This Week at Iten's Acres: Green May 26, 2014

Green. That is the dominant venue at The Acres this time of year. There are a few iris--not many, it's been a down year. And there are a few clumps of columbine. Some white and red bachelor's buttons in the wild area.The stones in the rock garden are draped in bluish-purple periwinkle. Other than that--acres of green. (Oops, forgot the yellow flag iris in the bog.--and it's staring right at me. Duh.) Not that the green is all one color. Myriads of shades and leaf shapes, and plant heights make the green wildness gorgeous. By the end of the week, the daisies should be blooming and before long the day lilies and Siberian iris will add their colors to the palate that is summer time at Iten's Acres.
I did, of course, force myself to go to Baker's Acres so the house is surrounded by planters filled with annuals. They will be my companions until fall, growing more and more glorious as the days pass. Sometime this week or next I should get my yearly pallet of wild flowers from Prairie Moon Nursery. I love planting those--naturalizing is one of the primary directives of The Acres. And what could be more serene than a delivery from Prairie Moon Nursery. Love that name. This year I've ordered wild flowers that appreciate the shady and dappled shady areas of the place--as well as a few lovers of wet, boggish areas.
I spent a couple days this week Riding the Acres. With teaching I've not been able to mow except on the weekends, and the weekends have been wet. Ergo: the grass was very high. Had to double cut in some areas. If I had waited another week, I could have sold it for hay. Of course, I and the mower may have very well disappeared into the wilderness never to return. I do love the mowing though. Time
for introspection and reflection. Time to rejoice in my addiction to pathitis. Time to just sit for awhile and watch the bluebirds feed behind me. Sadly, the air corps of barn swallows sat this one out. Hopefully, they will escort me on future ridings.
All in all, a lovely time at The Acres.

Yes, of course, you may be green with envy. I will forgive you.

Today at Iten's Acres: Timber!!! May 11, 2014

Interesting surprise when I arrived home at The Acres. A huge tree collapsed right next to the cave. Fortunately it was impeded by the lovely white pine right next to house, and ricocheted a little to the left. As it is, parts of the top of the tree are right up against the house. I assume that without the protection of the pine, I would have a tree in my house. It either happened just before I got home or the poor Homesteader has been in panic mode all day. When I came inside, her tail was in puffed up I'm paranoid mode. She has since relaxed. I guess she figures the old man is already too far out on a limb to be frightened by tree attacks. Guess I shall have to go shopping for a tree removal company. Alas. The joys of owning a cave. To be honest, I would just leave it there if it wasn't messing with my lovely pine.

Walking Iten's Acres: Legacy May 11, 2014

Mom left me a legacy at The Acres. Myriad of iris from her place. And day lilies galore.. A lifetime supply of phlox. Wild ones, too. And a rose, a lilac bush, a red bud, a dwarf conifer, a cedar, a couple Rose of Sharon, a dogwood, some grape hyacinth--even some of her violets made their way here from South Carolina. A few, I'm sure, could trace their way back to St. Louis. And--it's only fitting--more Love-in-the-midst than you could ever count. The rock garden was her idea. The white iris bed by the pond as well. Yes, it's always Mother's Day at The Acres.

Walking Iten's Acres: Time May 4, 2014

There is never enough time to do all the things that I would like to do here at The Acres. And as I walk, the list grows. I did mow the back of the property yesterday afternoon, added a couple new paths in the wild area, still mowed the paths I intend to allow to return to wildness--I have some flowers I want to put on those paths before I let them go; helping out nature, so to speak. I also "rearranged" one path to give some daffodils and wild hyacinth some safety from a concentration lapse by the chubby old mower later in the summer. Oh, the wild strawberries are here! The robins will be happy. They have discovered that there's a little fruit in the food I throw out for their winged confederates and have been joining the morning feed. Now, they can get their own.
There have been several surprises so far. One redbud finally bloomed so I'm hoping that the others will just be late. The roses that I thought were vortexed are coming back. Perhaps they will even bloom later on. At least, they have survived. Looks as if there will be a nice (small) batch or two of trillium. The May apples are are going to be a "bumper crop." As I mentioned yesterday, the daffodils are at their peak--five hundred blooms at least. And such colors and variety. Marvelous show. Where's Wordsworth when you need him? The best news of the day? The iris that is usually the first to bloom has a bud. But wait, there's even better news. While walking today I came upon an iris in the wild area that will, no doubt, be blooming by tomorrow or the next day. It's never bloomed before--the first real surprise of 2014. It looks as if it will be some kind of yellow beauty. At least, it has yellow in it. Hopefully, I will be able to show you a picture next Saturday on This Week at Iten's Acres. Let's hope some voracious creature doesn't stumble upon it.
All in all, The Acres are on their way to a lovely 2014 parade. I will be doing a ton of walking I assure you. And, as always, maybe even a little of the work that needs to get done.

Walking Iten's Acres: Sightings April 30, 2014

Sightings: Meadowlarks are back!!

Bluebirds are back! 

Barn swallows have set up nests in Dennis' "barn." It's always nice to have someone to help you mow the Acres. Feeding the Swallows will be another joy this summer.

I think Homesteader's time living in my shed has made her a fan of thunderstorms. When one comes rolling over the Acres--like last night--she goes to the window and watches it all. Quite entranced. Yep, she's weird. Could be a case of brain dead.

It's tulip time!

Gus has escaped his electric prison again. Guess I'll be a dog owner for a couple of days.

Walking Iten's Acres: Weekend Wonders April 27, 2014

What a beautiful weekend! Two such lovely days have a host of things deciding to check out the sunshine--even the ferns are coming up. No buds on the iris--yet. Sigh. And I'm getting a little paranoid about the old apple, old dogwood, and the many redbuds. Only one redbud is even thinking about blooming so far. The pear trees and apple trees in the orchard are blooming though--place your orders now.
God is certainly a lover of the beautiful. Yet, He reminds us of its fleeting nature. The external beauty of the natural world is so temporary. Only the soul grows more and more lovely as time passes.
The wildflower of the week--in case you missed the picture show--is the violet. So many shades of purple blue, multicolored beauties too, and myriads of white, and even an occasional yellow. The shady parts of the Acres are a veritable carpet of violets. And as you can infer from my cover photo--love those Johnny Jumpups as Mom used to call them. May their tribe increase!
I moved a few things this weekend--as always. Planted a couple new things as well--there's always room for more at The Acres. Weeded some--the rain has made that a little easier. But it's an eternal job--or at least, an until I go Home job. And I'm losing. Lawnmower Guy Dave got the old beast primed for another year. I've even picked out where I plan to succumb to my pathitis this year--two new paths in the wild area coming up. And one path is going to be re-worked. I will in a sense of fairness let two paths go back to wildness--after I put some more wildflowers in them, naturally. I guess I really should have mowed this weekend since the forecast for tomorrow is rain. Ah well, too late now. Next time, I'm going to buy a mower with headlights. Can you imagine how glorious it would be to mow The Acres under the stars? Just imagining it gives me "chills."
Anyway, it was a great weekend to be a country living flower lover. And the promises of summer and autumn are springing up everywhere. Thank you Lord for allowing me this place and the beauty that it gives me each day! Amazing gift!

Walking Iten's Acres: Comings and Goings April 25, 2014

Comings: The daffodil are still in their splendor. True, some of the earliest bloomers have gone, but hundreds and hundreds are still in full parade, and some more are just now budding so they will be the stars of the shows for some time yet. The wild area in particular is punctuated by "islands" of daffodils of myriad varieties and heights. A walk on the wild side is gorgeous.
Goings: The limb on The Sentinel that was the home of my bees fell off! No sign of where they may have headed off to. I'm sure they think I was being inhospitable. Sigh.
Comings: It's grape hyacinth time. They, like the daffodils, spend their winters spreading. And they come up wherever you plant them. In the wild area, in the trees, in the rock garden--anywhere at all is fine with them.
Goings: I still keep looking over my shoulder to see if Bonnie is going to join me. I'll be doing some moving and planting this weekend. I need my supervisor.

Comings: I am waiting for the iris!