A thousand eyes

Every time, I walk down the driveway, I feel as though there are many, many eyes watching me.

This is one of our biggest rhodies and has been busy with renewal since the big hemlock was cut down.  She has the sun all to herself now.

There were lots of bumblebees buzzing in the flowers but they kept hiding inside the blossoms.  Work, work, work...no time for posing today.

I love how the spots look black but are really a dark, reddish-purple.  Isn't she beautiful?

A mystery

A few years ago, when we bought the house , the garden seemed to have a limitless space to fill.  We went to nursery sales and neighborhood garden sales.  As you know, we've even acquired plants at garage sales.

 
But this is our mystery plant.  I think we've had this plant for almost ten years and I still don't know what it is.

I've asked two master gardeners  and still no idea.  We bought it as a small twig with a few leaves and a sign that said "anemone bush - grows to 5 feet".  That was so funny at the time because it stayed a tiny little couple of branches for at least three years.

Then it started to grow.  And grow - it's over 5 feet now and it's been pruned often.  Then one year, it produced a bud.  One.  It was a white flower which disappeared in less than a week.  The next year we had more.  Now, we have lots.  This is a gorgeous bush when it flowers.  The scent of the blossoms is stronger than our lilacs and is very pretty. 

Anyone know what it is?

2-4-6

The past few days have been a bit hectic.  You know, those times when you think that you can add nothing else to your schedule...then something happens?

The seniors have been busy and the center will be buzzing along for the next month or so.  When I became President of our seniors' association, the board decided that we would maximize our time and space available to provide the very best programming that we could.  Well!  That means a lot of meetings.  So, I've been meting and setting up and talking on the phone and emailing.  But I haven't been posting.

Then, over the weekend Anne's mystery illness kicked into high gear.  We spent 6 hours in the ER on Friday and thought it was resolved.  After increasingly lousy days, we trekked back to the ER yesterday.  Another day and still no definite answers.  It's a matter of ruling out everything it can't be.  Tests are ordered but it takes time to get in.  Meanwhile we get a good look at our health care system.  It gets a B+ this week.  The nurses are always A+, though.

So, I have been knitting.  Working on some cotton yarn that Maria gave me - she is so much better at downsizing her stash than I am - which she thought might make some sort of matching sweaters for the kids.

I used the rainbow yarn and the creamy yellow to make a rainbow sweater for Katie with purple boat buttons that come all the way from Nicaragua.  That's the 2. 

Size 4 is Charlie's sort-of-cricket vest.  I found some manly dark blue for the contrast as the rainbow just didn't work.

And the 6 is Becky's summery cropped cardi with a lacy rainbow yoke.

Now, I'm back to socks as  potential waiting room knitting - just in case.  

Wha-a-at?

 This morning's garden chatter:

Hmmm...looks like they've taken the shiny stuff off the snack pole. 

Where is it?

No, really...where is it?

No snacks?  I'm outta here.

Maybe we're solving the problem of the squirrels raiding the feeders, too.