Spring Photos 2022

All computer systems are GO. Computer Depot, from whom I've purchased a couple of laptop computers and who came to mind when I was faced with using our public library computers to download the tools that I needed, made short work of restoring Hunky Husband's and my computers. I finished setting up HH's computer before dinner last evening and finished setting up this computer about an hour ago. While I was at it, I upgraded HH's Windows to 11 (he had still been running 10) and made a boot thumb drive for this computer. I don't understand why it is made so difficult, but I spent hours (not exaggerating) going 'round and 'round trying to figure out how to download Windows 11 and the Office 2019 suites that had originally been installed on the machines.

HH's computer was down for only four days, but I grew exasperated with his asking me when he would get his computer back. Poor guy asked several times each waking hour. One reason I went ahead and installed Windows 11 on his computer was that I knew there was no way that I would get his desktop to "look" exactly as it had looked before, so took the plunge figuring that the differences between 10 and 11 would be no more bothersome to him. (It turned out that it was less bothersome to him than the fact that I couldn't figure out how to make the file icons on his desktop the same size that they previously had been!) HH saves all files to his desktop. I don't know why, but he likes it that way (I had a boss at Cessna who did the same thing.)

Turning to some of the pleasures of spring, I present some of the photos that I've taken this month - since the April Fool's Day joke that my computer played on me. The first photo shows the largest patch of Phlox among all that have grown up from the starts that Bogie sent me several years ago - from her home in New Hampshire. I don't know where the little pink tuft of Phlox originated, but they are surely also descended from Bogie's stock. Note the smaller patch of white phlox visible just left of center at the far side of the lilac-colored patch.

Late last spring, I had a new Oklahoma Red Bud tree planted away from Adam's newish fence, the protection of which had led to my having our largest, prettiest red bud removed the previous Autumn. The new tree isn't very large, but it produced beautiful blossoms this year.

While the red bud tree is in the back lawn, there is a Flowering Crabapple tree that was planted in the "deep back" of our lot - planted in May 2020. That tree, too, is small but beautiful.

In the above photo, note the bountiful crop of dandelions that has presented itself this spring. The following photo shows the wildflowers blooming in the "deep back". Note the two different shades of Prairie Violet blossoms (which show, much better, in the enlarged version). Pretty weeds are truly prolific this spring.

At the side of the driveway are a Texas White Bud tree planted in April, 2019, and a few volunteer Red Bud trees. They are looking truly fine.

Not looking so truly fine this year and nearing the end of its lifespan is our little North Star Cherry tree. Until now, it has provided copious numbers of cherries to some of our neighbors (and to our family). Last year, I had ordered and paid to have a new cherry tree planted elsewhere in our back yard. Alas, the weather did not cooperate. It stayed so rainy that we finally gave up. I've not been to the nursery, this year.

At the base of the poor, struggling cherry tree are bush cherries that were planted at the same time as the tree. They keep coming back after being severely pruned every few years. (The yellow-brown detritus is tree leaves entrapped among the bases of the bushes. I've removed many leaves, but don't have the patience to do a great job.)

I used to have a huge compost pile for leaves and cuttings. Over the years I found that I had tossed many hand, gardening tools out with the green stuff that I was adding to the pile. I rarely found those tools. In the past couple of years, I've discontinued that pile and taken out the trees near it. Every few months another hand tool emerges. I found this pair of inexpensive pruners three weeks ago. I didn't try to revive the poor things. 

Comments

[bogie]

Welcome back!

Holy cow, both computers went down at basically the same time? That is weird. What was the issue?

I don't understand people that have a billion files on their desktop. How can they find anything in all those icons? I certainly couldn't. I was recently training a guy at work and he saved everything that way. So when it came time for him to upload those files onto a specific place on the network, he couldn't find them. Training was slow and torturous, to say the least.

The trees and phlox are looking marvelous!

[Cop Car]

Thank you, Bogie.

The tech's best guess was that we/I had closed down while Microsoft was downloading updates to Windows &/or Office.

I don't understand using the desktop for everything, either. As it turns out, your dad didn't really care about anything but his emails - but he couldn't tell me that because he didn't understand what was troubling him. I wasted $75 on his computer and probably should have spent it on mine. I'm not sure that I had, as I thought, backed up all of my scanned photos along the way. All's well that ends well.

The various patches of your phlox are really looking good, this spring. I took 1.5 hours mowing everything but the woods, this morning, so everything looks a little better. I need to get much more yard work done in the next couple of weeks before the weather gets consistently too hot.

[Joared]

All the blooms most attractive!