Reiman Butterflies

Reiman Gardens in Ames Iowa is one of my favorite places to visit. We try to get there at least 4 times a year or more if possible. I love the butterfly house. I turned the big 6-0 on Dec 19, I took the day off of work because I wanted to go to Reimans, naturally we had one of the many blizzards we have had this winter with 8-10 inches of snow. So it was not meant to be. The butterfly house closes down from Jan 1st to April 1st so I did not have many chances to get there. I did something I rarely do, the following Monday I called in sick and we went to Ames, it was 20 below zero but in the butterfly house it was 80 something. The conservatory was all decked out for Christmas of course. We had a wonderful visit and I am glad I played hooky :).

Shades of Last Summer

Today the temps were almost 65 degrees higher than yesterday but were still cold......brrrrr....

The temp was about 30 today, with yesterdays minus 34, that is almost 65 degrees.......hard to believe.

The above photo was taken last August, I think it is Pinky Winky (Hydrangea).

Baby, Its Cold Outside!

Soooo beee it!!!

My town set an all time record low today of minus 34, now that is chilly! We had a white knuckled drive to the VA Hospital in Iowa City (had to be there at 8:30 AM), the drive through Cedar Rapids was a nightmare, multiple accidents on their elevated stretch of interstate. Traffic was at a crawl, same thing on the way home but not quite as many pile ups. It was awful, our usual omelet at Perkins didn't even perk me up. And my usual stop at Michaels in Cedar Rapids was out of the question, I was just eager to get home. Home Sweet Home!

Good night to stay in and look at seed catalogs, of which I have dozens to look at. I have only looked at one so far Select Seeds, they are offering a discount if an order is placed by 2/20/09, I always order from them so will get my order together soon.

My Rosie all Grown Up

This is my sweet Rosie...............isn't she pretty???

Christmas Cactus

Since I haven't posted much I am going to back track some. My Christmas Cactus was really pretty this year, this is the old fashioned one that has been around forever. This plant was given to me by a co-worker who passed away a couple of years ago, this was a start off of his mother's plant.

My blogging has certainly suffered recently! I am not really sure why, I guess I don't have much to say............ :).

I am glad the holidays are over, they were wonderful and busy as usual. I got everything I could possibly want except to be able to retire......... and I guess no one can give that to me, but I can wish!

I took this picture the week of Christmas, this orchid was given to me for Mother's Day and is still in full bloom, isn't it pretty? It is throwing yet another spike so I will be enjoying it for quite a bit longer it seems.

I turned the big 6-0 last month. I treated myself to a new camera........... Yeah! I had been so busy I had not even gotten it out of the box til today, I tried it out and am impressed so far. Lots to learn.

Homer Simpson's thoughts on Flowers

I have never been much of a TV viewer or much of an intellectual (this post will prove that). I was the only person in the world who did not care who shot JR, or possibly the only one who has never seen Oprah or watched a soap, well you get the point. But I do LOVE animations, The Simpsons being one of my favorites along with King of the Hill, Family Guy and American Dad, see I told you I would prove that I am not an intellectual.............. :). I have taken my grandsons to every Pixar film that has been out, my youngest grandson and I watched Nemo about a 100 times......... :).

Anyway a couple of weeks ago The Simpsons was all about Lisa trying to save the bees, Homer's quote about flowers was as follows "Flowers are just the painted whores of the plant world", I think that quote can be applied to these plants. :)