Monday, March 9, 2009

Eventful Sunday In and Out of the Garden

Our Sunday began as it usually does with a bird watching outing. We went to a place we don't often go to see water fowl. In this area is also a Bald Eagles nest. We stopped to see if the couple had taken up nest keeping for the year and we weren't disappointed. One of the adults was sitting tight in the nest as it swayed in the wind.
I zoomed out so you could see that the other adult was loafing above the nest. Keeping an eye on what was going on. You can see it in the upper right of the picture below.
After birding we went home and I checked the various crocus bunches to see if any were abloom. I wasn't disappointed here either. This sweet little crocus is named Lady Killer. It certainly is pretty with its spot of purple on the white petals.
Here, you can see it a little better in this photo.Looking down on it with the flower all the way open you can't see the purple on the bloom.
There are several groups of the large yellow crocus blooming now. The lavender striped crocus are abloom.We have some solid purple crocus but they aren't even budding yet. I wonder when they will show their pretty heads. This photo brings me to the helebores. Yes, look closely there is a tiny bud, middle left, in this picture of an Ivory Prince helebore.
I am not sure what this helebore is. It has a beautiful white bloom. It might be Ivory Prince too. This helebore with its shades of lime green on the bloom is not Ivory Prince but I am not sure what it is name is. It has deeply serrated leaves. This is the helebore that I thought was going to die because it was under the pine tree that came down last winter. Its companions were stomped to death when the men took the pine tree out. This brave little soul hung on and is blooming beautifully.
Speaking of storms. A terrible thunderstorm blew through here during the afternoon. There were tornadoes south and north of town. We were lucky that we only had a gust of wind at 92mph. Our only damage was when the neighbors fence had three of the panels come down. That wind actually broke the metal brackets holding the panels. I guess we were lucky that they didn't fly through the windows of our house. One of them broke a couple of pickets out of our fence. Easy fix. We feel lucky.
I hope you all had a good weekend and that you have a successful week ahead.

29 comments:

  1. Hi Lisa....I really envy you seeing the eagles.....tku for sharing the photographs......

    I love crocus....such pretty little flowers...I prefer them to daffodils, far more subtle....
    Hellebores are my favourite, I can't get enough of them....do yours seed around??

    We have had high winds here....the last four days have been horrible, so cold....

    Have a good week.....

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  2. Eagles! Lucky you!

    It's beginning to look like spring in your garden. I was so surprised to see that a lone crocus had bloomed here today.

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  3. Those eagles are awesome! We have eagles flying around at our home in Wisconsin. They are so neat.

    And spring is definitely in your area!! Happy to hear the bad weather missed you.

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  4. Gasp! I'm so jealous you get to see a real eagle! That would be a real treat!-Randy

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  5. Great eagle pics. thanks for sharing the crocus with us too. cant get enough of em.

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  6. How exciting it must be to see a real bald eagle's nest up close. We have a few birds of pry aroud here but I never found a nest.
    I loved "Lady killer" crocuses, they look so delicate.

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  7. Do you think you'll see baby eagles soon? The thought is exciting.
    That storm sound scary, brrr. Glad you did not have other damages.

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  8. Goodness, Lisa! You had some nasty weather, too! Glad you're all fine. 'Tis the season, isn't it?

    I'm so envious of your hellebores and crocus - BLOOMING! I only have a few crocus spears in one location poking out of the ground. And the hellebores have fat buds at ground level, so they have a long way to go yet. They don't call Evansville the "Miami of Indiana" for nothin'! ;-)

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  9. Oh my goodness--that's WAY too much excitement for you on Sunday! Glad that the damage wasn't too bad... like you said, if it was ripping up metal brackets, the wind could've done much worse.

    Those eagle shots are great, and I love the crocus and your little lime green/white hellebore. What really caught my eye, though, was the weeping little evergreen shrub behind 'Lady Killer'... what is that? A cephalotaxus maybe? Or...? I'm wondering what it is, and if I can maybe use something like that to replace my doublefile viburnum

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  10. You were lucky to overcome this nasty storm. It seems on the whole you had a lucky time...first the eagle's nest, then the beautiful hellebores which are blooming and then all the crocus too. Enjoy the beginning of Spring, dear Lisa!
    Have a good week,
    Barbara

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  11. How cool that you got see nesting eagles! I would love to just see an eagle flying overhead. And then to come home to blooming Crocuses and Hellebores - what a treat. I'm glad the tornado avoided your house and that you didn't sustain any damage from those wild winds.
    I think I have the same mystery greenish white Hellebore that you have. Mine came mismarked as H. 'Red Mountain.'

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  12. Such beautiful early blooms Lisa. :c) Whew... so glad the storm damage was minimal. Love seeing the eagles nesting.

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  13. I am glad you all liked seeing the Eagles.

    Vero, it takes a little longer for Eagles eggs to hatch. The larger the bird the longer it takes in general. We will look for the chicks later and hopefully get photos.

    Kylee, yes it tis the season. I about cracked up reading that "Evansville is the Miami of IN".

    Kim the bush behind the crocus is actually a small tree. It is a Hemlock of some sort. I looked for its papers but couldn't find them. Sorry. It would probably be too big for in front of your house. I don't know really. The place I bought it at said I should trim it but I just haven't yet. It was tiny when I bought it. We will see what happens.

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  14. Hadn't you heard that before, Lisa? That's what they say in Ft. Wayne, because while the rest of the state is still freezing, Evansville invariably is having beach weather. Okay, so not that much of a difference, but you guys are always warmer!

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  15. Oh my gosh, Lisa, I am so glad you weren't hurt or there wasn't more damage. That could have been bad. Thanks for showing the nesting eagles, a real treat. Your crocus and hellebores look like spring has shown its face around your part of the country. Hooray!
    Frances

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  16. It must have been wonderful to see the bald eagles. What fun ~ and then to return home and see all the crocus. The lavender-striped ones are my favourites. It was heartening to read that the hellebores survived all the foot stomping and are thriving.

    I was glad to hear that the storm caused minimal damage to your garden.

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  17. You have blessed me with these beautiful images. Must have been exciting to see that nest. And as exciting, perhaps, to see those intrepid little flowers!

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  18. That's a mighty big gust of wind, Lisa! You are so fortunate that you didn't suffer any worse damage.

    You are so lucky to see bald eagles in the wild! That is something I've never experienced. I enjoyed your crocuses, too; mine seem to have mysteriously disappeared.

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  19. How fun to be that close to eagles in a nest! I love your little harbingers of Spring! I can hardly wait! :-) Glad you didn't suffer more damaged. Especially glad YOU are okay.

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  20. Lisa, what great pictures of the eagles. You are so fortunate to have them near you to watch. Will be looking for more pictures of them when they are nesting serously and then hatching little ones.

    Wow what a wind! So glad you didnlt have much damage. Hasn't this been an odd year with the weather?

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  21. Dear Lisa,
    Eagle watching is so fun! Nice to know right where they are so you can go check on them.
    I am so happy the storms did not do too much damage. You did get some mighty high winds. I was watching the weather and saw how this most recent rain and cold front I am having is moving your way. Stay warm.
    I love seeing your crocus! Very pretty.
    I have never grown Hellebores. Now that I see yours and Cheryl's in bloom so early in the season I just might have to break my "native plant" rule and plant a few. They are charming!
    Spring has sprung in your gardens and looks so pretty.
    Happy Spring,
    Sherry

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  22. My gosh, and I was complaining about our 50 mph winds. You're lucky you still have a roof!
    Marnie

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  23. My Parents have a pair of eagles that live in the swamp in back of their house. One year the female was hit by a car and her wing was broken. She had to go to some bird vet clinic for a year or more. When they returned her, the pair reunited! They mate for life, ya know! I just think that is so beautiful. Thank you for your lovely photos.

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  24. how wonderful to see the eagles nesting. your blooms are doing well even with your storms. glad you didn't have much damage.

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  25. Hi Lisa, how lovely to be able to see Eagles, and your Crocus and Helebores look lovely. That was some storm you had, thank goodness no one was injured by flying fence panels!!

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  26. What a wonderful sighting, Lisa! A majestic bird! Thank you for such a wonderful photo.
    I love your crocuses. Especially the white one.

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  27. I love the eagle nest and the flowers blossom near your garden. So colourful and beautiful!
    Too bad, Malaysia don't have four seasons.

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  28. Gosh, Lisa, glad you're o.k. Loved the eagle shots, along with the Hellebores. Don't you just love Hellebores?~~Dee

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  29. Lisa, that storm sounded scary! So glad no worse damage was done.
    The eagles are awesome. Thanks for sharing your sighting with us.
    I'm anxious to see the crocuses lovely colors here. "Lady Killer's" coloring sure is pretty.
    I have Hellebore envy :)

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