Thursday, April 7, 2016

F is for Farm, Flowers and Frog chorus


F is for farm of course.  Darling man and I dropped out of the rat race (Washington, D.C. area) and moved to rural Mississippi a few months ago. The farm was his grandparents' and later his parents retired here. We don't plan to farm, really, just want to have a garden and maybe some chickens and bees. Both Darling and I grew up in Tennessee and left the south when we married. We've lived in Washington state, Indiana, Arizona, and Maryland. We thought we'd never come back to the south to live. Just goes to show, never say never.

F is for flowers of which we have very few at the moment. But the potential is there in some weedy flower beds begging for attention and colorful blooms. I planted some flower seeds at the edge of the garden and hope they will grow. For now there are a couple roses, 2 small lilac bushes and some scraggly grape hyacinths. Happily, Live and Learn posted a picture of her hyacinths today for the A to Z challenge so I learned that's what is under my tree. All three smell divine. The tiger swallowtail was so drunk on lilac nectar I was able to get very close for a picture. I think the dark one with the dramatic spots is a pipevine swallowtail. I've seen a dark female tiger swallowtail which is similar but haven't been able to get a good pic.

Finally, F is for frog chorus - in stereo. A creek borders one side of the farm and there's a pond on the other. In the evening we can sit on the porch and listen to the frogs and insects in stereo. It's the night music of the country and I love it!