of time before those ripen, though. Enjoy yours!

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  9. Your close up photos are beautiful.

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  10. Love your macro shots! My lilies are not blooming yet, but there are lots of buds. Looks like a very successful Spring in your yard! Enjoy those berries and apples!

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    1. Thank you! Our lilies just opened the day before I took the photos, so you aren't too far behind! Spring is going well, as the fruit, veggies, and weeds can attest. :)

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  11. Is this a duplicate? I hope not, but I just submitted a comment that seemed to have disappeared. (Unless it shows up later in triplicate, of course.) Anyway, I love your photos. Spring is long gone here--we're in the 90's, temperature-wise. However, I'm excited to learn about this challenge, and hope to participate in the future.

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    1. It is not! :)

      Perfect timing for you, as next month's challenge theme is a free for all! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

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  12. Nice interpratation! The close-up shots of the flowers with the rain drops are really neat! :D

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  13. I am amazed how ahead of us the whole country seems to be ! We dont even have buds on our berry plants and forget the apple tree! Lovely photos!

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    1. Well, when you have 500 feet of snow that needs to melt before spring begins, you're gonna be a bit behind. :)

      Thank you!

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  14. I'm jealous that your apples and pears are already showing fruit, the orchard is just blooming here. We have lots of yard work and planting ahead too.. If I can manage to stay out of the city long enough! So many things happening. I am loving this time of year. :)

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    1. We have a lot of work to do, but at least I have a workforce that includes 4 able-bodied teens to help (and 2 kinda-able-bodied little kids).

      Our reasons for going into town have dwindled considerably. I am at home way more than during the school year, so we WILL get this stuff done!

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  15. What a great choice for this month's theme. The photo of the lilies is awesome. I love the focus and color. The photo of the apple is cool, too. Sounds like you'll have a lot around the yard to keep you all busy this spring and summer! :D

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    1. Thank you!

      We most certainly have plenty to keep us busy. Fortunately, there are plenty of us to share the work. :)

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  16. Thanks for sharing your spring. Looks lovely and maybe even tasty soon.

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    1. Hopefully, we'll be getting something from the garden in a few weeks!

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  17. Wow! Your garden is so far along compared to ours. The apple trees just finished blossoming and I can see the very first tiny apples forming now. And we're weeks away from any harvest out of the vegetable patch. As for your photo of the mulberries, I never really thought about mulberries before. We don't have them here, at least as far as I know, but I remember a song from my childhood that goes something like

    All around the mulberry bush,
    The monkey chased the weasel,
    The monkey thought it was all in fun,
    Pop! goes the weasel.

    A penny for a spool of thread
    A penny for the weasel
    That's the way the money goes
    Pop! goes the weasel.

    I'm sure there's some sort of horrible symbolism in there and now I'm curious enough that I'm going to have to go look it up!

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    1. I used to only know of mulberries from that song, too! It wasn't until we moved here and someone pointed it out to me that I knew what they were. It's also when I learned that they aren't just bushes. We have full-fledged mulberry trees.

      And now I'm wondering where the song came from... :)

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  18. Looks beautiful. And isn't making garden plans so much fun?

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Thank you for taking the time to tell me what you're thinking!