Riding Iten's Acres: First Cuts May 3, 2013

I spent the last two afternoons riding the Acres. For some, I suppose, cutting the grass would be a chore. I love it! Being outside, cruising the property, beheading a thousand dandelions, life is good. By mid-summer the barn swallows will join me for lunch when I cut the meadow and the wild area out back, and the blue birds will join me when I cut the front, winding my way among the flower beds. Today, it was just me and the robins. Well, the redwings fussed a bit when I cut near the pond, but they were a little subdued for them--guess there aren't any fledglings yet. The birds at the feeder just ignore me.
I am expanding the wild area a tad--again. I just am in love with God's wildness, and the beauty of the natural wildflowers of Ohio. Oh, I "seeded" the area with some daffodils, iris, lilies, monarda, spiderwort, and grape hyacinths. I threw in a few handfuls of wild flower seeds as well. Can't wait to see what happens this summer and fall. Don't worry, I still have plenty of meadow, the back forty, the orchard, and the rock garden out back, so it's still wide open. A park--minus the picnic tables.
The flowering trees and shrubs are magnificent--as I mentioned before: several redbuds, red and white crab apples, white and pink dogwoods, apple trees, pear trees, marsh marigold, red and white bleeding hearts, lilacs, azalea--color is everywhere painted on God's blue canvas. A few daffodils are still around--two or three dozen small white ones and the miniature golden bells are the last to bloom. They'll be around another ten days or so. A couple dozen tulips of various colors dot the flower beds and other areas, dozens of grape hyacinth are still blooming, the rock garden is a carpet of thrift and creeping phlox, and the first iris bloomed today. It caught me by surprise suddenly appearing in the rock garden. Two others are about to bloom--the usual early bloomers--a rosy white one and a yellow. Yes, all this beauty means my riding looks as if I'm in the middle of some city in rush hour traffic: stop and go, stop and go, stop and go. And sadly, my mower is a single seater so you'll have to walk the Acres if you want to see everything. Fear not! I will not run you over. Probably.
Two days of riding the Acres for the first time in 2013. I can't wait until it morphs into Feeding the Bluebirds and Feeding the swallows. Flying flowers are luscious too.