The Trees of Our Little Acre - Serviceberry

In 1988, when we had our in-ground pool put in, we also constructed a pool house that doubles as a shed. On the north side of the pool house we planted a serviceberry tree (Amelanchier sp.). It is multi-trunked and has grown to be a lovely, graceful tree that shades an already shady flower bed below it.

There are white blossoms in the spring which give way to luscious fruit that the birds love. Humans can eat them too and they make delicious jelly. Depending on the cultivar, they are hardy to zone 3 or 4. In the fall, the leaves on ours turn a beautiful shade of yellow which contrasts nicely with the smooth and spotted dark bark.

This fall, I was happy to notice a good-sized seedling growing a short distance away and I moved it to the orphan garden for the winter. In the spring, I'll decide where I'm going to plant it permanently. It's really a wonderful tree that I'd put in the same ornamental class as Japanese Maples, because they're so graceful in appearance.

Under its cover is one of Max's favorite places to sleep and stay cool in the summertime.


*Photo of berries from Paghat's Garden.

Feline Friday - Abby

I came across this picture of Abby again last Sunday night when Grandma spent the night. It was taken when Abby still lived at our house. She belongs to Grandma now, which is a good thing. Simon had all of a sudden started to sort of not like Abby and we weren't sure what we were going to do about it.

Abby is such a sweetheart and just wanted to be left alone to snuggle with me, but I think maybe Simon was jealous. Never mind that Simon isn't the snuggly kind. He's the "I don't want you but I don't want anyone else to have you either" kind. So when Grandma said she was ready for another cat, it seemed like the perfect solution.

If any one picture could convey Abby's personality, this might just be it. She's very wary of anyone except for Grandma. Mom thinks Grandma doesn't really have a cat because when she visits, she never sees her. Take my word for it, Mom - Abby's there. I saw her just last Sunday as she streaked by on her way to her secret hiding place.

Make Roses From Maple Leaves

I saw this online last fall and promptly went out and collected quite a stack of beautiful red and yellow maple leaves. I spritzed them with water and put them in an open plastic bag in the refrigerator. I had every intention of trying this neat craft. Just ask Kat - we were going to do it while she was here last October and never got around to it. I threw the leaves out in January sometime.

But this year, I was determined to try it. Tonight, I gathered leaves from the yellow maple tree in our yard and the red one in our neighbor's. What you see in the photo to the right is my first attempt at making roses from maple leaves. Don't look too closely.

I'm not the most handy person when it comes to crafts - that would be my mom's department. I think I could get better at this with more practice though. And larger maple leaves. Larger leaves that don't have such deep lobes. The longer the base of the leaf area is before the lobes split off, the better.

Want to try it? Here are the instructions. Good luck!