EVERYTHING IS MORE ENJOYABLE WHEN SHARED!

Lancaster Village Retirement Center brought a busload of visitors to our iris beds Tuesday afternoon. Some were content to just sit and soak it all in.
Others loved getting up close and personal with the iris, but no one could pick just one as a favorite. I'm afraid I can't either. It's like potato chips. One is never enough! Why do you think we have 154! Oops, make that 165 after this years selections come. Anyway, thanks for coming guys! It made all of our hard work worth it, to get to share with you.

ANNUAL VISIT TO SCHREINER'S IRIS GARDENS

I think this is my favorite place to visit in the whole world! It has been an annual event for our family for 13 years now. This year we even took a picnic lunch and ate it on one of the many picnic tables they have scattered around. This is the view from the parking lot!

If you've never been here, this is what you're missing!
You can see why it is so hard to pick the iris for our annual order. They are all so beautiful! I just can't figure how there are people who don't believe in God after seeing all this beauty! It takes a lot more faith to believe this "just happened by chance". Romans 1:20 says, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

SOME OF THIS YEAR'S NEW SELECTIONS

Josiah's "Grape Snakez"
Jeremiah's "Rio"
"Diabolic" A bonus iris
Carissa's "New Leaf"

Marci's, " When You Wish"

Notice the horned beards. I have an affinity for them! The selection process is very difficult, but so enjoyable!
" Prototype" We all fell in love with this one.
" Jersey Bounce" Dennis' choice, but seconded by Carissa & Marci
"Sugar Coated" Another one of our bonus iris.

TODAY'S POST DEDICATED TO HERON POINT RETIREMENT VILLAGE

Tinntinabulation! Try saying that one!

Heron Point Retirement Village had to postpone their visit to our iris gardens today because of rain. Bummer! But Oscar the dog anxiously awaits their coming some day soon!
Mezmerizer is still my all time favorite!
This is one of the old fashioneds I brought with me from our other house 15 years ago.

I named it "Bev Linn" after our neighbor there. By the way their daughter, Lori, is getting married this weekend at Gentle House!

IRIS OF THE DAY

A David Austin rose, Wenlock, is in the foreground, with Jeremiah's orange, Avalon Sunset Iris right behind it. They are followed by Carissa's iris, Conjuration.
That's a climbing Blaze rose on the arbor.
From the opposite perspective, you see purple Good Looking in the foreground, followed by Conjuration, and Avalon Sunset.
The frame for iris, Tintinnabulation, and another David Austin Rose is our Concord Grape vine.

In the background you can see the new iris bed that will hopefully be ready for the new iris coming in July. I still have to put the rocks around to finish it off.

IRIS AND MORE IRIS

Conjuration, one of Carissa's

Glistening Icicle in the foreground

and

Edith Wolford in the background.

I named this one "Mrs. Hesse", after the neighbor who gave it to me. It was the first Iris I acquired after moving here. I did bring several old fashioneds with me from our other place. We've been collecting Iris from Schriener's since 1993. 13 years later we have 154 named varieties!

THE LONG AWAITED IRIS!

Night Game

Sorry it took so long to get some Iris pictures on the blog, but I've been very busy

working in the yard. "Make hay while the sun shines", the saying goes.

I've been waiting for a rainy day. Well, we finally got some. And none to soon, Praise the Lord, as we've already been having to haul water so we could keep flowers and garden from drying up.

One of many of my personal favorites:

Sky Hook

Schortman's Garnet Ruffles

This has always been our first iris to bloom, until this year when Kantina beat it out!

EMMA THE ANIMAL LOVER!

Oscar really was enjoying this. Really!

A girl after Great Aunt Marci's own heart.

There is just nothing like the touch and feel of a kitten's fur against your cheek.

FAMILY IS SUCH A BLESSING!

What makes us smile? Just being together is reason enough!
What's going on here? Who know's! Grandad took the picture.

Looks like they're trying to figure out who's going to pray for the food!
Great Grammy & Grandad with Emma.
Emma's mommy & daddy, who are totally ignored now as Emma takes center stage.

NEW BOY TOY!

Dennis' early Father's Day, Birthday,... and Christmas present!!! Too bad we couldn't afford steaks to initiate it!

But boy did it ever BBQ good burgers!
We brought it home late Saturday night and used it for the first time at our Sunday BBQ with Grammy, Grandad, Uncle Tom & Aunt Sherri (Do you think they came down from Washington just for this?!! Yeah, probably not), and Jeff, Alysun, & Emma.

THE FIRST AND THE LAST!

It was a close contest, but Cantina was the first Iris to bloom this Spring. She also happened to be the last to bloom in the Fall as she is a rebloomer!

SPRING! MY FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR!!!

UNDER THE ARBOR AND THROUGH THE GATE

THE EVER CHANGING SPRING LANDSCAPE

Lilacs in a living bouquet with the Honey Locust trees.
Guess what? The deer didn't get all of the tulips on this side of the porch.

Obviously they missed some!

Below is the Sensation Lilac. Isn't though?

Look at that sky! This was yesterday and today we finally got some rain. Thank you Jesus!! Our first since Easter. That's 3 weeks of beautiful warm weather...but with our water situation, that meant watering everything by hand with a watering can out of the stock tanks under the gutters. By the way the tanks are full again!! God is good!

MOTHER'S DAY GIFT 2005

Look closely! My Red Bud is blooming!!

Thank you Jessi and Andrew!

SUKI HELPING DENNIS FERTILIZE HIS ROSES

I have a story for you. Dennis had to work at the P.O. yesterday morning. (I know it was Saturday. What else is new!) In the meantime we here at home are going about the regular Saturday chores, one being feeding the animals. Well, I looked everywhere and couldn't find Suki. Ever since her surgery she sleeps in the garage and very rarely leaves the yard, so I couldn't figure out where she could be. All morning every time I thought about it I kept calling her. Back to Dennis...he gets off work, goes to visit his parents, and then as he's getting back into the station wagon to go home, there's Suki as big as you please in the back of the car! She had to have been in there since the afternoon before when Dennis had unloaded some cement blocks after work! What an adventure she had; spent the night in the car and went to work! Let me tell you she sure was glad to get out! She wouldn't let us out of her sight the rest of the day! By the way...no messes in the car!!!

A VERY BUSY BUT PRODUCTIVE VACATION

Josiah's pet project was making dry creek beds.
And making a new raised bed in the garden during a blossom snow storm!
Another dry creek bed.

They make excellent pathways where people normally take shortcuts!

.Dennis' vacation goal was to make some new gates for the garden to keep the deer out, and to repair existing ones. And he even got a headstart on this summer's project of repainting fences.