The Dahlias: 8/2/16

I thought it might be fun to do a post on a single plant, rather than the usual selected area.  It's August, after all, and Dahlias are having their moment.

It wasn't planned, but I have them in every area of the yard, including the parking strip.

The driveway is the only place one hasn't found a home yet.

I'll start out back.

This white one came from my mom a few years ago.

There's only one other one in the back.

My sister brought it back from Amsterdam.

It isn't blooming yet, but I'm pretty excited that it has its first bud.

Out front, I have this hand-me-down from my mom's house.

I don't know if there were two bulbs mixed in originally, or what, but every year there are two different flowers.

This was a $2 Winco bulb, called 'Blue Bell.'

The last one in the front yard is called, 'Curly Q.', as you will see why.

 It starts out looking like a spider Dahlia, then the petals all curl into themselves.

Pretty fun.

I moved 'Otto's Thrill', another Winco bulb, from the backyard, down to the parking strip this spring.

It wasn't getting enough sun where it was at, so it was getting upwards of eight feet tall every year.

He's muuuuch happier in his new home.

I have a second one down there, but it doesn't even have buds yet.

Not sure what's goin' on.

And that's it from my yard, BUT, I yard crashed our neighbor's new garden across the street.

They tore out all their sod in the front yard and parking strip this spring, and put in a ton of pretty Dahlias, among other things, so I had to zip over with my camera.

This cute little pom pom is one of my faves.

This one looks like the sun.

This one is so dang pretty, it almost doesn't even look real.

I like the spider one, too.

Another fave.

I love the dark foliage.

And, just because I couldn't resist.

I love this.

And that's it for Dahlia day.

Aren't they pretty?!

Life Snippets #25

Yeah, so, it's been a loooong time since I've done one of these.  Prepare yourself for the photo dump.

Apparently I don't blog recipes anymore.

Weird.

Anywho, how's about some food pics?

It's all about the dutch baby.

I made this raspberry one last month.

So stinkin' good.

You can find my recipe here:

Oven-Baked Berry Pancake

Fast, easy, and beyond delicious.

My garden helper.

We threw a party for some teachers and staff the last week of school.

It was our way of saying thank you.

The kids chose who they wanted to invite.

Two of the Mom Club members helped out with food and setting up.

It was a ton of fun, and, unfortunately, a lot of the attendees will be moving on to bigger better things next year, so it was also a farewell.

Figured I'd throw in our Rock Farm trip from the 4th of July.

This is how all the kids look every day when we're up there.

Dirt ramblers.

This girl goes non-stop when we're up there.

Herdin' kids.

Pooped puppy.

She turned one this month, by the way.

Crazy.

Festive deco.

Wine O'Clock.

Sunset.

Hang time.

The newest Rock Farm addition.

Tether ball.

Miss Annie, my aunt's dog.

Lily, Annie's sister, always nose to the ground.

And of course, Miss Daisy always gets to go.

Lily was VERY interested.

We did all the competition games that we do every year.

This is dart bocce war.

Dopey kids.

My mom decorated my sister's head.

Her amusement is seeping out your screen right now, isn't it?

Gettin' loves.

Time for the big gift swap, based on points scored during gaming.

My mom took this picture.

Funny face.

A friend in the neighborhood gave me a hand-me-down rose plant.

I put it in the parking strip and this was its first flower.

SO pretty.

I blabbed about it a lot on Facebook, but not sure I mentioned here that the kids' baseball team went undefeated this year.

They tied one game and won the rest.

Not bad for their first year playing.

The girl wasn't old enough, but The Kid made the All-Star team.

It was one weekend, and only one other team, so they played and lost their first game on Saturday.

Warm up before the game.

Coaches.

Fan club.

Cousin time after the loss.

Sunday, they played again, and lost, so they were out.  

No state this year.

So sad.

But it was a fun day, nonetheless.

We headed to the park several hours early for practice.

The Girl, watchin' the major league boys play.

Batting practice.

Warm up.

The Dad was one of the three coaches, and in heaven.

The team introduction.

Honorary team member, supportin' from the stands.

After the game team pics.

Lettin' The Girl in.

T'was a super fun season.

On the way home from the game, we crashed an HPSO open garden.

I've met Eric on several occasions, and had seen photos of his yard, but was SUPER excited to finally see Felony Flats Botanical Garden in person.

We had the kids, so we only stayed for a short time.

Because of that, I only took a few photos, but I HOPE I get invited back for wine.  ;)

It was seriously beautiful.

I'll start in the backyard.

Heading back out front.

I seriously loved this little spot.

I want it.

Gorgeous, right?

Okay, I think that clears out the last two months worth of photos.

I can officially allow myself out into the garden with my camera again.