It's finally Spring ... and it's felt like it the last few days. Not super warm, but nice with some sun for a change. Rain is coming again overnight possibly turning into light snow. Sigh ... but that's not unusual up here in the mountains.
I did manage to transplant 2 English lavender bushes today. I had bought them last summer/early fall, but inadvertently had planted them on top of a patch of daffodils. I keep telling myself I should mark where I plant bulbs. I also did some raking today. I always find myself smiling when I uncover the plants I forget were there!
Do any of you know anything about Little Miss Kim Lilac bushes? I planted one, going on 5 years now, in the corner of a garden bed and it has never bloomed! It's healthy looking, leafs out every year, but no flowers! It's in a spot that gets sun all afternoon. I'm tempted to move it somewhere else, but where?
This year I've been having an ongoing battle with squirrels! I feed the birds all Winter into Spring, and the furry little buggers have been driving me crazy! I have 2 hanging feeders (one is a flat, round, OPEN ring-shaped feeder that's open on top ... and the other feeder is a square suet cake in a square wired cage. Without fail, the squirrels steal the whole round cake from the ring feeder every time! I've been trying to think what I could put on top of the round ring feeder to keep them off, but will let the birds eat from it. Someone told me to throw out peanuts for the squirrels and they will probably leave the feeders alone. I will give it a try. If you have any other suggestions, let me know.
Not much else going on. I've posted some pics ... including one of the round open feeder. Got any ideas, I am all ears 
I haven't posted for a while. Nothing much to share. Snow has come and gone a few times. We got about 6 inches about a week ago. The weather warmed up a day or two later and most of it melted. Even though it really hasn't been a bad Winter, I am so ready for Spring!
Spring sure is taking its time though. There are groups of daffodil tips popping up all over, but it's been either too wet or a bit too cold to do some real yard clean up yet.
I'm not one for lots of houseplants, I tend to kill them! LOL I have to say though, my Thanksgiving Cactus & my Amaryllis plants did well during the holidays. I bought my cactus about 3 years ago and it actually thrives and gets larger each year and flowers beautifully!
This year I had bought 2 Amaryllis plants (rooted in pots with green growth and flower buds) before Christmas and they bloomed beautifully! Unfortunately, I have never had luck in getting Amaryllis to bloom the following year. The plants are doing well so far (new green leaves) so this year I think I'm going to plant them in my garden for the Summer. In early Fall, I'll dig them up and store them in dark place for a few months and then try getting them to bloom again during the Winter. If it works, great. If not, I'll buy new budding plants next year!
Healthwise, I'm doing OK these past few months. I had spent 5 days in the hospital the week after this past Christmas. I had Diverticulitis, Colitis, and C-Diff. It wasn't a fun time. I lost about 20 pounds. It took me quite a while to get my Energy and my Appetite back. I still feel somewhat fatigued, but I'm eating healthy, and I make sure I do some walking every day. I'm also taking a probiotic every day and I just started taking a B-Complex vitamin supplement. I have a follow-up appointment with my GP this coming Thursday just to go over things. I'm currently looking for a new Gastroenterologist, too. Not too happy with the doctor I had.
Well, that's the scoop for now. As always I've posted some photos you might enjoy! The first day of Spring is less than a week away! Yay!!
Jane
The last few weeks have been rough. At the start of the Labor Day weekend (on Saturday 9/3) I spent a few hours at the ER for burning stomach pains. They pumped me full of "Happy Juice", did a blood screen, and also did a Catscan. The CT showed some mild to moderate stomach inflammation. The covering doctor told me to continue my regular IBS meds and released me. She told me to call my Gastro Doctor to see what he might want to do. I called my Gastro Doctor's office and they scheduled me for an Endoscopy which included testing some tissue samples on 9/12.
On 9/12 I went for the Endoscopy. The test results showed moderate inflammation, and also that I had a small sliding hiatal hernia which wasn't unusual for a person my age. Fine.
TA - DA! On 9/18 in the early morning, I was back in the ER again! I had terrible pain in the lower left side of my abdomen. I already knew what it was before I even got to the hospital. I was having a doozey of a Diverticulitis flare! I hadn't had one in a very LONG time. I told the covering hospital doctor what I suspected even before she examined me. So, I had new bloodwork, was given pain meds, and given another CT scan. When the doctor came back with the results she said to me, "You are absolutely correct". She prescribed Flagyl and Cipro. Soon after, I was released and sent home. I called my own Gastro Doc on 9/19 and "miraculously" got an appointment with him on 9/20. SIDE NOTE: I took the Flagyl/Cipro combo for all of ONE day. (9/18). If you don't know, it's the most HORRIBLE DRUG COMBO ON EARTH! 
9/20 appointment with my Gastro Doc went well. I told him immediately I had stopped the F/C duo after 1 day. He was OK with that. Anyway, we went over my history and gave me a plan to work with as far as foods to eat, etc. He also scheduled me for a Colonoscopy on 12/1. My last one was 3 years ago. I'm not thrilled, but it makes sense to cover all bases. 
Well, if you have read all this, thank you for putting up with the ranting. In exchange I have posted some pics I took when I wasn't so cranky!
Up here in the Pocono Mountains it takes a while for Summer to get going. After a lot of rain, the sun finally decided to come out and set for a spell. This week is our first real Heatwave of the season. Good thing we have AC for the bedrooms.
Not gonna bore you with words this time. Not much going on. Hubby is recuperating from hernia surgery (slow healing but doing well), so I've had lots of time to take pics! Just posting some pictures for your viewing entertainment! Deer and Flowers!
ENJOY
Well, it's Memorial Day weekend. It rained heavily the past few days. I was almost thinking about building an Ark ... and then it finally stopped raining last night.
Today, 5/29/22, was absolutely beautiful! Sunny, warm, and a great day to go to Big Pocono State Park. Hubby and I got there about 10:30 this morning and it was just lovely. Not crowded yet ... but we knew it would be in a few hours. Don't know if any of you have ever been there, but it the top of the mountain that houses CAMELBACK RESORT in the Poconos. Elevation is just shy of 2000 feet and the views are spectacular. From the top you can see parts of 3 states ... New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. There are a few levels were you can pull off and walk trails, take photos, and get something to eat. There are also picnic tables set up where you can sit down and enjoy your own lunches or snacks. Bike riding is also permitted.
It is also a great place for people watching. Today there many out-of-towners. So many different languages, so many different styles of dress, lots of kids. It was fun just watching everyone.
I took some photos today, but not too many. The mountain is GREEN and LUSH, but in the next few months the mountain will absolutely burst with COLORFUL FLOWERS! And BUTTERFLIES! Will have to make a trip back in the Summer.
I've posted some pics you might enjoy!
