Around Our Yard---Early April, 2014

Our pretty round flowerbed... The Daffodils are so pretty this year,  and these Pansies are thriving... You can also see some Lilies beginning to pop up. (taken on 4/10/14)

I thought you might want to see some early spring photos in our yard...  We took these pictures on April 2, 5 and 10,  2014...  I love to compare spring from one year to the next --since each year brings new and interesting challenges...

We had a terribly cold (but not too snowy) winter this year... This was the coldest winter for many years here ---so we have some damage to some of our plants/flowers that we haven't had before.. All of our Holly Bushes have been damaged some and are losing some of their leaves.  The Azaleas don't look very healthy yet.  Hopefully,  all of these will come back.  George thought we had lost quite a few roses ---but most of them have begun to show some signs of life,  even though things are 'later' this year than usual.

We always plant Pansies in the Fall---and enjoy keeping them all winter since they are pretty hardy...  They usuually bloom for us until it gets very hot in July.  However,  when we have several days of temperatures below zero,  they do suffer.  We probably have lost at least half of what we planted,  but the ones that lived are doing GREAT right now!

So far,  this spring,  we've had some Crocus blooms,  some Hyacinths and lots of Daffodils. Our ground cover (Minor Vinca--called Periwinkle) is hardy ---so it is doing great and blooming now.  The Hostas seem to have made it and are beginning to grow.  AND--we have some fantastic Tulips (although the deer ate some of ours while we were in Virginia last week)...  George has now sprayed Liquid Fence --and that hopefully,  will keep them away from our yard for awhile...  BUT--we have to spray ALOT during the Spring and Summer...  There are MANY deer in our area.

Get yourself another cuppa and sit back and enjoy the photos.  Be sure to click on them for enlargements --although I hate it when Blogger doesn't include the explanations with each photo....  Thanks, Blogger.  NOT!  ha

This was the last of some of our pretty Hyacinths.  Those are the prettiest little flowers.  (taken on 4/2/14)

The beginnings of some of our Pink Phlox on the big rock bed.  There's a little blue Periwinkle mixed in with the Phlox.  Our Candy Tuft has not bloomed yet.  This is a hard bed to get things to grow--since it's sloped,  and water pours down that hill after a hard rain.  (taken on 4/2/14)

Our ground cover (Periwinkle)--which we have all over the yard in areas which are hard to mow.  We love this hardy little plant (which grows wild around here)---and once it is established and thick,  no weeding is needed... Love it! (taken on 4/2/14)

A close-up of the pretty little BLUE Periwinkle blooms  (taken on 4/2/14)

The side flowerbed (taken on 4/2/14)  where you can see Periwinkle,  Daffodils and Hyacinths;

Here is what we call the Small Rosebed (on the flagpole side of the driveway).  The Daffodils in front have just bloomed and bloomed.  Behind them are Hyacinths and more Daffodils.  To the right is our Daylily Bed.  AND---you can see the container roses on the driveway  (which have been in the garage all winter).  All but one are doing well---and ready to be placed on either side of the driveway.  (taken on 4/5/14)

Here's that same bed looking the other direction, toward the road.  You can get a better picture of our Daylilies to the left.  We love Daylilies ---and have 34 plants in that bed.  Even though we still don't have leaves on our big shade trees,  I love seeing how GREEN the GRASS is now. (taken on 4/10/14)

Here's the other Rose bed --on the other side of the driveway.  In here we have Tulips and Daffodils and some Pansies blooming now (since the Hyacinths are gone).  From here you can see the road flowerbed where nothing is blooming yet.  You can also see two of the round flowerbeds --which have Pansies and Daffodils blooming. (taken on 4/10/14)

The Pansies which made it through the winter are doing GREAT.... (taken on 4/10/14)

Dad Adams' Daffodils blooming beside the sidewalk in front of the garage; (taken on 4/10/14)

More of our groundcover,  Periwinkle (taken on 4/10/14)

Another photo showing the Daffodils blooming along the side flowerbed (looking toward the back of the house); (taken on 4/10/14)

One of my favorite plants just beginning to gow,  our HOSTA;  We have several plants around the yard ---and I love it (again,  if we can keep the deer away)...  (taken on 4/10/14)

Finally,  one more photo from the front of our house  (taken on 4/10/14)

Hope you enjoyed seeing our yard.  My apologies for giving so many details.  I keep these from year to year to compare one season with another.  This is 'my journal'.... Anyhow--even if you don't read everything,  I hope you will enjoy these photos.  We love our yard ---but it does take WORK...  These past few weeks,  we have been spreading mulch with weed killer in it --hoping that it will help during the hot summers...

Now---if you are a flower-lover,  you might be asking why I am not featuring more Daffodils and Tulips.... WELL--there's a method in my madness.  I have an entire post upcoming devoted to both of these beauties... SO--just wait!!!!! ha

Hope life is good for you.  AND I hope you have a fabulous Monday....  OH--by the way,  I keep meaning to say that I'm not neglecting my birds.  In fact,  there are 4 little blue eggs in the Bluebird Nest Box... SO---we'll have babies soon!!!!  Yeah.

Hugs,

Emoticons

Oh those Fantastic SHENANDOAHS!!!!!!

"Ma and Pa" at an old cabin in the Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area;  (I WANT that cabin!!!! ha)

What----ANOTHER TRIP???? YES---this is the 5th trip for us since the end of February... Life is GREAT ---but we 'am' TARRED..... ha....  First we went to Arkansas;  then it was Ohio;  then it was North Carolina;  then Georgia;  AND---this time we went to VIRGINIA (April 6-9, 2014).... We were staying at a quaint little Victorian Hotel in Strasburg,  VA  (had a Groupon coupon) ---and while there,  we visited the Shenandoah Valley;  the Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area in the George Washington National Forest in the Massanutten Mountains;  beautiful Fort Valley;  and the Skyline Drive area along the Blue Ridge Mountains!!!!!  What a fantastic few days we had!!!

Today,  I'll share just a tiny piece of that trip with you---with more details to come I'm sure in the future... Above is a photo of George and me on the steps of a fantastic old cabin (Elizabeth Furnace Cabin).

Me on the Swinging Bridge near the Elizabeth Furnace Cabin (on a rainy, damp day)

Here is another photo of that adorable cabin --along with the swinging bridge (which I also loved)...  This was on April 7, 2014 ---and it was a COLD, RAINY/DRIZZLY, and FOGGY day in Virginia... BUT--we didn't allow the weather to dampen our spirits.... We still got out and hiked and had a great day.

George taking water photos along PASSAGE CREEK

PASSAGE CREEK was a neat little creek which we enjoyed while in the Massanutten Mountain area.  Of course,  since we love water photos,  we just HAD to stop and get some photos along that raging creek.... I always enjoy taking pictures of my Sweetheart when he is hard at work taking great photos.

FORT VALLEY --- with the Massanutten Mountains in the distance;

We had never been (nor even heard of) the MASSANUTTEN Mountains before this trip.  The Massanuttens are a group of mountain ranges dividing the Shenandoah Valley in half for about 50 miles.  The Blue Ridge Mountains are on the Eastern side and the Appalachian Mountains are on the left.... We had never been here before..

SO--after leaving the Elizabeth Furnace area,  we headed south into this fantastic little valley,  FORT VALLEY.  Note photo above... Also---note the fog at the far end of this photo... We traveled across the mountain there (heading for Skyline Drive) ---and we encountered that fog.... Photo of the fog below!!!

Beautiful Fort Valley Church,  the Dry Run Christian Church

BUT--first,  while we were still in FORT VALLEY,  we just had to stop and take a picture of this beautiful little church, the Dry Run Christian Church.   Pretty,  isn't it???

Fog as we traveled across the Massanutten Mountains

NOW----see what we encountered while heading OVER the Massanutten Mountains???  Pretty,  isn't it????  I do like FOG---but up on Skyline Drive that day,  the fog was so thick,  we couldn't see much at all from the overlooks... We did however see LOTS  of DEER out eating on that foggy afternoon.  I guess they felt safe in the fog!

Our Victorian Inn/Hotel in Strasburg,  VA

We had a Groupon coupon to stay here ---and loved it.  Everything inside was decorated using antiques... I recognized many items as ones I remember from when I was young.  All of you antique-lovers would LOVE this old hotel... I took lots of photos which I will share sometime.  The hotel originally was a hospital in Strasburg.... Strasburg is a really cute little town along the Shenandoah River... We took a walk and saw some gorgeous, old homes in Strasburg the first evening we were there.  SO PEACEFUL.

The Shenandoah River;  Love seeing the train trestle and fog in the background!

Remember the song,  "Oh Shenandoah"---I long to see you...????  I sang that song all week... Love it!!!!  Anyhow---this is the Shenandoah River near Strasburg,  VA... We passed by or crossed the Shenandoah several times during our travels.... Beautiful river!

"On a Clear Day, You can See Forever" ---the Shenandoah Valley from an overlook on Skyline Drive, VA

The next day brought gorgeous SUNSHINE and VERY clear skies---as we traveled back on the Skyline Drive.  Neither George nor I have ever experienced the views as CLEAR and CRISP as we had on this day (April 8, 2014)....  We usually find lots of haze in that area --so this was a fabulous surprise,  making it one of the favorite memories of our entire week... We both took lots of photos that day.

Be sure to click on my photos for enlargements.  These photos from Skyline Drive that morning are SO clear...  Don't you love seeing the shadows also????

She just keeps climbing higher and higher!!!!!

George snapped this photo of me --as I tried to get on 'top of the world'...

ROSE RIVER FALLS (67 feet) --along Skyline Drive

Besides getting photos along Skyline Drive that day,  we also hiked to a new waterfall,  the ROSE RIVER FALLS (67 feet), which was not far from the Meadows area of the parkway.   It was a nice hike -- with an elevation change of about 700-800 feet DOWN-DOWN-DOWN to the river and falls....  We sat on some rocks admiring that waterfall for a long time.  NOBODY else was there (which we loved)---so we had the waterfall all to ourselves!!!! The hike back up---up---up  was a little hard,  but we stopped and relaxed along the way... GREAT hike  (one of many waterfalls along Skyline Drive we would love to see sometime)...

The Fantastic Shenandoah Valley---with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance (where we had been);  Photo taken in the late afternoon of April 8--as the sun was going down...

After our waterfall hike,  we were hungry (of course)---so we enjoyed dinner at SKYLAND RESORT along the parkway... YUM!!!!!  Delicious!  THEN--we headed back to Strasburg late that afternoon driving along the back-roads (which we love)...  The sun was going down---so we were able to get some fantastic shots of the Shenandoah Valley that evening... Talk about PEACEFUL... Wow!!!!

Taken on Skyline Drive, the morning of April 8th,  with the Shenandoah River and Shenandoah Valley in the background

I'll close with a picture we took using our tripod... We were both so happy to be on Skyline Drive that day since the weather was nearly-perfect...  We did have a stiff wind --but that kept the haze away,  so it was all worth it.

As you can tell,  we had a busy 4 days (2 days on the road and 2 days making memories)...  We did accomplish one of our goals --which was to get alot of hiking done.  We finished the 7th --with about 3 miles on our pedometers and on the 8th,  having gone 4 miles... That was great considering all of the other things we got to do.

Home Sweet Home ---Photo taken during the early morning on 4/10/14

We came home on the 9th---only to find this waiting for us!!!  Spring is finally SPRINGING in Fairfield Glade... I'll share more Spring photos from here next week.  Even though the big trees haven't gotten their leaves yet,  things are beginning to turn green---and many flowers are blooming.  Oh --how wonderful it is to be back home!!!!!   (Now---it's back to work in the yard!!) ha

Hope you had a great week... I'm not sure how much time I'll have to visit you --but I will do my best!!!!  Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you on MONDAY.

Hugs,

Emoticons