It Is About The Flowers

 

If you've ever wondered why Memorial Day is celebrated in May, there are two reasons: On May 5, 1868, Decoration Day was established as a time to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers.  It is thought that May 30th was the date chosen to do so because more flowers would be in bloom at that time.

Decoration Day officially became Memorial Day in 1967. In 1968 the holiday was moved from May 30 to the last Monday in May.

Poppies are a symbol of remembrance of veterans for both Memorial Day and Veterans Day. My first poppy bloomed this morning, just at the right time. 

I took a walk around the house to photograph all the other flowers in bloom.

The miniature yellow rose is full of buds, but the leaves have been decimated by, most likely, Japanese Beetles. Though I didn't see any on the foliage they love rose bushes and I have seen hundreds of them on the red rose bush in past years.

The small start of sedum I transferred here from Mom's plants on the farm have spread all over, including between the stepping stones...

....and pictured here, around and on, the metate my Aunt Leona gave me. The grinding stone is one she found sometime after they moved to Arizona in the early 60's. 

The white flower is the blossom of Snow on the Mountain. (AKA, Bishop's Weed or Goutweed.)

Still on the south side of the house, the chive blossoms are fading. They too are spreading from the small plant I began with.

I have the new mulch to put between the stepping stones, I just haven't done it yet.

Continuing on are my "ditch daisies" which are usually a large mass in this area. This year there are only a few plants and the blooms don't seem as large as usual.

But it is okay. At least some survived and I still love these happy little 'weeds' as most probably consider them.

That metal is one of the handles and connecting bar of the old hand plow Bud found in the dumpster and rescued for me. 💝

A couple of the snapdragons I had in a row in front of the old plow last year survived so I moved them to my Great-grandmother Matilda's iron kettle.

I love the color of these and I'm so glad I saved the old bean pot even though it was almost rusted through the bottom when we moved from the farm. 

The bottom is gone now but it is still a viable and venerable planter. 

A little past the above planter are my Blanket Flowers (Gaillardia) which I also transplanted. These from a vacant spot down the street. 

I had them when we lived in Valley Junction (West Des Moines) and always liked the cheerfulness of their colors.

That is a Day Lily bud getting ready to bloom at the left side.

Around to the other side of the house - I knew the Peonies were in bloom because I brought a bouquet into the house a few days ago.

But what about the red roses? Ah, looks like they are just beginning to bloom. It also looks like something has been nibbling on their leaves, too. 

The aforementioned Peony bush. Between the roses and the peonies, the perfumed air smells so good here.

Peeking between the two peony blossoms is some Wild Columbine, also known as Eastern Columbine.

This plant has self-seeded from the original one near the mailbox. That one was one I moved here from the farm which was originally moved there from my sister-in-law Ruthie's shade garden.

Ten or so years ago my niece Kristi gave me a start of this plant. At the time she told me what she thought it was, which I don't recall now, but I didn't think it could be what she said.

I searched for the right name a long time and at last know it is Celandine Poppy. It easily self seeds and is now in several locations around our house.

The magenta Clematis is doing very well with many blooms already and plenty of buds. I does seem to like this location overlooking the pond and the very verdant lawn, pasture and trees beyond. I was so worried of the drought continuing but we have had a lot of rain. (Another .55 last night.)

This is the only pot I've planted so far this season. Usually it is salmon geraniums but this year they are pink - with an accent plant of Sprengeri Asparagus Fern.

I did also get some Blue Verbena plants for the two matching deck planters. I keep rocks in these to discourage the squirrels from storing their acorns later in  the year. 

It is quite possible I will get some more of my pots planted in the coming days - I'm now more in the mood to do so. 😊

My granddaughter sent me new pics of her boys last night.

It is quite possible that her message saying they plan to come to Iowa in three weeks has contributed to my good mood.

I am so ready to meet Henri Oliver and hold him for the first time.

As well as seeing Louis again. He has grown so much. Has it really been more than a year since I saw him last?

If so, I've got some catching up to do - if he'll stand still long enough. 😍

Memorial Weekend - Cemeteries and Company

 

Over the years we have established a routine of going to the cemeteries on Saturday morning of Memorial Weekend. The first stop is at East Fairview Cemetery in Lenox where Bud's parents and many of his uncles and aunts are buried. When he went to decorate his parents' graves, he found the exact same flowers already there. His sister had also brought Mom and Dad bouquets. The little flags were for his uncles' graves - the ones who served in WWII.

"I know who'll put flowers on my grave, but who will put flowers on yours?" 

That was a question my Grandma Delphia asked me when I was taking her to decorate graves when she was in her 90's. It was her way of letting me know she appreciated me taking her to the cemeteries and seeing that there were flowers there. I was surprised that no one else had yet been to Grandma and Grandpa Ridnour's gravesite in Maple Grove Cemetery north of Guss. Usually there are several floral offerings already. But then even we grandchildren are aging, so maybe it's not too surprising. And now I can answer Grandma's question: "No one. Because I won't have a gravesite." At least that's my plan if my children and husband follow through with my wishes.

Our next stop was at Prairie Rose Cemetery SW of Corning to decorate the graves of my parents and sister and nephew. I don't know why I didn't take pictures there. We also stopped at Walnut Grove Cemetery in Corning where Bud and I both have family members. Again, no pics.

The final stop was at Oakland Cemetery south of Quincy where we both have relatives buried. I put flowers on Grandma Bessie's and Grandpa George's graves as well as Aunt Leona and Aunt Evelyn's graves. They were Dad's sisters.

All the way from the cemetery in Guss to Corning to Quincy and home past Lake Icaria and through Prescott, we could see evidence of Tuesday's tornado - the path tracking southwest to northeast. Damage to homes and businesses and outbuildings and so very, very much tree damage. At one property east of Lake Icaria almost all the trees were down or had lost limbs but the house had practically no damage. They were fortunate. 

We were expecting a visit from granddaughter, Dominique and her husband Ian, so next stop was home. We had so much fun visiting with these two.

Dom brought us a loaf of her homemade honey mustard bread which we couldn't wait to try. It is so good.

I know what I'll be having for supper - a slice of cheese between two slices of this bread. Mm-m

They were only here a couple of hours, but as I said, we really had a good time visiting with them.

Ian had just gotten his new truck this week so I had to get a picture of them with it before they left.

They left with: "We'll be back to see you again and I'll send you a copy of that picture I took of all of us."

And here it is, just in time for me to add to the end of this post. I don't know what we have in store for the next two days of this holiday weekend, but it certainly started off well - a mix of honoring those for whom the holiday was founded - and enjoying the company of family. May your weekend be similar. 

Sooner or Later, Chances Are....

 ..... yes, it is the name of my blog. Originally it was the title I imagined using if I ever got to write a column for the Free Press when I worked there in the mid 90's. I did get to write a number of feature stories while there, but never a column. 

This morning my thoughts are about the chances we have been experiencing the past few days - and maybe well into the summer - the chance that one of those destructive forces from Mother Nature will hit us or our loved ones. Tuesday's bad weather knocked out our internet, t.v. and phone service but we were able to see what was going on because HD (Hubby Dearest) had bought and put up an antenna on our roof a few years ago after another tornado had hit our area and we were without power, i.e., a way of knowing what was going on. So at least we could track the storm and know if anything was headed our way.

But it was the next day before we learned that a woman had been killed in Adams County when her car was blown off the road north of Corning.  (Not someone either of us knew. This photo is from the DM Register.) Adams County was where we lived most of our lives before retiring and moving the Union County. I was concerned about a cousin and his wife near Mt. Etna and was glad when their daughter posted they were okay with only minimal damage. 

The photos and video from Greenfield are unbelievable and so heartbreaking. While at the same time, hopeful and heartwarming - to see how much clean up and temporary repair has been accomplished already - how the willingness to help and generosity are making a difference. 

So while I was aware there were more storms moving through Iowa early this a.m., I didn't think we were in any danger. I did hear some thunder in the night, but not the wind. (We sleep with white noise in our bedroom.) So I was surprised this morning when I saw these photos:

Great-grandsons Greyson and Ayden in a storm shelter in Ankeny.

They live in a mobile home so when the warnings went out their Mom took them to shelter. (Along with the cats.)

We have a storm shelter here in our mobile home park, but we've never used it - even in times when the sirens have gone off. I suppose 'chances are' that behavior might someday catch up with us. 

 A couple hours after the above photo I got this one from their Dad, who lives just outside of Guthrie Center, of tree limbs down just behind his garage and vehicle. Lucky they weren't any closer. 

I've messaged his sisters, one near Cedar Rapids, the other near Davenport, but haven't heard back. I'm sure they are okay and at work, most likely.

I was surprised to see that Iowa had more tornadoes this week than Kansas or Oklahoma. But with all the states and towns being affected by them so far this year, I can understand why FEMA said they will be out of funds by August. By then we'll be well into hurricane season! At least in Iowa we don't have to worry about those. We've already had hurricanes with names of family members - Andrew and Katrina. I see this year is predicted to be above average in number of hurricanes. If they get to the L's younger brother Les(lie), and all the other Leslies out there, will have one named after them. 

As mentioned we did have rain, wind and hail Tuesday. There was a small chunk of siding knocked out of our house. But what we can't figure out is this baseball on the neighbor's deck. Where did it come from? No kids around here and it happened around the same time as the wind and hail. Is it possible the ball was picked up by one of the tornadoes and then dropped later? Even though we didn't have a tornado close by? One of those mysteries I'll probably never know the answer to. 

Mother Nature is powerful, unpredictable and many faceted.

Mother's Day Weekend 2024 Part II

Today's Mother's Day celebrating was smaller than yesterday's but just as appreciated. This afternoon son Preston and daughter-in-law Shalea gifted me this planter of Geraniums.

They also brought brownies and ice cream which were delish. And delivered this set of four candles. The scents are all different. The containers are metal and the designs unique. They are from granddaughter Kathryn and her husband Travis and sons Louis and Henri. 

The photo with all three of us is slightly blurry, but I wanted to include one with Shalea, too. (I do need a new camera.)

The afternoon ended with some facetime with daughter Kari. Thank goodness for this magic window and the ability to spend time seeing and talking with loved ones.  

All in all, it was a lovely Mother's Day weekend which looks like it might end with a thunderstorm. So glad it was nice and sunny both days. Happy Mother's Day to all..... 💗

Mother's Day Weekend 2024 Part I

I wish I had kept track of how many years my son Douglas and his wife Shelly have been bringing me a hanging planter of beautiful flowers for Mother's Day. But I have not. They are always gorgeous. And this year they brought everything for a lunch of pizza and salad. They made at least six kinds of pizza which were so good. I should have taken pictures of those!And Shelly's strawberry/rhubarb pie! I look forward to that every year. 

Usually it is just the four of us, but this year we had the bonus of Granddaughter Alyssa and her two children Lily and Maverick. Those three live in the north country so we do not see them very often. It is always nice to catch up with what's going on in their lives. 

I did get one photo of Great-grandpa Bud with Lily and Shelly. The photo album was from Doug and Shelly's wedding thirty-five and a half years ago. So fun to remember that day. 

A good photo of Douglas and daughter Alyssa.

Me with great-granddaughter Lily. 

Lily obliged my wish to take her photo in a sweater I wore in high school. I now have photos of four generations wearing it - me in the 1960's, my daughter, Kari, in the 1980's, granddaughter Katrina in the 20 teens and now Lily. Those last two put it on just for a photo to please their g'ma,/gr-g'ma R.

And I do appreciate it. 💞

Maverick was under the dining room table hiding. I told him I used to play under that table when I was his age when we were at my Grandma Lynam's. I don't think he was impressed.

Tomorrow my younger son and his wife are coming to see us. Later I'll have face time with daughter Kari and probably a phone call from step-son Mark.

It is wonderful to be a mother. And I have been a very fortunate one. 

From Time and the Continuance

This post combines a great photo my husband took at the Lake McKinley spillway after two and a half inches of rain last week and another poem by one of of my favorite poets. 

Circles By Mary Oliver

This is a photo I took at our pond - the only one I ever got with a heron catching a fish.  (September, 2017)

When May Was Young

 

May By Christina Rossetti

I cannot tell you how it was,
But this I know: it came to pass
Upon a bright and sunny day
When May was young; ah, pleasant May!
As yet the poppies were not born
Between the blades of tender corn;
The last egg had not hatched as yet,
Nor any bird foregone its mate.

I cannot tell you what it was,
But this I know: it did but pass.
It passed away with sunny May,
Like all sweet things it passed away,
And left me old, and cold, and gray.