Happy Birthday Doggo

Today we celebrated the eleventh birthday of our dog Rolo.

 I wanted to give him a new bandana. This one was found at Michaels; it has doggie motifs along with the words "woof woof" all over it. Rolo could be persuaded to pose for his photograph.

 But this present came from a doggie store so it smelled very exciting to Rolo.

 We decided to take it outside. The point of the toy is that it is a "tree trunk" with three squirrels hiding inside. The dog is meant to figure out how to get the squirrels out.

 Oops. Rolo has figured this out way too quickly. The first squirrel out loses an ear in the process.

After a very short time we figure out we might as well come back inside.  To the victor go the spoils!

Happy birthday Rolo!

Easter Day blooms

I'm taking a walk through my garden today to record what is blooming on this Easter Day. Of course the first bloom, above, is not actually in my garden but is the potted Easter Lily to perfume the house on this day.

This is one of my favorite trees in my garden, a native dogwood. This view is from ground level but when I'm sitting at the computer or at my sewing machine and I look out the window I get a glorious view from above of the blossoms. In a week or so it will look as though there has been a wedding with confetti all over the ground as the blooms fade and fall.

I have had several tries at growing a bleeding heart and they usually fail. This time I seem to have planted one in the right spot for it to flourish. On the down side it is in a portion of the garden that I infrequently see. But now I have this photo to enjoy it a little longer.

The lilac tree out the front is no longer producing the spectacular large blooms it did some years ago. Probably some pruning is called for and some fertilizer to perk it up.

The creeping phlox is in full bloom. The color is called emerald blue but it is a very pastel version I'm thinking.

The bridal veil spirea is cascading down onto the New England asters which won't bloom until the mid fall season.

Here's the pink dogwood as seen from the upstairs window. There's lots of weeding waiting to be done underneath this tree.

Oh my, this periwinkle is becoming too aggressive. I cut it back severely last fall but I think some more serious pulling out is needed. In the meantime it does have a pretty blue flower and this corner gets so little sun that I should be happy that something grows there.

The Korean spice viburnum in the foreground is producing lovely fragrance right now and the flowers on the different viburnum behind it are already coming out. They do not usually bloom at the same time.

This spirea will have a pink flower in upcoming weeks. But for the present the brilliant lime green is just as glorious a sight as any bloom. The garden benches have reappeared for the outdoor season.

Did you enjoy the walk through my garden?