This is another post about flowers...

...and some other things I suppose.
By this point you may be thinking that I have an addiction or something, but it's not true, I can stop any time I want, I'm, uh, fine. ::starts twitching uncontrollable::
Ha ha!  But seriously though, I was able to add some new flowers  to my garden the other day and I just had to share.
Joanna picked out some Verbena for me the other day.  I'm pretty sure it's a perennial,right? So I put it where I wanted it to stay forever, with no regard whatsoever to the annuals I had already planted there :P  I need to move those phlox

I also picked out this pretty red Columbine to go with my blue ones.  I had had two blue columbine plants but the one didn't come back this year so I got something a little different and put it in a different place.

I think columbine flowers are so pretty, it's amazing how detailed they are!

I got this cute little orange flower to go in the place where the old columbine had been that didn't return.  This is called Geum

 

Believe it or not, these little flowers are actually part of the Rose family.  They are very cute and cheerful right by the driveway... and against the white Ibiris they are stunning.

 

They should do well in this poorly drained area of the garden as they are "moisture loving"

 

I had to rearrange things in my garden to fit in this next addition but I have been wanting Scabiosa for a couple years now! A close up of this scabiosa really shows how it lives up to its nickname of  "pin cushion flower"! I'm very excited I was finally able to add it to my garden :)

 

Don't they just look like little pins sticking into a flower pillow?!

I've also been working on getting tomato plants started.  We got rid of our huge vegetable garden a couple years ago but we wanted to have a couple things growing on our own this year.  We thought we would try and join the hanging tomato plant craze :P 
After talking with a girl in the garden store I decided to do it this way instead of buying the "hanging tomato basket kit".  We had a couple 5 gallon buckets laying around so I cut a hole in the bottom and stuck the plant through and then filled the rest of the bucket with dirt.

Of course I didn't want to have an ugly old 5 gallon bucket hanging from my lovely porch area so I yarn bombed it :P

I'm working on the cover for the second bucket and should be done with that soon.  So we'll have two tomato plants, hopefully this works like I'm thinking it will!
This spring has been very beautiful so far, weather wise, it's not gotten really hot yet and I just love it.  We don't have a screen in our screen door anymore but I wanted some breezes coming into the kitchen so I just opened the window anyway... the bugs aren't bad at all yet so it's been OK.  The kids think it's an awesome restaurant window too :P

I had gone to the doctor on Friday for blood work because I've been feeling awful and very fatigued and just not like myself, for a while now. She called me yesterday morning to let me know that my iron levels are extremely low, as well as Vitamin D. Iron is something I've struggled with on and off over the years so I don't know why I didn't think of that. She recommended a high potency supplement (double the recommended amount!). I'm a little nervous about taking it and possible side effects.  I'm supposed to take it like that for 8 weeks and then they'll re-run the tests to see if my levels have come up.

I stopped at target on the way home from Chase's hockey Monday night and got the iron that she had told me to, I don't want to jinx it but I felt an almost immediate difference after I took the first dose! I'm really hoping this is the solution to how I've been feeling.  They said it will take a few days to feel back to normal.  So far the place where I've noticed the most difference is in the mornings.  I was trying to describe to Ricky this morning how I had felt before and it's just too hard to put it into words.  I was just exhausted, physically I felt as though I couldn't move, or open my eyelids even.  Bolt was helping me get my vitamin D yesterday on the porch...

and Katy:

I thought this description of iron deficiency from WebMD was very helpful in understanding it:

What is iron deficiency anemia?
Iron deficiency anemia occurs when your body doesn't have enough iron.
Iron is important because it helps you get enough oxygen throughout your body. Your body uses iron to make hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a part of your red blood cells. Hemoglobin carries oxygen through your body. If you do not have enough iron, your body makes fewer and smaller red blood cells . Then your body has less hemoglobin, and you cannot get enough oxygen.
Symptoms include:

• Feel weak and tire out more easily.
• Feel dizzy.
• Be grumpy or cranky.
• Have headaches.
• Look very pale.
• Feel short of breath.
• Have trouble concentrating.

Everything that I had been feeling but just couldn't figure out why.  So I'm hoping that I'm on the road to recovery now.  I'd love to get back into running.

The coreopsis is in full bloom and looking so cheerful and sunny:

If any of my flowers look a little fuzzy it's because I had this little girl on my back! Ha ha!  My neighbors must think I'm nuts, crawling in my garden with my camera with a baby hanging to me :P

she's too funny...

I'm starting to think these mystery flowers are some kind of daisies...

What do you think?

peek-a-boo!

my Geranium in the back has one lone bloom on it...

The Foxgloves I planted last fall have filled in very nicely too and look like they will bloom any day now!

and I was pretty excited to see this hibiscus plant start popping back up!

This is a Blue glass milk of magnesia bottle that Ricky found in the woods while hunting with Chase last week... Dated Aug 21, 1906!
Miss Jane at the ranger station said it was probably from a logger as that whole area had been logged off around that time. I finally got it cleaned up and put on my windowsill the other day:

Sunday was mothers day so we drove down to NJ for the day and spent it with my family...

 

 Ducks at the pond, and they were really friendly too!

  

  

 It was a nice day so the kids stayed outside most of the time...

  

We had a very nice, and yummy, lunch all together.  Mom tried on her cap and gown for us!

  

 She's graduating this Saturday but Christy and I both had previous obligations so we are going to have to miss it.

  

Very proud of you Mom!!

  

 My dear mother even got me this pretty Dahlia plant for mothers day... I just planted a few Dahlias out by the chicken coop so I'm going to put it out there with them after a while.

 

After lunch we talked for a little bit but Ricky and I wanted to leave pretty early to get back home to the puppies and dogs.  We went over to Dawn and Tom's house first though to get a desk that they were giving away.  We had to try out their tandem bike too though :P

worn out on the way home:

The puppies opened their eyes the other day so the kids are allowed to hold them more now.  Pretty convenient that there are 3 of them, huh?

This picture is fuzzy but her face is too cute to leave it off: