Once around the block

There's a damp chill this morning, so our walk consisted of once around the block and back home. I took the camera, figuring there wouldn't be much new to shoot, especially in this gray.


Right outside the door, though, I noticed my bushes are beginning to flower. We should have pink blooms any day now. And the potted flowers seem to be doing well, too. I've only lost one pansy plant (aptly named, no?) so far.


And looking off to the west, it seems we're doing the little black Eeyore cloud right over the neighborhood.

Ok, away from the house and around the block...

You know the cat lady who love kitties so much she keeps taking in one after another until it becomes local news and animal control has to be called? I think this woman is a tree lady. She's overplanted the front yard with these spruce which, should they actually survive, will fill up her limited little patch of yard with no hope of even squeezing between them. I think a couple of them already have the mange.


Right around the corner from the spruce lady is the last remnants of the big yellow bush I've been taking photographs of. May was its month. June means nothing but green from here on out.


But there were a surprising number of new blooming plants along the way. Maybe they were just waiting for those show-offy tulips to have their day and get off the stage.





I would like to thank the owners of this house for their front garden. I'm sure they weren't thinking of the crazy neighborhood camera lady when they put this weathered chair out in their flowers (hopefully with some blooming vines planted nearby) but it is much appreciated.


This orange flower is a favorite of mine, although I'm not sure what it is. It appears to be in the poppy family, and June is their month. See all the buds? I'm trembling with anticipation.

Here is a close-up of another one. It almost looks like silk. (This bloom is planted in another yard closer to the sidewalk. No, I don't get up on people's porches, I promise).





Ha! Two robins in one picture. Take that you little teases. Yes, it's a terrible, out of focus picture. They are still there as opposed to all the shots I have of just rocks because the birds have just flitted away.

Back to the flowers...






Now, I could be wrong, but these look for all the world like carnations. I don't think I've ever seen planted carnations. I was so intrigued, I shot it with the water drain, and hose and bags of fertilizer littered around. Edited to add: I was wrong. These are peonies.

But my favorite discovery of today's batch? Check out the creepy eye on that tree trunk.