Easter 2014 ... family, food, fellowship

 We didn't have our entire crew this year so it was a small gathering for dinner.

What's Easter without jelly beans?

This bright scarlet cardinal was in my sister's back yard.

The red buds blooming in Mom's back yard.

Mom's garden gate.

The very unusual trunk of this flowering plum that has finished blooming.

The Easter Eve sunset from Mom's back yard.

It's a riot of spring color as seen from this view out Mom's door at the flowering dogwood and red bud trees.

A package arrived at my Richmond sister's house from SWAC Daughter and Son-in-Law in Nashville that was to be shared over dinner. Since they couldn't be with us this year, they sent goodies for the crew. The box was addressed to "The Easter Peeps." LOL.

Lots of varieties of chocolates from Nashville chocolate companies including these Mexican Style Chocolate and Buttermilk White Chocolate bars from Olive and Sinclair Chocolate Company ...

... GooGoo Clusters (peanut and pecan) from Standard Candy Company ...

... and toffee from Nashville Toffee Company.

Card and candy bars from SWAC Daughter ... flowers from Texas sister.

Beautiful Easter flowers from Texas sister Gail and husband Bill.

On the sideboard ... spiral ham, roasted turkey, deviled eggs, yeast rolls, macaroni and cheese, very veggie garden salad, steamed broccoli, and roasted carrots. Chocolate pies. Assorted Easter candies.

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
Easter 2014
April 20, 2014

First day of spring: Virginia outdoor getaways

 Jonquils in my yard, March 13, 2012

It's the first official day of spring and many are ready to get outdoors after being cooped up inside during a long, snowy winter. Virginia travel and tourism folks are ready to help make that happen with deals and getaways to wash away the winter blues. Check them out here and while you're at it, you may want to check out the 10 Virginia Spring Festivals You Don't Want To Miss.

More from Virginia Is For Lovers....

17 Scenic Drives for Virginia Wine

21 Influential Virginia Women

14 Reasons to Experience Virginia’s Most Iconic Scenic Drives

Virginia’s Coastal Spring Drives

Virginia is for spring lovers....

Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell
March 13, 2012

Roller coaster temperatures ... what a difference a week makes

 Salvia

A nice morning breeze made working in the yard a comfortable experience earlier on this first day of June. SWAC Husband was repairing his garden gate, expecting to have at least until after noon to work on his project since the weather forecast had suggested today's high temps would be in the mid-80s.

By 11:00, with a sweat-drenched shirt, he put away his tools and we finally turned on the air conditioning. Even though there is still a slight breeze outside, the humidity feels like it has crept up. Perhaps it's the build-up from the past three days of hot temperatures.

It's hard to believe that a week ago today we woke to 33 degrees and frost on the grass and cars. A few days later, high temps topped out at 93 degrees, and it's been warm ever since. What a roller coaster spring we've had! The forecast says 70s for next week. Hope so ... I've got outdoor stuff to do. Enjoy the sunny day!

Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell
May 2013

Spring and Augusta countryside

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
April 26, 2013

Humpback Rock, Blue Ridge Parkway

 Spring hasn't quite reached the upper ridges of the Blue Ridge Mountains as evident by the winter woods on Saturday.

 Humpback Rock is visible above the Parkway. It was packed with hikers who parked all along the drive into the parking area.

That view will be gone when the trees leaf out but will return next fall. This is south of Reid's Gap.

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
April 20, 2013

What's blooming in the yard today?

 The red buds are blooming along with other flowering plants. My camera and I took a stroll around the yard this morning....

Please don't let us have a late frost and kill my wisteria again this year. The fines are heavily loaded with buds waiting to pop into fragrant, luscious purple grape-cluster blossoms.

Japonica

Mock Orange

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
April 17, 2013

Sunday evening thoughts while rocking on the porch

 Bradford pears and flowering plums are in bloom along with jonquils along the fence.

Clouds have rolled into the Shenandoah Valley as I sit alone on the front porch in the cool evening air, laptop perched on my lap with my feet propped up on the railing. There is just ever so slight a breeze. Old Man Winter hung on longer this year than usual but we knew Mother Nature would eventually win out and, sure enough, spring arrived this past week.

There's a loud hum of bees still buzzing around the flowering cherry tree that is in full bloom, and birds are chirping in stereo as they perch in surrounding trees. All around on the porch floor and sidewalk and grass, scattered like snowflakes, are pale pink petals, from the flowering trees, that blew off in the stiff breezes the past several days. The clean, outdoorsy smell of moist dirt is in the air along with faint whiffs of blooming jonquils.

Two red buds in front of the porch are budding out and should be in full bloom this week with their purple flowering blossoms. Spring is here but we are still a month from our safe frost date of May 15th which makes me nervous for other plants that could be -- and have in the past -- stunted or burned by a late frost or hard freeze. It is not unheard of; in fact, it's far more common than I like to think. My wisteria, the beautiful, purple, grape-like flowers that hang from vines across the front of the house, is full of buds but has not begun to bloom nor have the apple and peach trees. All those have been damaged from late cold the past several years.

Down the side of the yard and all the way to the woods behind the house is a row of bright yellow forsythia bushes that is a riot of sunshiny color, mixing with the light and dark pinks of nearby trees that have now also begun to leaf out.

It's a beautiful time of the year.

I tried to see the northern lights last night that forecasters had predicted may be visible from this part of the country but gave up after my last trek out onto the deck around midnight. The wind had a chilly edge to it and my eyeballs would not stay open any longer. Though we didn't see any northern lights, we lingered to watch the stars that were brilliant in the dark night sky along with the sliver of moon that hung in the western sky.

Have I said lately how much I love where I live? This Chesterfield County girl grew up loving the Blue Ridge Mountains ... to live in this part of Virginia is still a dream come true.

It's been a great weekend ... a busy weekend ... so it's nice in this hour before darkness falls to sit in the quiet, and rock, and listen to nature around me and be grateful for the opportunity to live in the sweet Virginia breeze in my little corner of Augusta County.

It's a new week ... make it a great one! It's spring in the Shenandoah Valley....

Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell
April 11, 2013

The Journey: 'Spring comes to the ridgetops'

Old Man Winter held on longer than usual in 2013 but we knew Mother Nature would eventually win out. Photo-journalist Bob over at The Journey has photographed ridgetop blossoms heralding spring in the mountains.

Tomato seedlings ... spring is on its way

Got an email from a friend who said he had planted tomato and pepper seeds and, while the peppers were being reasonable and not every one was sprouting, every single one of the tomatoes were doing great! He added that there must be 200-250 of them growing their little hearts out.

So my friend asked the question just about everyone would love to hear: "Would you like some tomato plants?" My response? "Yes, yes, yes!" He's growing five varieties ... I told him any of them would be great. Isn't it wonderful having gardening friends?

Photos by Mike