Spring is popping out all over southern Vancouver Island. Yellow-green baby leaves unfold more fully each day. The sun shines. Heavy dew falls in the night. In the morning I use the heater in the car; in the afternoon, the air conditioner.
I'm enchanted with the bleeding hearts. I clipped a couple of stems for a jar on my kitchen window sill. The first photo was taken in daylight, the one above at night. A bunch of mint is next to the bleeding heart, dropping pollen. Pollen is drifting everywhere - thankfully, I'm not affected by it, but plenty of others are.
Some weeks are better than others. This has not been one of them. Hopes dashed. Some heartache. Much thankfulness. Life is like that - a mixed drink. And God is here in the pain as well as in the joy.
I like to help mow the grass. I can push the lawnmower, but the edge trimmer is too heavy for me. So Tim begins with the trimming and I with the lawn mower. Back and forth. I love the smell of newly cut grass. I get a workout pushing on the sloped part. By the time he's finished trimming the front and back lawn, I've cut the back and leave him to finish the front.
All this sunny weather has me thinking about summer cooking. We like to eat seasonally and although many people in our region use their grills year round, we prefer to treat grilling as a warm-weather activity. Last weekend I cleaned the grill and threw on a couple of steaks. (We ended up eating half of one each, which meant steak salad the next day.) I tried a new recipe for a Bacon Cauliflower Bake and it was so very good. Not necessarily good for us, but very good to our taste buds. I started with this recipe and adapted it. A big salad completed the meal.
My tulips are blooming well this year. So well that I cut a few stems to bring indoors. I've kept the camera nearby and have been snapping photos in all kinds of light. The above is taken the afternoon, around 4:30, when I walked in from school and saw the sun slanting on the table with the tulips.
I feel bad for those who are still experiencing wintry weather in the northern hemisphere. (My down-under readers will be looking forward to cooler temperatures.) Spring will come - it always does!
Linking with the lovely group at Amy's Five on Friday party.
We are blessed to live here...I hope that your week improves and that you enjoy a blissful weekend.
ReplyDeleteHostess
XO
Yes, we still have snow and frozen soil, but your photos cheer me up.
ReplyDeleteThe flowers are wonderful and I like especially the second photo where also the vase looks fabulous.
Wishing you happier weeks, Lorrie, and much fun with the grill and the lawn mower!
Spring is in full swing here, but I do know of places where it's still very cold.Even here in south Europe. Take care!
ReplyDeleteMersad
Mersad Donko Photography
The recipe looks very good, similar to our Cauliflower Cheese, but maybe a bit lighter.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flowers and delicious food are certainly a winning combination. :-) I anxiously await my Bleeding Hearts every spring. So far, they haven't even come up yet. Our recent snow has just melted, but we have more flakes in the forecast. I guess I need patience. Have a good weekend.
ReplyDeleteLorrie, if there IS such a thing as reincarnation, I want to come back, living on southern Vancouver Island. You seem to have such wonderful weather no matter what the season & you always appreciate it, throughout your ups & downs in life.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed seeing all the different flower photos in different light. I always loved to capture that late afternoon glow coming in my dining room windows. Soon the sun will shine here again...AFTER the next storm with 6" of snow blows through. Ugh! My hyacinths are BURIED under it!
Thank you for this peek at spring. I am sure it is coming but in southern Ontario we are in a snow storm again.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures. I especially love the tulip one.
ReplyDeleteI missed the last post, such beautiful colors. I enjoy bleeding hearts, too. Yours are weeks ahead of mine. I am still searching to see if the ones in the center garden made through the winter--looking bleak. So while yours are in full glory, mine are just emerging, one of them. The really good news, my astilbe lives! Have a joyful week end.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. It's lovely to keep things seasonal. Here in the UK for example I like to have steamed puddings only in the Winter.
ReplyDeleteThe steaks look so yummy, and yes we are fair weather BBQ people, love your five on Fridayx
ReplyDeleteWe are still experiencing wintry weather, and get snow some years all the way into June. This is why I love visiting blogs like yours ~ your garden images are so beautiful and delightful to see!
ReplyDeleteSending hugs from the mountaintop!
xo,
Lin
A good description of life...a mixed drink. Sorry for the pain. Sounds like you divide the yard jobs like we do. I mow he weedwacks. We really have had a wonderful spell of sunshine. Makes you think of summer grilling. Hope your weekend is restful and peaceful.
ReplyDeleteA lovely colourful post. I'm like you, looking for interesting light on the flowers. We are not quite at the state of eating from the BBQ but hopefully soon. The wind is too cold at the moment. Hopefully you will have a better week :) B X
ReplyDeleteI'm fascinated with your Bleeding Hearts too Lorrie!
ReplyDeleteEarly in my marriage when the 'gardening bug' hit me, I read Vita Sackville-West and Margery Fish books on plants.
I was mesmerised by the Bleeding Hearts but found our climate here was not right for them - they need very low ground temps through Winter - I was so disappointed!
It's lovely that I'm now enjoying them on your blog - thank you! Your photos are wonderful!
Just an aside, can you let me know the brand of camera you bought - I'm in the throws of purchasing my first real camera, as opposed to P & S!
You are so right life is a 'mixed drink' we have had sad news recently.
I hope your weekend is relaxing.
Shane
How amazing that your bleeding hearts are out already, mine haven't even appeared above ground yet - hope they are still there! Lovely to see yours in the meantime. Sorry that it hasn't all been a good week, I do hope that things will improve for you, or at least be as good as they can be. Hugs to you. Thank you for taking part in Five On Friday, hope you have a great weekend! xx
ReplyDeleteYour bleeding hearts are gorgeous! We usually just barbecue in the spring and summer too. We've found that one steak between us is about right, though we love steak salad too.
ReplyDeleteI love the smell of cut grass and cut hay. We won't be mowing the lawn for a month or more. Your bleeding hearts are beautiful. Mine are coming up now, and are about 2 inches tall :) What a perfect photo of the tulip in the sunshine. Have a great weekend Laurie!
ReplyDeleteWendy
oops! Lorrie ;)
ReplyDeleteThe bleeding hearts are wonderful. I have just a few stalks this year - I think I need to repot it. We are covered in pollen - I sit on the deck and in less than half an hour the face of my phone is covered in soft yellow pollen - aaaaaccccchhhhhooooo - but I love the springtime anyway. Such a pretty tulip!
ReplyDeleteYour post is full of beauty, my friend! What a joy to have your bleeding hearts out already. Have a wonderful weekend! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteHow lovely it all is, Lorrie. I would like to plant bleeding heart in our 'new' garden. This will be the weekend for it!
ReplyDeleteThe flowers are lovely and the bacon cauliflower bake sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteLiz
Beautiful flowers and yummy food, Lorrie! I'm finally caving in and buying allergy meds for my hay fever. Have a good weekend!
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful flowers they are!
ReplyDeleteI love the smell of newly mowed grass, our lawns are ready for cutting again but rain interrupts our plans all the time. Beautiful flowers.
ReplyDeleteYou caught a gorgeous shade of peach in that last photo. Sorry for a less than wonderful week, but a great attitude shining through. We mow the same way, though I usually do front and back. it's good exercise and I especially enjoy it in the spring when the grass is lush and thick and you can really see where you've mowed. Not so much when summer is at it's hottest and driest.
ReplyDeleteYour Bleeding heart is very pretty. It's a favorite of mine as well in my own garden. I also have a pure white one.
ReplyDeleteLoved the color of your tulip.
Mmmm that food looks yummy.
I have enough work keeping up with the flower beds so the mowing is left to my hubby and SIL.
I LOVE bleeding hearts--one of my spring favorites! And tulips? Love them too. Mmm, steak salad sounds yummy:) We need to get our grill cleaned too and use it--well at least on these warm sunny days we've been having lately.
ReplyDeleteSorry your week has been challenging--your statement is SO true. I am learning to really focus on the blessings I have in life and have had -- especially when life is difficult.
Blessings to you + yours!
Aimee
I can't get weary of seeing the bleeding heart in all its aspects, as you so aptly capture it. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThe beauty of a bleeding heart seems to reflect what you describe in your life right now - heartache and thankfulness at the same time. God bless and keep you.
I just love the smell of fresh cut grass too! And those bleeding hearts are so beautiful. ;)
ReplyDeleteSo true about the balance of things - good and bad & God at the center of it all... which truly keeps that balance. Blessings for whatever you've been going through.
I'm getting so excited about grilling!! We just got ours out and we're supposed to finally get some true warm weather by late in the week. yay!
xoxo
I love the scent of freshly cut grass as well. Gardening is satisfying on so many levels.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Beautiful dear Lori! Oh, I have missed you! Thank you for visiting. I hope to keep it going dear one.
ReplyDeletexoxo
Oh Lori, the bleeding hearts sure show the wonders of God's creations, don't they? Your photos do the lovely flowers their due justice.
ReplyDeleteSteaks on the grill and the cauliflower bacon bake sounds fabulous.
As for your post on being a minimalist or not...no, I'm certainly not. I'm like you, though, and don't fuss over broken things. I guess as I've gotten older, I've realized that it's all just stuff. I do hang onto fabric, photos, yarn, embroidery floss, and books!
P. S. I hope you have a better week, Lorrie.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry your week has been rough. Chasing the light with your camera is good comfort.
ReplyDeleteWe've had the wintery weather here so it was nice to see your blooms. I dug up two bleeding hearts from a neighbor who offered some to me and took them down to my son's to plant but they were just an inch high at the time and then the cold hit so I imagine they are the same size yet :)
ReplyDeleteThe bleeding heart or lady in the bath is such a beautiful flower! I have it in the garden as well, in white too, but it's not yet visible. It must be warmer where you are.
ReplyDeleteHave a good week!
Madelief x