Why I Oughta...

We have a purple bearded Iris planted on the southside of our house, behind the Limelight Hydrangeas and right off the side porch.  I call these our "Indiana Street Iris" because they came from my sister - who lives on Indiana Street.  These Irises are from her neighbor Wes, who moved out and had his hosue torn down.  These were 'rescue irises'.  I planted a small clump in June 2021 - here's a photo that shows how small they were (all foliage) .    They put out a small bloom a few weeks later .   Last year, this bloomed in June and had put on some good size in the two years it has been here .  Below, is the Indiana Street Iris that has a number of shoots pointing upwards that will bloom in the coming weeks.   I haven't divided these, but perhaps this is the year - after they bloom.   These also have me thinking more about Irises - and in particular - an Iris that I came across at the Morton Arboretum Arbor Day Plant Sale c...

Our Indiana Street purple Iris is blooming (again).   I posted a photo showing the pointed foliage tips emerging from the mulch early this Spring .  And now, we're getting a purple flower show on the side of our front porch.  The Iris came from my Sister who dug it out of her (and our...for two years) neighbor Wes' garden before it was destroyed by a teardown.  Wes (and my sister and us) all lived on Indiana Street.  Hence...me calling this our "Indiana Street Iris". We don't have too many flowers in our garden and I think I've been conditioned to think of irises as a flower that would be in 'your grandmothers garden' and something pedestrian.  (note...I also don't know the difference between Siberian and Bearded Irises...) I suppose I put them in the same category as Daylilies.  Something that I'm sure is fine for YOUR garden, but not something I need in mine.   I'm not totally sure why I feel that way.  But, I'm starting to think ...

Back a few years, my sister gifted me a clump of purple bearded (I think) Iris that came out of her (and...for a couple of years...MY) neighbor's garden . His name was Wes and he had a couple of rows of Irises that lined his driveway.  Wes and his wife moved away and his house was torn down for a McMansion to go up on the property.  But, before the bulldozers arrived, Vic dug up some of the Irises.  I planted them on the side of our house and they flowered that first season .   Last Spring - in early April - I posted a walkabout that showed early foliage including these Iris tips .  Looks like these are about three weeks ahead of 2022.  See below for the tips: Wes' garden might be gone.  And, we might have moved off of Indiana Street.  But, with this plant, I can say that little bit of Indiana Street (and Wes' garden) are alive and well over here in Downers. 

With the holidays (officially) winding down in our house and the decorations being tucked back into their tubs and boxes, I wanted to include in my Web diary a photo of our front yard Christmas tree and our blow mold Santa and three reindeer .  I've done this in the past including a similar photo last year featuring the tree and Santa/reindeers .  The front yard tree *is* a thing in Downers Grove, but that's not why we do it.  We do it because of our time on Indiana Street in Elmhurst .  We really loved that tradition, so we've kept it despite moving to Downers.  This is the 11th year of documenting our front yard Christmas tree tradition - and 12th year of a front-yard photo.  2019 post was only of the blowmolds , so I'm not counting that in the 11 years.  Here's our 2021 front yard tree featuring a fresh snow covering our tree and Santa/reindeer. Here's our 2020 front yard Christmas tree with Santa and his reindeer .  Here's a photo of our Santa...

 At the beginning of June, I posted a photo of the newly transplanted "Indiana Street Iris" that I received from my Sister Vic via her next door neighbor Wes and Suzie.  I'm calling it my Indiana Street Iris since it hails from Indiana Street.  After getting it in the ground, it surprised me by blooming pretty quickly - and you can see this purple bloom on the Iris in very early June - see the photo below:

We lived on Indiana Street in Elmhurst for almost ten years.  In two houses.  One of our own .  And one of Equation Boy/Man and my Sister Vic's .  Our last few years there, we lived next to a couple named Wes and Susie (hmmm...maybe Suzy?  Or Suzie? Who knows...I never asked how to spell it) who were good neighbors.  They had a hot tub and some nice Japanese Maple trees.  Wes was an artist who loved dogs and liked our little puppy (at the time) Lizzie.   One of them spent time in the garden.  (see Japanese Maples) And they had a front parking spot (not quite a driveway because they used the alley behind the house and had a garage back there) that was lined with Bearded Irises.  They always put on a nice show.   Fast forward to this Spring and Wes and Susie have moved out and someone is tearing down the house to build something new.  My Sister Vic was able to grab some of those Bearded Irises from the front and save th...

We brought just a little bit of Indiana Street with us to Downers.  Over the weekend, we put up our trees inside the house, but we also went to Menards and bought a small 5' Fraser Fir to put up in our front yard.  Just like we did on Indiana Street.  Starting with our first Christmas in Elmhurst (in our first house), we participated in the tradition of erecting a 'front yard tree' along with our neighbors.  My sister Vic told us about the tradition before we moved in and sure enough, we fell in love.  The street(s) always looked so great when all of the homes had a uniquely-styled and lighted tree.  You can see the C7 bulbs I put on our tree this year out in front of our #newoldfarmhouse.  Nat did a great job doing 'classy' decorations on the porch with garland and lights.  And wreaths in the windows that you can see above.  So, while we have moved out of Indiana Street, we still wanted to bring some of that tradition with us in our...

This one feels different than the last time .  I posted a similar picture and post back in 2015 when we moved out of our first house.  Today, we're living in our #newoldfarmhouse after moving out of this sweet house that we've been fortunate to live in for two years.  I'm so grateful that Equation Boy/Man and Vic were so generous to host us while we were homeless in their house.  We were just down the block and our family felt normal - somewhat.  This home provided us shelter and a place to grow our family.  Most of all, it provided us peace of mind.  We were safe and sound and we had the time to make a new, new plan and execute that plan. I know we can't ever likely say 'thank you' enough to Vic and Equation Boy/Man, but I hope they know how grateful we are for their hospitality. So long, Indiana Street.  This certainly isn't a good bye.   Just a 'see you later'.

I came home to find this new construction job moving along quickly.  The odd thing to me?  They've faced their garage towards Indiana Street instead of the alley.  The rest of the houses up and down face Indiana and the alley would make it easy to have access to the garage.  Did they arrange this house wrong?

The City of Elmhurst came by and marked our tree with a big white "X" signifying that they intended to take our tree down and replace it with some little tiny baby tree. I've been in touch with the Forestry Division of the City of Elmhurst and it looks like we might be able to find a way to move forward without killing the tree.

She looks to be a goner.  So, so, so sad.    The front of our house/curb appeal is forever changed.

My sister and brother-in-law (Equation Boy/Man) installed a backyard rink this season and with the recent snow and temperature drop it is finally time to get out and enjoy it.  It is pretty impressive and their kids are having a great time almost every night.  My sister has been very generous in inviting just about the entire neighborhood down for a skate and lots of kids have enjoyed their hard work. Recently, I took the Babe down there to check it out and get up on the ice.   She's not quite skating, but with her new snow boots on, she had a lot of fun stomping around with her cousins.  And falling down. I, on the other hand, took to the ice (in my new skates - Thanks, Nat!)  to dominate with my stick handling, dekes, and one-timers.  It wasn't easy.  Just look at the competition!

Back in August, I speculated that the house a few doors to the south of ours was going to get torn down - based on the fence that someone put up.  We woke up this morning to the sound of heavy equipment.  Guess today was the day that the house was coming down.  The machine made quick work of the house. With the housing market still not that hot, the builder must have a buyer for the new house, right?

I went out for an early morning walk/run with Maisy.  You can really tell the season's are starting to change - mostly because of the later arrival of the sunrise.  While out on the walk, on the lot of the house that I think is getting torn down , I spotted this HUGE mushroom.  It is easily 12" in diameter.  I actually have never witnessed one this big.  Ever.  Our lot is lit up with lots of little 'shrooms, so the conditions must be right for them right now. 

There's an old bungalow on our block that was up for sale for the better part of 2011 when suddenly - about 3 weeks ago - the For Sale sign disappeared.  No "Sold" sign ever appeared.  But the family moved out.  The house was empty for 3 weeks when this fencing went up.  I'm guessing that a builder bought it, right?  And...they're going to tear it down.  That's good for house values, but I'm surprised that they're able to move that fast.  I figured someone would try to rent it for a while, but perhaps they have a buyer for the house they are set to build? Does anyone in the neighborhood know?  I've heard lots of speculation, but no confirmation