After a long, dreary winter, spring is such a welcome change. This year has been one of the coldest and rainiest springs I can remember in a very long time.

Due to all of the rain, the world around us is such an incredible green, it makes your soul feel good whenever you venture outside. If we could get a little more sun and a little less rain, it would be a perfect. I am sure very soon, the days will become very hot and the green may not be quite as green as it is today.

We have lived in our home for five years this past April. I am always amazed at how fast time goes by. I know everyone always says, it goes faster as you get older, they are not wrong! I have been retired for nine months now, and that time seems like it went by in the blink of an eye. I am the caregiver for my granddaughter, (she is almost two), and my grandson, (he just turned six). The days can be long, but I am very thankful to be able to help my daughter and son-in-law. Not to mention, I get to see both of these cuties every day. They bring such joy to me and my husband.

When we moved into this home, there was no grass or landscaping. It took my husband two years to establish the lawn, and make it as beautiful as it is, he works hard to keep it looking picture perfect. During our first year in our home, I purchased three peony plants. These plants were the last the nursery had that year, they had already bloomed by the time I bought them. I had to wait until the following spring to see any of those beautiful pillow like blooms.

It was so worth the wait, each year, I have more blooms, of the prettiest white flowers with a hint of magenta on some of the petals. This year I think I had about 30 or more blooms. Sadly, they have reached their peak for this year. Since I am so busy during the day, I wasn’t able to take as many photos as I had hoped for. Today, I didn’t have the kids, I carved out some time to take some still life photos of these amazing flowers. I only wish you could smell them, they have the nicest, subtle scent.

I will be purchasing more peony plants this year, it is one of the few plants the deer do not eat. We have an abundance of deer at our home, which is surrounded by woods. Over the years, we have had the deer eat all of our hydrangea, hosta and various annual plants. It’s been a learning curve trying to find what they do not like to eat, luckily peonies are one plant they do not go near.

I hope you are all doing well, and enjoy the photographs of these beautiful blooms! Until next time, thank you for following along.