Blossoms, Blooms and Veggies

The temperatures are warmer and we continue to have lots of rain.  No big surprise, then, that everything is starting to grow.  Ron has already mowed several times and sometime soon we will mow the pastures.

I've never been a good gardener in terms of growing my own food.  It always sounds like a great idea initially but once the first enthusiasm for fresh produce wears off it's just a huge amount of work.  I do much better with raised beds than I ever did working at ground level.  And having some willing weeding help is required.  Ron has been doing a great job of pulling grass out of our garden bins.

The tomatoes aren't nearly ready for picking yet but we already have our first pile of yellow squash ready for dinner tonight.  We are starting to see cucumbers on the vine although the watermelon have a huge way to go yet.

I'm always thrilled when the gardenias bloom.  The fragrance takes me back to my childhood when my grandmother always received a gardenia corsage for Easter.

Our roses bloom off and on all year round but I still stop and smell the roses anytime I'm outside.  Sometimes it's Belinda's Dream outside the barn or today it was Penelope in the front garden.

Our huge cactus jungles are just starting to bloom.  Soon they will be covered with yellow flowers.