More Blooms

47°f/8.3°C again this morning, clear and crisp. 

It's a great day to get in the garden! And that is where I am heading in a few minutes. First, a look at the flowers that opened over the weekend.

That's Larry's blackberry patch behind the iris. 

I love the way this spiderwort looks like a skirt on the old chair.

Peonies are opening, 2 weeks early.

I think this is the first year for this peony to bloom.

More irises.

This one was a surprise. I do not recall planting it, especially where it is in the garden. It is smaller than the other blooms too. 

Today: plant something lily bulbs in have had for a few weeks. I hope they are okay. I forgot about them! Then till some more in the vegetable garden,  and this evening continue the major weeding I started yesterday. I spent two hours yanking weeds, which were 99% ground ivy. I also want to paint the last porch table. Need more paint to do the patio furniture so it will have to wait.

Off to work I go!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Another Race in the Books

47°f/8 3°C this morning, overcast. Expecting a high around 70, but it is pretty chilly still as I compose this post.

So another year of the Great Greenbrier River Race is over. 

The river was very low this year due to lack of rain, so the kayaks were out almost in the middle. This is a triathlon: run about 4 miles, kayak 4, bike 10.

The start/finish line looked a little lonely before the race.

Spectators on the bridge to watch the kayaks take off. 

The first leg of the race is the run. My oldest is in the hot pink shirt, kinda in the right middle.

Here he arrives at his kayak. My videos were terrible this year, most not coming out at all or having to be greatly edited. Lord knows what I was doing!

Here's Grace, paddling downriver. You can see how low the water was, creating traffic jams. Several got stuck.

So after this there is a lull of about an hour or so for the spectators,  as the kayaks get downriver to where the bikes are waiting. Then they run to their bikes and finish the race with the 10 mile ride.

And the finish! I almost missed George because he came in sooner than I expected!

Right after the finish. Boy do I look tired. (Very bad night's sleep, up at 5 to get on the road, and it shows!)

I missed Grace's finish, but here she is right after with her Dad 

George placed 3rd in his age group, getting his first medal in the 15 years he has competed. He was 15th overall out of 400 participants.

Grace also placed 3rd in her age group same as last year, I think. Like father like daughter?

George's good friend since college, Jeff and his daughter Lexi also competed again this year. 

What did we do while waiting for the bikes to come in? Well, the Greenbrier Grille is right there by the bridge, and has an outdoor porch overlooking the river, so we had lunch. BLT on marble rye for me,

burger for Larry. The food here is always good, and great coffee too.

We watched as the kayaks continued to take off,

and also watched this little rain shower move over the mountain and up the valley, eventually reaching town. But we were warm and dry on the covered porch, with our hot coffee and beautiful view.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Another Garden Day

59°f/15°C this morning, warming to 82°f , mostly clear, very breezy.

My springtime tea set, not really matching but close enough. I think violets are so delicate.

We have been in the gardens again today, me planting the flowers i bought the other day, Larry working on his electric fence. Just a few minutes work had me sweating like a racehorse after a race. Not pleasant, but I take many breaks under the ceiling fan on the porch,  and Larry does the same. Rain is expected tomorrow so I really want to get as much planted as I can.

Tomorrow is the Great Greenbrier River Race in Marlinton, WV. Last year I think we had 8 family members in the race, but this year I only think there will be 2, possibly 3. Still, Larry and I love to go and watch the triathlon. My oldest son George and his daughter Grace will be competing, and possibly my nephew John. 

Speaking of Grace, she just got word that she passed the Virginia Bar Exam! I am so proud of her. She has been working for a lawyer here in WV, but now begins her hunt for a position in Virginia. And George's wife Sandy will be ordained as a full-fledged minister on May 4th. 

I am listening to the birds with my Merlin app on as I write, and am thrilled that once again the summer tanager has returned to our place. They usually have a nest not far from the housd, and it is such a pleasure to see their soft red color in the leafy trees. I especially like their song, which I find quite musical.

Lunch today was soup and cornbread. I made the soup using a soup starter I canned last fall, a mix of potatoes, onions, celery, and garlic in a chicken broth base. To this I added diced ham and chopped beet green from the freezer, with a little chicken bouillon and water. Y'all,  it was delicious! The cornbread came out beautifully too. 

I use a cast iron skillet in which I heat the oil, then pour in the batter so it sizzles and forms a crispy bottom crust.

The only other news today is that my sister Judy learned through Ancestry.com that we may be related to Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th US president,  and also to Thomas Nelson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.  It would be so cool if true, but Judy is wisely cautious and will be digging into the lineage sent to her by another researcher to verify all this. People often jump to conclusions when doing genealogy, but Judy is not one of them, and her source does not seem to be that type either. We shall see! I had to go look up Rutherford Hayes, though, and found him to be quite interesting, a fighter for the rights of minorities in his time. I like that.

Back to the garden I go. I see more sweat in my future!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.