Well, they say April showers bring May flowers. In that case, there should be lots of flowers here in Ohio in May. Rain. Rain. Rain. What should have been the first few weeks of planting has been just a cold and rainy spring.
Therefore I took it into my own hands and headed to our nearby green house and bought my potted plants to hang on the porch. I know so many say to repot your own but mine always die. I’ve had luck with buying them already planted and loved by a professional and so I’m sticking with that.
I would also like to note that while I do not live near a grocery store I do have an amazing little greenhouse just 3 minutes down the road. It’s always a pleasure when something grand is close by and this little greenhouse is my favorite.
I chose to go with begonias again this year. They seem to do well for the entire summer and I can forget to water them for a few days and they survive! Of course, after I snapped this picture I also had to put up hanging CDs to try to ward off the robin that is trying to make his home on our porch.
So this morning, instead of these pretty hanging baskets I have four CDs we bought at the dollar store hanging from string on my porch.
In other news, my peonies are starting to grow and grow! I am always relieved when they start to come up. I am determined not to be the first generation to ruin these beautiful plants. We’ve had a few moles make their home in the middle of them, but they seem to be okay. If you’re following along on instagram, I’m sharing a week by week update on these 22 60+ year old plants.
Probably the most frustrating part of the month (besides the weather) was that someone dumped a ton of tires on the property around the corner from us. We thought it was my brother’s property but it turned out to be the neighbor. Nevertheless, not cool! Thankfully after calling the police about it the township actually ended up picking them up since there were in the ditch. But the fact remains, not a very kind thing to do to someone. Tires are expensive to dispose of.
Between the rain I did get to mow two times. I need to mow again but it’s too soggy today. I like to snap pictures when I’m mowing because I have so many moments where I look up and just absolutely adore the view. This one looks out on my brother’s field to that little red barn by his woods. (On the other side of the woods is where the tires were dumped for a frame of reference.)
This was other view from the mower. I just love this big old tree in our backyard. I can’t remember what kind it is. It’s kind a less common name and therefore I always forget it.
All in all, when it was nice outside we took advantage as much as we could by reading and playing outside. I finished the book Sarah’s Key this week and enjoyed it. I seem to be on a World War II historical fiction kick. That being said, if you haven’t read The Tatooist of Aushwitz I highly recommend it as well. The best book I’ve read this year, so far.
My sister also grabbed this book for me at a garage sale and I’ve loved the inspiration in all it’s pages. I’m still finding my style in our home between the old and the new. This was packed with some fun ideas.
One more thought on the rain. At least the rain clouds are pretty next to the milk house.
With the rain, I did find time to sort through two old books filled with newspaper clippings my great-great-grandmother put together. My dad found them while cleaning out his garage so I’ve been reading through them to catch little details about our family. This poem jumped out at me. In a day where everything can at times feel so disruptive it was an eye opener to see that even in 1914, they felt the same way.
Speaking of finding things. I went out to mow and found this laying on the ground. I’m pretty sure it’s from the church up the road that my parent’s were married in that closed in the 90s. No idea how it ended up there, but I’m going to frame it. You just never know what’s going to jump out and find you when you live among so many things from generations ago.
All in all, more beautiful sunsets and a hope for a warmer May. I’m sure my brother would love for it to warm up so that we can dry out and he can get planting. Hopefully next month will be full of those moments. Until then, my goals are to keep the robins from building a nest on my porch and to enjoy this busy season (baseball) and all the moments we can be outside.
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