More surprises...

More flowers that just appeared in my backyard.

Purple and viney, not necessarily a part of
the surrounding vegetation in these pics.

The yard is getting more and more overgrown with each rainstorm. Even my welcome mat is green. :) (You think I'm kidding, after this last storm and the humidity and warmth, I've got some kind of algae growing on my front porch mat...)

For Dad

Humidity can be pretty.

This is for my dad because he said, "Where are the skies, the flowers, the dog pictures?!?" And apparently, I respond well to guilting. ;-)

More chickens

A fuzzy photo of a silky hen and some chicks that a coworker brought in. It's evidently time to order chicks. We've had several groups (including a group of quail!) arrive at the office recently. I love the sound they make, but it's really better in smaller doses.

My new phone does some things better (see below for some actual close-ups of flowers), but it's less forgiving, and the button isn't as easy to push! :)

For Posterity

This was the day of my grandmother's funeral.

Afterwards, we went to the farm to do some arranging and such, and I took some pictures of her flowers. This is the walkway being impinged upon by irises and the view from the hill. You can see all the different types in this photo: iris, cabbage roses, peonies, and a lily of some type (as well as some overgrown grass).

One of my favorite iris colors--so vibrant!

I've always loved poppies.

These are the color of the cake she made me for my 16th birthday.

Peonies in the shade.

The roses are about done. I love the cascade of petals in this one.

She hasn't lived on the farm for about a year, so this is the flowers after being untended for that long. The relative lack of weeds (there are some, but not nearly as many as in my flowerbeds) is a testament to how carefully she watched them. This is at ground level up the path. The green stalk in the middle will become firecracker flowers by July.

A Normal dog

A not-so-great pic of Parker, Tom and Kim's dog,
who now lives in Normal, Illinois.