First, my heart goes out to Minnesota. The senseless murder of a legislator and her husband, the shooting of another legislator and his wife – it is incomprehensible. As I write this, I see that the murderer has been caught. Sending love and prayers to all who mourn this senseless loss.

The news of this act of violence was in the same news feed that showed the wildly successful and powerful protests going on in this country and all over the world. Bravo to everyone involved, everyone who took a stand. There is nothing more inspiring than seeing the millions and millions of people saying “No more!”

I need say nothing about the parade. The images tell the story.

Taken from my position on the porch yesterday, right after I finished mowing the lilac side of the front lawn. You can see the white of the catalpa blossoms in the distance. Right now, the tree is full of blossoms, but rain is on the way for Tuesday and Wednesday. In the meantime, as I mowed or did anything on the property yesterday, the scent coming from the flowers was heavenly. I try to imprint these delights in my brain so I can remember them come winter.

Bees were all over the spirea yesterday. Everywhere I looked, there was a bee. Hurrah! Not only is the spirea beautiful, it provides nourishment for the bees.

I don’t know if you remember this, but for several years I had crown vetch growing in the big garden bed. It initially came from some cuttings from my friend Heidi. It filled the left side of the bed, and I really loved it there. But we lost one of the big limbs on the maple tree, a limb that provided shade for the bed, and within a year, the crown vetch disappeared. It needs shade. It’s been about 8 or 9 years since it disappeared. Last year, I noticed a bit of it reappearing. Was it a temporary situation? Well, this year, a lot more appeared, both in the garden bed and outside the bed near the funky patio. I’m so happy to see it return! And it’s blooming.

This is right next to the maple tree. Gardening has an element of magical mystery, doesn’t it?

A big thank you to reader Judith who left a comment with the name of this wildflower. It’s beardtongue. You can see the ‘tongue’ in the center of the flower. It’s native to the eastern United States.

I found some more near the porch. Such a delicate little flower!

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Almost forgot to post today! Don is off to a gig at a Farmer’s Market. The protests weren’t scheduled yet when he booked it. So we’ll be protesting virtually, as he has our only car. And I’ll be praying for storms in the DC area.

I’ll keep this brief.

An indication of the size of the spirea, but it’s also misleading as it surrounds the hydrangea, so from this aspect you’re missing the fact that it goes way back. I’ll try for another photo when it stops raining. It was a tiny little bush when I purchased it and I had no idea it would spread so much. I need to cut some of it back.

Another of the wildflowers that pop up near the big garden bed. This one is so exquisite! If anyone knows the name of this one, I’d love to know.

If you missed yesterday’s post, Audrey made her debut. She’s a Little Keiko doll and I did the face up. Not perfect, but pretty good! Her eyes are green, by the way, but since I purposely took a moody photo on this rainy morning, they look darker than they are. I was sure her eyebrows were going to be darker than they are and that would have been fine, but they match her hair perfectly.

I’m praying for the safety of all involved in the marches, and of everyone at risk in this insane assault by EYEC (purposely misspelled.) We will  overcome.

Stay safe, my friends.

Happy Saturday.

I’m cranky because someone was snoring and woke me up at 4:30 am and I couldn’t get back to sleep. Meanwhile, it’s 6:31 and he’s still sleeping. Ah, well.

This will be brief because of said lack of sleep and my rage at what is going on in California. Bless Gavin Newsom for standing up to evil. Purposeful misspelling to avoid the trolls: EYEC needs to be abolished. “Multiple Felonies” needs to be removed from office. March on Saturday.

The catalpa tree in bloom, though I can’t believe there are any flowers still hanging in there because of all the torrential rain we’ve had.

The peony should open fully today, it hasn’t been sunny for the past few days.

I’m sorry, friends, that’s all I can give you today. I’ll be more lively on Friday.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.