Today I planted the cookie jar terrarium. This fills "the green stuff" square in my 5-1-25 card for the Colors Fest bingo. See Part 1: Setup.

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This year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about goal-setting frameworks for goals_on_dw. Read Part 1: Introduction to Goal-Setting Frameworks, Part 2: The 1-3-5 Rule, Part 3: The 12-week Year, Part 4: ABCS (Achievable, Believable, Committed, Specific), Part 5: Backward Goal, Part 6: BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals), Part 7: BSQ (Think Big, Act Small, Move Quick), Part 8: CLEAR (Collaborative, Limited, Emotional, Appreciable, Refinable), Part 9: Goal Pyramid, Part 10: Golden Circle, Part 11: GROW (Goal, Reality, Options, Way Forward), Part 12: HARD (Heartfelt, Animated, Required, Difficult), Part 13: KPI (Key Performance Indicators, Part 14: MASTER (Measurable, Achievable, Specific, Transforming, Evolving, Relevant), Part 15: NCT (Narratives, Commitments, and Tasks), Part 16: OKR (Objectives, Key Results), Part 17: PACT (Purposeful, Aligned, Continuous, Tracked), Part 18: Tiered Goals, Part 19: Theme Word, Part 20: WISE (Written, Integrated, Synergistic, Expansive), Part 21: WOOP (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan).

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Today I took some pictures around the yard.  These are from the house yard and south lot.

( Walk with me ... )

Today is cloudy and warm.

I fed the birds.  I've seen several sparrows and house finches, a catbird, and a blackbird.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 5/14/25 -- I put out the flats of pots and watered them.

EDIT 5/14/25 -- I planted the 'Poquito' orange anise hyssop at the base of the barrel garden.  I figure the hummingbirds will like it, since I couldn't find a jumbo salvia this year.

EDIT 5/14/25 -- I planted the iris 'Aureovariegata yellow' at the base of the barrel garden.  Its leaves are creamy green with wide yellow streaks.  :D

EDIT 5/14/25 -- I moved the 4 big smooth pots from the top of the new picnic table to the ground along the south bench.  This makes room for the remaining 3 fluted pots to be added later, and gives me 3 tiers of planting space on the side.

EDIT 5/14/25 -- I filled a big fluted pot with half compost and half potting soil.  I planted a 'Chocolate Sprinkles' tomato in it.  These were a big favorite last year, so I bought 2 of them.  Regrettably I'm out of marigolds.  I may just use seeds in that one.  I put the pot on top of the new picnic table.

EDIT 5/14/25 -- I potted up the second 'Chocolate Sprinkles' tomato the same way.

I've seen a male cardinal.

EDIT 5/14/25 -- I potted up a 'Carmen' Italian sweet pepper in the last of the big fluted pots and put it on the picnic table.

I've seen a brown-headed cowbird.

EDIT 5/14/25 -- I took several 'Ambrosia' melon plants that came in the same small pot, and put them in a much bigger pot which I moved to the new picnic table.  The fruit looks like a cantaloupe but is actually an exotic melon.

EDIT 5/14/25 -- I took some pictures around the yard.

EDIT 5/14/25 -- I sowed seeds for goldenberry and 'Aunt Molly's' ground cherry in large pots on the patio.

EDIT 5/14/25 -- I planted coreopsis 'Permathread Red Satin' and yarrow 'Firefly Red Pop' below the barrel garden.

EDIT 5/14/25 -- I planted a 'Husker Red' penstemon in the wildflower garden.  A spike of white flowers is blooming there, something I don't recognize, but very pretty.

The first purple-and-ivory iris is blooming in the wagonwheel garden.  The first two dark purple irises are blooming in the tulip bed.

I've seen two brown thrashers, a lady cardinal, the black-sided skunk, and a fox squirrel.

EDIT 5/14/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I watered the newly planted things.

I brought in the flats of pots, now down to 3 partial flats.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
  

The May 6, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl met its $300 goal, so there will be a half-price sale in Polychrome Heroics from Monday, May 19-Sunday, May 25.  Mark your calendars accordingly, and I hope to see you then! 
 

dialecticdreamer is hosting Magpie Monday with a theme of "recovery and rebuilding."

Most of my readers are familiar with the way this works: send a prompt, I write a gentle fiction story (I warn for swear words, implied violence, sex, et al) and if I were any good at embroidery any more, I’d embroider “EARNED happy ending” instead fo “Home, sweet home,” and have it framed. With those very loose limitations, ask for the story that you, the reader, want to see.

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The pink peony has bloomed. It was fully open earlier in the day, but then the rain made it close more. The color is spectacular. I was disappointed by the scent, though -- it's neither very strong nor very sweet. In contrast, the old white peonies are intensely fragrant. But it's nice to have variety.

Today is cloudy and wet.  It's been raining this morning.

I haven't fed the birds yet but I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

EDIT 5/12/25 -- I fed the birds.

EDIT 5/12/25 -- We went out shopping.  I picked up 2 partial flats of plants, 4 concrete pavers, 4 short tomato cages, and a package of plastic stakes to use as cheap hose guides.  Sadly I did not find any 'Gypsy' peppers, but I found a different Italian sweet pepper to try, and 2 of the excellent 'Chocolate Sprinkles' cherry tomatoes from last year.

When we pulled into the driveway at home, a male indigo bunting flew across the driveway, and there was another small brown bird that may have been a female.  :D

I put out the flats of plants.

EDIT 5/12/25 -- I went to go outside for some yardwork, but it is raining again.  :/  Ah well, at least it didn't rain while we were out and about.

EDIT 5/12/25 -- It stopped raining enough for me to do a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 5/12/25 -- I sowed cypress vine seeds around the support wire of the telephone pole.

As everything is still soaked, I am done for the night.

These pictures are mostly from the prairie garden.

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I took some pictures around the yard today.  These are from the house yard.

( Walk with me ... )