Planting season

 

I have columbines of 4 different colors

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A good friend has been making jewelry for us during the pandemic. When Maya saw the key chain made for me, she wanted one too as did Naomi

One of my many purchases for container gardens

The vegetable garden three days after planting. Lettuc came up by itself. Rhubarb, onions and asparagus are always there

Chestnut tree

Maya and I on the shrimp chair. It has a canopy and rocks

White bleeding hearts. Still have two pink ones still in bloom after 6 weeks

Fancy coconut margarita for Mother's day

Some of my 4 sets of Mother's Day flowers

Grandbabies on Mother's Day

Early morning sunrise on nearby lake

female hummer I have about 4 of them arriving early in May with the Baltimore orioles

Maya on University of Michigan campus

Every 17 years thousands of these cicadas hatch for 2 days then die Its that year Usually they are in forests but this one made its way to my garden

Hours and hours have been spent preparing multiple beds and planting 16 flats of annuals and vegetables and numerous perennials, some bought and some donated. Also planted a lot of seeds and will distribute them as they are bigger to beds  What I really need to do is mulch all these beds to minimize their watering and weeding. I also planted dahlias, gladiolas, Cana and calla lilies. Aside from making some of my planters prettier and never ending weeding, I am almost done

On some mornings, I am up before 6 riding my bike or running when there is less traffic, heat and wind. I am still not running as far as I was before my injury but I am gradually improving. I have biked more; so far almost 2100 miles between the indoor and the outdoor bike.

I have hosted work friends one night which was warm (too warm) for us all to sit outside. All the kids and grandkids came over for Mother's Day. It was the first time the cousins were all together since the pandemic. Oliver had his first vaccine a few weeks ago; Daniel will be eligible this summer. Might be in the fall when they approve it for the under 12s. Michigan in April had one of the highest Covid caseloads in the country. Too many stupid trumpers. But finally the infection rate has gone down considerably. As some of the newly eligible are not adults, in some states, they need adult permission to get the vaccine. Other states let the kids decide. Lots of cases where the kids want the vaccine but their ignorant parents won't let them.

But as it is warm out, I can meet with my friends outside and have which is nice. The CDC says that the vaccinated can sit inside without masks with each other though some of my friends do not want to take chances. Vaccinated people still can get sick but they rarely die so I feel much better about the pandemic now.

Some states are providing financial incentives for vaccines. Ohio had a million dollar lottery for the newly vaccinated. Ha A Michigan person won.

May flies

 

Bleeding hearts. I have white and pink ones. Unfortunately a late spring snowstorm broke all the stems. At least the plant will survive

Our house after the snowstorm. Late April

The service berry blossoms had been out. Now covered with snow balls

pansies covered in snow. They survived. In the past I had them bloom in the winter. However the hot sun of summer will kill them

Trick mirror and my legs at the Henry Ford Museum

For my birthday Shanna treated me to a Tiffany exhibit at the Henry Ford. I do love glass

Serviceberry blossoms before our snowstorm Pear blossoms and these came early and lasted for a long time this year

Our Chosen Sisters group finally met in person as we all have been vaccinated for some time. I made a black forest cake. Sort of messy

Covid ran through Maya's dad's family so we had her for 3 weekends as the disease ran its course Michigan is still a hotspot full of idiots who think it is alright to kidnap our governor who asked us to wear masks. These same idiots refuse to get vaccinated too. I won't shed a tear if they get sick but unfortunately they take out the innocent and if they are hospitalized, we foot the bill

Maya doesn't need glasses but she feels they make her look smart. Today she is in school for the first time in 14 months

Tessa got to go on a Girl Scout field trip and then got this enormous sundae

I have at least 5 varieties of daffodils. They don't last long as cut flowers

double rainbow over a Target parking lot taken by Naomi

lensball photo of daffodils

Maya likes our jacuzzi

For whatever reason, it was easier to negotiate vaccine websites in Ohio, which is fairly close. We arranged for Josh, Julie, and Naomi to get a J&J one early in the month before they were pulled for blood clots. The parking lot was full of Michigan plates

Krispy Kreme offers free doughnuts to the vaccinated. Not any near us in Ann Arbor but Naomi and I went to one in Toledo after her vaccine. Both she and Josh reacted quite strongly to the vaccine. No blood clots though which were 3 cases out of millions

So much of the past month has been clearing my gardens for planting and I am not finished. In a week or so the frost threat should pass and I can plant some annuals. We have had all extremes of temperatures but I have been riding my bike quite a bit, a 1000 miles so far this year and almost 700 miles on the indoor. I did start running on Easter, very slowly. My injury is about 90% healed and most of the time I don't feel it. There are still certain moves I can't do.

I have been seeing my kids and friends so I don't feel so isolated nor do I worry much about covid. I am frustrated with how stupid people are though concerning masks and vaccines. I am glad we have a grown up in the White House instead of that evil Putin installed imbecile.

My birthday came and went. Such a big number! But I don't feel it nor do I think I look it. Over a week my family and friends helped me celebrate