Full Strawberry Moon

 Monday, June 29, 2026

AI pulled up the following info on the full Strawberry Moon:

The June 2026 full moon, known as the Strawberry Moon, peaks in illumination on Monday, June 29, at 7:56 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT). It appears as the first full moon of summer and will hang notably low in the southern sky.

Name: Historically named the "Strawberry Moon" by Algonquin tribes to mark the peak of the wild strawberry harvest. Despite the name, it appears a standard bright white or golden-orange (due to atmospheric scatter near the horizon) rather than pink.

Position: It traces the year's lowest arc across the sky, as it sits opposite the Sun just after the summer solstice.

Very hot and sticky today. Dale looked up the dewpoint. It was 78. The highest I remember  was 82. That was the record for the highest dew point temperature ever recorded in Minneapolis (Twin Cities) is 82°F, which was observed at 3:00 PM and 4:00 PM on July 19, 2011, at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Gross. Very swampy today. Took a walk this evening - sun behind the clouds, still hot but not as bad as earlier today and there was a nice breeze.

Sunday Afternoon Cigar

Sunday, June 28, 2026

This is supposed to be the last nice day before we're blasted with heat and humidity starting tomorrow and lasting for most of the rest of the week. 

Great day for a cigar. 

Here's me posing in front of the rhubarb. In all the years we have been in this house I haven't done a good job of utilizing the rhubarb we've got growing by the garage. 

It's been years since my former collegue, Carol M., gave me the recipe for her rhubarb crisp. I've probably made it 3 or 4 times over the years. I haven't made it much due to my never getting serious about making it until it's a little to late in the season. I've heard it starts getting kind of reedy after the 4th of July but I'm never sure if that's really accurate. Another reason that's kept me from making it is all those summers Dale was up on Madeleine Island. The recipe makes a lot and it's too much for me and even some guest to handle without having to waste some of it. 

Anyway, I'm hoping to actually make it this year. Maybe for the 4th of July.

Dale set out this bowl this morning to measure the rain. It absolutely poured around 10 am today. It's hard to tell but the bowl is actually pretty full. You can see it more on the left side near the rim.

                       

Was surprised to see the sun out this afternoon. Wasn't expecting that. 

The Yard Today

Tuesday, June 23, 2026 

Stopped by Bachman's yesterday to pick up some more annuals. 

Added an impatien and the purple leafy thing to this planter. The pansies I planted earlier are really filling out. 

Picked up a plant of rosemary.

The petunias I bought earlier this season are really filling out. There are snapdragons hiding in there. They can grow quite tall and I'm surprised they haven't done so yet. 

The ferns continue to do well although they can start to falter once you get into July if you don't keep 'em watered. We've gotten enough rain this season that we've only had to water the gardens 2 or 3 times. 

Peonies, Lily of the Valley, Bridal Wreath

 Wednesday, June 3, 2026

The peonies have finally popped! Those flowers are big and heavy. 

The flowers for the bridal wreath spiria is done for the season although if you look hard you can find a few left.

Same for the Lily of the Valley.

Ya just really need to appreciate 'em while ya got 'em.

Blue Moon

 Sunday, May 31, 2026

Not sure exactly when the last blue moon was but we had one this month!!

OK, Finally

 Saturday, May 30, 2026

Peonies

 Friday, May 29, 2026

These have gotta pop any day now!

The first time I photographed this peony bush this season was back on April 29.

I'm guessing the stalks were just under a foot tall at that time. I've enjoyed watching them and our other plants growing. I think I've been more tuned in since I'm not working.

Allium

 

I've seen this plant around the neighborhood on blooming bouldvards for years. AI on my computer determined from this photo I took as Allium. 

Here's some of the info I found on Wikipedia:

"Allium is a large genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants with 1112 accepted species, making Allium the largest genus in the family Amaryllidaceae and among the largest plant genera in the world. Many of the species are edible, and some have a long history of cultivation and human consumption such as the onion, garlic, scallions, shallots, leeks, and chives."

"Allium species occur in temperate climates of the Northern Hemisphere, except for a few species occurring in Chile (such as A. juncifolium), Brazil (A. sellovianum), and tropical Africa (A. spathaceum). They vary in height between 5–150 centimetres (2–59 in). The flowers form an umbel at the top of a leafless stalk. The bulbs vary in size between species, from small (around 2–3 mm in diameter) to rather large (8–10 cm). Some species (such as Welsh onion A. fistulosum and leeks (A. ampeloprasum)) develop thickened leaf-bases rather than forming bulbs as such."

Not sure though what the specific species shown in my photo is though. 

Cleaning Up On the Property Line

 Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Cleaned out the space between Josh and Breanna's fence and our retaining wall. Deb used to do that because when she had an assessment done she discovered her property line goes right up to our retaining wall. I told her I was happy to do it because even though it may be her property it's our side of the fence. She insisted. Anyway I caught Josh when they first moved in and I explained the situation and he was fine with me doing it.

Memorial Day 2026

 Monday, May 25, 2026

Our Lily-of-the-Valley is flowering and the fragrance  produced has a lovely sweet smelling strong pungency. Andrea's mom tells us she can smell it in Andrea's yard next door.

Speaking of Andrea, her Bridal Wreath Spiria is flowering and spilling into our yard like a waterfall. 

Neither of the flowers shown in this post last long so we try to appreciate them while they're here, and knowing human nature, would be easy to do if they lasted all season. 

We stopped by the store ealier today and picked up some more brats. Dale cooked them up on the grill...

...and they were delicious.

We also had baked beans, cole slaw, and potato salad. It's really starting to feel like summer. 

The Yard Today

 Friday, May 22, 2026

Andrea's Bridal Wreath Spirea is starting to come in. 

So is the tiger grass. Had to cut it back a little. 

The rhubarb is looking good. 

The peony bush is filling out but the flowers haven't bloomed yet. 

The yard's starting to come together. 

Cigar in the garage. 

In Planters

 Thursday, May 21, 2026

Got the flowers in planters today.

Ran out of flowers for this planter. I think I'll pick up some more snapdragons. They grow nice and tall so they'll look good behind the pansies. 

Flowers Undercover

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Under these little blankies are the flowers we bought yesterday. When I drew the covers back this morning they were in good shape. Glad I kept 'em cozy last night. 

Iris and New Flowers

 Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Iris flowers on a neighbor's blooming boulevard. 

Dale and I went to Bachman's today and picked up some annuals. Shown above are petunias, pansies, and snapdragons. Not gonna plant them yet as it's supposed to be cool tonight as in the mid to upper 30s. These plants are pretty hearty but I don't want to take a chance. Tonight I'll cover them up.