Flowers and other stuff

Columbia is so beautiful in the spring. The dogwoods, azaleas, and wisteria are blooming all over the place. We have all those trees in our yard and it is such a pleasure to walk outside. I especially love this wisteria that is growing up a teepee bamboo structure that Daniel built. It smells so amazing. We talk about how we find ourselves walking around it all weekend just to be near its scent. This is not a great picture of what we see everyday since it is close up but here it is anyway.
We planted dianthus flowers and gerber daisies in this bed in the front yard. I love having instant color. Although it is in the front of the house the flowers are a little small to see from the road but they are a pleasure to walk by throughout the day. We (the girls and I) spend a lot of time with front and back doors open. We go in and out all day while we sit out for lunch, take breaks for playing with the dogs, or just wander around in the sun. I am so thankful for the beauty that surrounds our house, and even more thankful that I'm home most of the time to enjoy it.
We have been eating from this patch of collards all winter. As the weather has warmed and the days have gotten longer the plants have grown huge. I took this picture after we harvested a large grocery bag stuffed with collard leaves. I noticed at Earthfare that a bunch of organic collards were about $2.50. We have been eating a bunch every day for free! In case you are wondering how we eat them, I usually chop them and then saute them with a little oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and soy or tamari sauce. Then I add them to everything--beans and rice, burritos, grits, pizza (actually I add them raw to top of pizza before cooking) or we just have them as a side dish.
Daniel planted loquat trees in the front yard. He pulled these up from around a large loquat tree at Midlands Tech where he teaches. He got them last fall and put them in pots and mulched them over the winter. He dug out this new bed a few weekends ago and planted these 4 trees in the front yard and they have some new growth! Loquats get to be about 25 feet and produce an edible (pear-like) fruit in the late summer.

Here's some watercolor paintings the girls did over the weekend. The design came from one of our drawing books. I put them on this mat board and we have it hanging in the playroom. I like to change the art in the playroom every few months.

These last three pictures were taken by my friend at a party this weekend. She loves taking pictures. It's a hobby for now but she's building a portfolio in case it ever turns into something more. Jennifer King Photography 2009