Sampson and Spring

Today is Sampson's Birthday! Our big Great Dane turns 5 years old today. We sang Happy Birthday to him and he got to go into the front yard with me for some special time without Lucy...it's the little things that matter to him:) He has a sensitive stomach and we are watching his weight so no food celebrations are in the works.

We have had consecutive days of 70 degree weather and I wanted to share with you some of the signs of spring popping up in my yard. I like to take pictures of flowers as much as food by the way...even though I have no clue the names of these flowers. Botanicals are like a foreign language to me!

I do know that this is mint. It grows like a weed and I have to cut it back during the summer.

My big flowers from last year look like they are coming back, yeah! These will get HUGE.

Will someone tell me if this is a weed (below)?

I planted 3 rose bushes last year and it appears 2 out of three have new leaves on them!

My husband LOVES to grill! I mean loves it. And I love trying new recipes. So I pulled this one off the Today Show, Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimmichuri sauce with Rice Salad.

Chad ranked this meal with a 9 out of 10! The meat was marinated with salt, pepper, onion powder, olive oil and white wine vinegar. He almost exploded with joy from the delicious smell the second after he put it on the grill! The Chimmichuri sauce is parsley, garlic, olive oil and red wine vinegar. I didn't get that perfect but it added alot of flavor. The Rice Salad, though not that pretty, was a great addition to the meal. It had cooked carrots, oregano, celery, corn and peas with olive oil and white wine vinegar and it was served room temp. It had a little zest that matched well with the steak. All recipes were by Daisy Martinez if you want to google.