I Like Thursday #110

Welcome to my 110th installment of I Like Thursday.  I am kind of wondering where my week went.  Wednesdays seem to always be so crazy busy I have a hard time finding the time to sit and write a post.

Monday was my day off.  I wanted to work outside, we had torrential rains, to the point where there are several inches of water sitting on the ground.  I am thankful that I am far enough from the river and lake to avoid all the flooding that is occurring, and I feel bad for the people in Midland, Michigan where a couple of dams have been breached and they are experiencing extreme flooding.

What was amazing though is after these rains it is like the world exploded in color.

These are my lilacs from left to right, they are a light lavender, a dark purple, a medium purple, then white, and there is a rogue purple growing up in the middle of the white.  These bushes are over 100 years old.

The flowers are gorgeous and the scent is heavenly.

The chives are all budded up.

Last week my pear trees in my orchard were full of white blossoms.  All that remain are a few after the rain and wind.

But I think I may have some fruit this year.

The apple trees are loaded with blossoms too.

Apple blossoms are so lovely.

I have a prairie fire crab apple which I love the color, but the showstopper is when it blooms.

Jeff and I actually bought this tree together so to see it thrive brings me great happiness.

My flowering almond was bursting with blossoms this year, unfortunately I didn't get a photograph of it.

The little patch of wild strawberries is riotous with blossoms.

My chickens have been laying lots of eggs.  I thought this speckled one was interesting.

A girlfriend is looking to downsize from a huge home in Wyandotte to a small apartment, she doesn't want all the yard work, and home maintenance anymore.  She knows I love rocks and she brought me her Petostsky Stone.

 I had a rough week with losses of a friend and a family member. Hazel is a cousin I am related to on my father's side of the family.  I wrote about visiting here in 2018 in my post Waiting. A month or so ago she became ill, and ended up in the hospital with pneumonia caused by aspiration.  Hazel just didn't respond to the antibiotics and the decision to put her into hospice was made last week.  May 16th, she passed away. 

The friend was a man that was very dear to Jeff.  He was Jeff's spiritual mentor and good friend, sharing his faith.  Uncle Mick passed away on May 16th also.  Granted both of these people were fortunate to live many years, but in losing them I felt like I lost some connections to my father, and to Jeff.  Remember I said Monday we had torrential rains?  I was ironing watching the rain pour down when I heard a thump on the window in front of me.  I looked up and a cardinal was there, hanging on the screen.  By the time I got my phone and tried to focus he had flew up to the tree.

The cardinal and a female, I am going to assume they are a mated pair, have taken up residence in my field.   They say a cardinal is a sign of angels watching over and protecting you, but also providing inspiration. 

With the COVID virus at work we are required to wear a face mask at all times.  Unfortunately we have some people that refuse.  Which means that a couple of us have been pushed outside of our comfort zone.  Like learning how to decorate cakes. 

This was my practice cake I made at home, learning how to do roses.   I was told that I do pretty well, I just need more practice. 

I spied this towel at work the other day in a weird spot. 

Isn't this a great sentiment? 

The kittens are getting big, they are one month old today.  Since they were getting close to being able to escape from their box the kids decided maybe a pool would be a better container.  I get a kick out of them wrestling.

A friend sent me this video and I just had to share.

Finally my books for the week are The Chocolate Snowman Murders byJoAnna Carl this is the 8th

installment in The Chocoholic Mystery which takes place in on the west coast of Michigan in the fictional resort town of Warner Pier. 

Prologue to Murder is the 2nd installment of the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery by Lauren Elliot featuring Addie Grayborne in the fictional town of Grayborne Harbor, Massachusetts.

Now head over to LeeAnna's at Not Afraid of Color and check out the other I Like Thursday posts.