Thinking Happy Thoughts

I am
trying
so very
hard to
keep my
mind on
the
wondrous
things
happening
in the
gardens
these days.

I dropped Allium bulbs in the ground last Fall, late at that, but here they are in all their glory. I think these are so wonderful that there will definitely be a lot more Allium dropping this Fall. I believe these are a single Allium, as there appears to also be double which is more like a globe. Some research should sleuth this out and hopefully I will be able to obtain the doubles as well. It is interesting to note that whenever I see these pretty flowers in photographs, their blades are usually absent from the pictures. I have found the reason for this. The blades die as the flowers bloom. I had a moment of despair when I thought I was losing them but the garden books assured this was a normal progression. So much to learn- so little time.


The Iris is magnificent this Spring. These are the bearded variety and this is by far their best bloom since we have been here at Hawk's Run. We divided them over the last year and this has truly paid off ten fold. I would like to add other colors to the mix in the Iris beds so I'll be on the look out for more bulbs this year. I'm thinking yellow to complement the slight yellowish hue inside our present Irises.

I have been wanting Blue Bells for years. Well, it appears that I already have them. I was so surprised by this display and I am hoping someone out there can confirm or correct my suspicion on this one. These are growing under our large trees in front under quite a bit of shade. They are so pretty and delicate.

This little white flowering perennial appears to be some type of Hepatica, or Anemone. These are popping up and Wren has enjoyed picking little bouquets of them for inside the house. She has decided that only a tall green Yuengling beer bottle will do for a vase!

This little patch of mint is very interesting. It is a perfect rectangle near my herb garden. It has been here for a while by the looks of it. No matter the season, the greens on this rectangle are different than its surroundings and I have taken to calling it "the grave site". No one can confirm or deny this little oddity here, but it definitely marks something. Jaime over at Way Down the Valley recently posted that this mint is a type known as "Heal All". That is nice to know because we have it in profusion!

All the colors blooming about have been very uplifting. This is good because the ground beneath me feels shaky once again. We had good news from the labs recently. Our scat was that of a coyote, not a puma. I had just delivered this good news to my nature writing friend at our local library. I was feeling great about the situation and hoping we were nothing more than a pass through for a wayward lost lion. Like clockwork, the phone rang the next day. Our neighbor who runs every day rain or shine, and has been for years with his group of dogs, came upon the cat by the large lake to the front of our house. The dogs had been distracted with something and he ran on ahead. The puma was as surprised as he was and took off in a flash. My husband hesitantly relayed the news to me right after it happened. I had just had the children hiking in this area days before. When I spoke to my neighbor's wife I asked her how certain he was. He was one hundred percent. He had come within 50 feet of it, saw the coloration, the long tail, the cat face. He does not believe it was full grown. The very fact that Doc had not seen the puma made us all a little skeptical in the past. Surely, if anyone was to see this animal it would be him. Well, now he has. Docs wife had also found odd looking scat in the last days. But, again, because ours turned out to be coyote, we thought little of it. Now looking at pictures of the two animal's scat, I am not at all certain I can tell the difference. What I do know is what they look like in form, and I am on the lookout constantly. It's difficult to concentrate on anything else. It is difficult to feel really at ease outdoors right now. The question lingers. Does this animal, or animals, have fear of us? Or is it observing us like we are trying to observe it? What is it eating? What happens if one of our children happen upon it? These are tough questions all. I feel a certain sadness for this animal who seems to be trying to survive without our taking notice. The sightings create a sense that while we are amazed at its existence, there is a bit of underlying fear in us as well. I still hold out hope that we can all exist here together. But it's kind of the same feeling I get with snakes. I just want to know where it is at so that I am not surprised when I see it.