Another Woebegon Trail Ride...with pictures!

My bike ridin' buddy ran a half-marathon yesterday, so I did the trail alone today. We usually talk the whole way, but the gnats would have kept that to a minimum this time anyway.

Yeah, spitting them out IS kinda fun.

Remember the picture with the snow still piled along the trail? Here's the same place now:


And since I'm obviously into "series" pictures for your vicarious viewing pleasure, here's the latest 83.5 Mile Marker Photo:

It's a little greener out there now....and NO SNOW is a good thing, too.
(The track behind the marker is the parallel snowmobile trail...)

Here's where a little trestle crosses Millstream Creek, first looking south...


...and then looking north.


Millstream must have been a powerful river once, but now it meanders all over the floodplain, coiling back on itself every few feet through a swampy frog-breeding, redwing blackbird hosting lowland. It S'WONDERFUL!

Tulip up-date. Hey, it's April!

I can't help it, ok?

(This is where you, fearless reader, get to show how tolerant you really are, hmmm? We're talking MORE pictures of my spring yard...lol).

My Nanking Cherry bushes out back are starting to bloom. In a few days, they'll be covered in white flowers.

Right now, they're...well, let me show you:

Click the picture...

FULL of potential, huh? I love that...

( BTW, yes, upper left corner, that's a Flower Shop right across the road from my house. I've been in it twice--it's way too small for me).

Okay, here are the first few cherry blossoms!

Phew! I feel better now. (I could have shown you five more....lol...)

Just so you know, this is what they look like in mid-summer:

~#~*~#~*~#~*~#~*~#~*~#~*~

Remember to stop back in a few days, when I'll show you the whole ROW in bloom!

Something curious

I've been noticing that a lot of 'hits' lately are for the same page from the December archives. Funny, they're from all over the world, too....for the SAME page?? Wha...?

I finally figured it out, though. It's prom season, and not just in the U.S.

Kids all over are Googling for 'wrist corsage' pictures, and I'd posted one that I found on.....Google.

(If you're here for wrist corsage pictures...check the December archives for Monday the 13th...and have a wonderful time at the prom!)

Axel and His Dog

This morning I've been washing windows since the world outside is greening up nicely and it's raining. My kitchen window looked especially sweet, so of course I took a picture:



Made me think about "Birdie with the yellow bill" and Axel, Towser, Talullah and Nurse Carmen...hmm....think maybe it's because of
this show that two of my sisters are nurses, one owns FOUR dogs, two of us have cats and I'm called BIRDIE?

The Floral Crew tonight

We went out celebrating tonight! The only one who didn't have anything stronger than water to drink--me--has the reddest face......


I don't care. Today was a good day and we had LOTS to talk over and laugh about, believe me!

Ode to the Florist's Best Friend

In all the time I've been a florist, this machine has been my constant side-kick. It's good for only one thing, but it does that very well. So here it is, the story of

The Pick Machine



(Start Ken Burns type music here)
When trying to insert a silk flower stem into a container filled with floral foam, one often wishes there were something sharp on the end of the stem.

Enter the florist's buddy, the florist's helper and confidant...the humble pick machine. Weighing in at a good 20 pounds, this hunk of engineered cast iron clamps a sharp little dagger on the end of a stem with a flick of the florist's hand. Push the handle forward to load the pick, and back to clamp it around the stem.
Simple. Efficient. Effective. Humble. Un do-without-able. lol.

All florists feel this way, but only a few of us would sing it's praises, and even fewer would write a blog post about it.

Sometimes the very air is green

Here in Northern Fly-over Land, we watch for 'greening up' in April, a sure sign that we've survived another winter. Along with it, we listen for spring peepers and enjoy air that's warm enough to carry a scent...


I know, I know....YOUR tulips are done already, YOUR lily's are half grown, YOUR lilacs are blooming already and you've mowed the lawn at least once.
Spring for you is almost over, hmm?

Ahh, but here it's just begun:

Fat green buds on my lilac bushes/what a few rainy days will do!


Then again, I'll need to start mowing soon...ARGH!

Those Roses?

Ok, the results are in. Freedom roses last about six days (probably more if I'd cut them shorter in the first place and then re-cut the stems on a regular basis...but I didn't, because we florists are jaded and prefer fresh roses...lol)

Here's how they looked this morning:


Ok, jaded or not, I can't just toss 'em.

The smell of spring

On my way home tonight, I caught the scent of manure being spread on a field.
This was NOT .

(Here, the sibs will have instant olfactory memories..lol )

The dress for Son's wedding

You can stop holding your breath now.

Daud and I tromped all over one end of the Mall of America to find something that fit me and that I liked. (I'm really not fussy but most dresses being sold for "Mother of the Bride or Groom" are just plain frumpy....and THAT'S where I draw the line).

LOL...this one works. It's ankle-length and more periwinkle than it looks.
It IS comfortable....just wish it had pockets.

Now all I need is silver shoes, handbag and jewelry...oh, and Daud said I probably should consider wearing makeup. Oh gawd.

Tomorrow's adventure

Precious Daughter and I will begin the hunt for the perfect Mother of the Bride Dress AND the perfect Mother of the Groom Dress tomorrow in Minneapolis.
One needs to be formal for her evening wedding, the other needs to be less so for his afternoon wedding. Please, please....just let them be comfortable!

Something Silly

I just found this website again, with even more content.

It has nothing at all to do with flowers, and it's a bit raunchy to boot, but at least 99% of HEFFRs will laugh uncontrollably.

Ok, you've been warned.
Click here!

"Birdie, how are those roses doing?"

Glad you asked!
I took these pictures Thursday night...




Now, don't nag...here they are five minutes ago:

You're welcome.

Awwww!

It was in the 70's today here, and breezy, a perfect day to wash the blankets and hang 'em outside to dry.
A cat knows this.

Some Pretty Fertile Territory

My parents were born on farms, and had that mindset throughout their lives. They both spoke German as their first language; Mom mastered English while Dad didn't bother...his most fluent thoughts were in German, and certainly ALL his jokes were.

As a kid, the term 'fertile territory' came up over and over.
It was admiring ("Uncle Leo has some pretty fertile territory there by the river!"), or cautionary ("That book landed on some pretty fertile territory"), or overwhelmed
("All that Milorganite * made the flowerbed into some pretty fertile territory! You're NOT using it on the vegetable garden!!").
Scary fairy tales about the Grosser Schwarzer Bär (or inadvertant talk about sex in front of us) got Dad 'the look' and a mumbled admonition about 'fertile territory', too.

Funny....I don't think they intended to teach us about imagination with that phrase, but that's how it worked for me. I knew it meant suggestibility, that there was more there than what was actually said.

When I heard that Mrs. Harold was some pretty fertile territory, I had to figure out what that could mean. 'Fertile territory means a field that produces lots of corn...hmmm...but Daddy said it funny, so I know it means something naughty...'
No wonder I think EVERYTHING has a deeper meaning or a hidden agenda, huh?

I've been thinking about this week's events in my life, and how they fall on some pretty fertile territory in my head. Stuff said at work, relationships here on line, a package I received in the mail, the joy and discovery of spring, the chapter of a book I read last night.....and how they all might fit together to teach me something.

And no, I don't think too much!

* I've tried three times to get that link to work...lol....but it doesn't. Here it is, the old-fashioned way http://www.retrocom.com/retromilw/milorg.htm

The Lost Post

Last night, I wrote a well considered and articulate post about love and loss and how I still believe things happen for a reason in our lives.

Maybe I used too many personal examples, or bared my soul too much; perhaps I asked too many unanswerable questions (I said I was erudite, right? lol)....but when I clicked the "publish post" button, I lost the whole thing.

So, my feeling that everything happens for a reason was reinforced....
....I just can't know the reason yet, I guess.

(My computer connection was all wonky--even this morning--but it seems to be okay now. All right...I've learned that lesson!)

Dear Anonymous,

To answer your question (from the comments under my 'thunder' post), I bet you planted all those crocuses at the same time, right?

We experts would have planted the purple ones a week earlier.
Too late now.

You're welcome.

Freedom Roses

The roses haven't changed much in 24 hours.
Think you're in for a loooong photo series...lol

Thundering Computers, Batman!

Lol.... A couple of weeks ago, I installed the weather channel on my desktop. There are storms in the area tonight, and a minute ago, I heard thunder from my speakers! The temperature icon is flashing red....should I go to the basement, or wait till I hear REAL thunder??

More beauty!

Today at the store, we had visitors from South America. They were flower growers promoting their product. Wow! It wasn't the flowers they showed us, it was the idea of where the flowers are grown. Check, for instance, this website from a grower in Equador. Cruise around the site, but click "varieties" for sure. Scroll under RED roses to "Freeedom" (sic).

The reps left a bunch of Freedom roses for us to divvy up and take home to see for ourselves how long-lasting they are. lol...wanna see?


(Yes, I'm still "lil' Minnesota girl" enough to be amazed by WHERE these flowers lived until two days ago...and here they are on my table!)

THIS is fascinating

You know the areas of South America that were SO known for drugs a few years ago? They were growing poppies, among other things, and poppies are.....flowers.

These days, when you stroll down to your favorite flower seller and buy a bouquet, you're most likely buying flowers grown in and imported from one of those areas. The growing conditions are excellent on the high savannahs there, labor is cheap and plentiful and the American market is endless.

AND, they know what we Americans want: huge head size, strong stems, long-lasting color and foliage--a long vase life. They're furiously breeding for those qualities and producing exquisite colors, too.

More beautiful than you know

A lovely monte negro lily...a dear friend grows these, and starting soon, I will, too. It's a small way to cherish something good.

Playing in the dirt

Have you noticed that when it's really cold out, you can't remember how hot it was last summer? And how, in August, you think it'll NEVER be cool again...ever?
The weather icon here says it's 62 degrees right now. I know uncovering the garden is risky on April 3 in Minnesota because it could freeze tonight, but I can't imagine that happening. It's 62!
I was just out there messing with the dead stems and leaves from last year. Worked up a mild 'glow'.

So, you ask, why am I back in the house already?

Because when I finished the flowerbed, I turned the hose on.

Evidently, one really SHOULD move the hose into the basement during the winter.

Too late--I got fairly wet--and it's not THAT warm out there.

Still, I know you're waiting for 'Before' and 'After' pictures, right?


Umm, would you believe that Fall came unannounced last year??


Ok, here's the 'After' picture.
Too bad you can't see the water as it REALLY was!

Spring flowers!

In keeping with my on-again, off-again theme here on Ephemeral Florist (hey, it just looks better in italics, ok?) I'm designating April as 'Spring Flowers' month.

Talk among yourselves while I go outside and check if there are any volunteers for First Flower...


No green here......


Wouldn't you know it?? Stupid healthy thistles!


Ahhh! All I needed to do was look along the house where, even in Minnesota, it's a bit warmer.
The first flower honor goes to the intrepid TULIPS....these should be red ones, but we'll see, huh?

Another sister joins the mix

My older sister finally "got with the program" and says she's now a regular reader.
It's truly amazing what people will do just to get an "EFRRC" (or "HEFRRS") t-shirt, huh?
BTW, would you like to see a picture of two of my sisters and me?
Good!
Here it is--a 50 year old photo! lol

(That's "new regular reader" on the right, me in the middle, with "anonymous" on the left.)
Awww! Cute, huh?
(later: it's amazing how much we ALL still look like these little girls! Really! lol)