My favoritest flower ever is the Peony. I was presented with a bouquet of them when my oldest daughter was born and it’s been true love ever since. With both my daughter and the flowers. I planted a few peony bushes a couple of years ago, but it takes about 5 years for them to become truly established. Last year I only had two blossoms. But this year I’ve got 12 buds. YEAH!!! I had heard that peonies require the assistance of ants to open their buds. Though after a bit of research, I discovered that this has been proven untrue, but rather that the sticky sweet sap on the blossoms, simply attract ants. The blossoms however do not NEED the ants to open. I did notice that the buds were in fact attracting ants.

I’ve been following the progress of my lovely flowers and with the hot days we had last week, the buds began to open. Aren’t they lovely? I have a weakness for ruffled flowers. Which is rather funny, as I’m not really a ruffly kinda girl in the rest of my life. But ruffled flowers are so soft, romantic and feminine. I’m so glad I am able to enjoy these blossoms before I move. And I truly hope the new owners of our home will enjoy them for many years to come.

Whilst I was out with my macro lens, I noticed some tiny tiny dew drops on the leaves of my hostas. The hostas are only about 8 inches long and the dew drops were probably no larger than the head of a sewing pin. Not the tiny flat pin heads, but the slightly larger round heads. If you notice, in the dew drop, you can see the hosta plant, a tree trunk and the sky – all reflected in the drop.

Yesterday as we were digging out the driveway, I looked up and just marveled at the beauty.  I’m quite sure that my neighbors think I’m nuts, but it’s ok, I probably am.  I went inside to get the camera so that I could not only document the snowfall for family who lives in warmer climates, but also to preserve the beauty I saw around me.  I’ve added this image to my Etsy shoppe – though it’s not yet back from the printers… so it won’t ship immediately.  And I don’t really know when I’ll next see the USPS lady or my wonderful UPS and FedEx men due to not only the snow currently fallen, but the additional storm we are expecting tomorrow.  It’s a good thing I love my children as much as I do, though I fear they will be in school till August if the snow days continue!