the start of may

The month of May is when spring really jumps into action here in Illinois. Inspired by my friend, Kari at A Gracefull Life who has been sharing beautiful photos of her walks on Instagram, I purposely noticed the beauty that surrounds me on my neighborhood walk today. I normally do pay attention to that stuff anyway; I'm always pulling out my phone to take pictures when I walk, but sometimes my same ol' neighborhood walk gets a little boring. Not today!

 Around my own yard, a few perennials that say SPRING to me are bleeding heart...

vinca...

and bishop's cap. All three have that delicate, romantic look about them.

This past weekend, the weather was sunny and warm, so I spent a lot of time on Sunday getting herbs and herb seeds planted in pots...

and more herbs such as basil, two varieties of thyme, and rosemary planted in the backyard herb garden. 

 I planted two pots of dahlias and sweet potato vines, too. I still have coleus and tomatoes to plant, but those are going to have to wait until it's warmer. We're in for another cold snap this weekend. Can you believe it's going down to 28 degrees Friday night? I've been bringing in my pots of flowers into the garage and covering my herbs with a sheet at night.

I had a helper while planting, too. Clementine loves to be outside, but I don't let her roam freely. She only gets to go on the front porch with me. If she starts to step off the porch, I bring her back into the house.  I ordered her a mesh cat tent on Amazon, but I haven't put it together yet. I'm hoping she likes it. She can stay safely in her tent on the porch when I'm outside, without me constantly having to guard her every move.

Speaking of cats, I ordered this art print online from Bed, Bath & Beyond and then got the frame on Amazon. Isn't it cute? Sorry the photo didn't turn out well; I kept getting glare from the plexiglass in the frame.

Here's what my big kitchen wall looks like now with the new print ~ and oh yes, two more plates around the gather here sign.

Here's an older photo I found when I only had two plates around the gather here sign. That sign seems rather sad nowadays though. No gathering around our table lately, except for Brian and I. 

Have a good weekend ~ stay safe and well!