Monday, April 23, 2018

April Delights

April is marching on. At last we are having normal temperatures. It has been raining this morning. After all the flooding earlier this rain was much appreciated. 
 The rain brought on some more double narcissus that go well with pale blue Muscari.
 The Hinoki cypress is the variety that gets golden edges with new growth and lots of sun. We haven't had lots of sun lately so it isn't quite as golden and I think it is just starting a bit of growth with this warmer weather. 
 I thought to plant some bright yellow tulips around the cypress to bring out the yellow highlights on the HC. You can see the beginning of my vision coming together. I can look out the patio doors and see these brilliant yellow tulips blooming. 
I can see that I need more early color out this way.
Looking across the patio to the other side of the garden you can see the Serviceberry is in full bloom.
Oh, look at the left side of that bird house.
A robin is making a nest.
I can watch her right out the kitchen door. She is way too close to the house but I am not complaining as long as the squirrels and House Sparrows allow her to stay there. Not to mention us going in and out of the door many times daily. 
The conditions were just right for her to bring mud to shore up the inside of the nest. She would bring a bill full put it into the nest then sit on it.
Then she would turn this way and that way. 
Then she would press down with all her might. 
She would swizzle down deep then push with her wings to get it just so. 

She studied her nest intently. 
Only stopping briefly to rest upon her creation to see if it felt quite right. I even like seeing the undertail coverts. I don't see them very often.
Hopefully our activity won't be a bother to her. I have made Annie use the patio doors all day. It is warm enough and the bugs are bad yet so I can leave it open wide enough she can come and go on her own. I am not the only one that loves this weather. 



Tuesday, April 17, 2018

A Day to Remember

Yesterday was a day to remember. It was a cold and windy spring day.  I looked out at one point and all seemed rather normal except I knew it was colder than usual.
I was admiring the color of this little hosta. No I don't remember the name of this one but the color is striking this time of year. 
I got busy and then walked by the kitchen door again and looked out. WHAT??? SNOW! I could hardly believe my eyes. This is mid April now.
I started watching this spectacle. The furry critters decided it was party time.
The cotton tails were acting like March Hares jumping and chasing around.
They weren't the only ones.
The squirrels perched on warm rocks trying to figure out just what was going on.
The Bloom Day beauties  were being covered.
The tulips I was admiring the other day also had a dusting of snow. 
Of course everything had a good dusting of snow.
Then about 10 minutes later the snow was all gone. Was this a mirage? I hope that spring doesn't follow suite and disappear into summer right before our eyes.

Friday, April 13, 2018

Spring has Sprung

Even though the wind is howling these warm temperatures and sun shine  are encouraging everything to bloom. I love looking out the kitchen door and seeing some color in the garden. It is difficult to stay indoors for very long with it being this warm.
I am not the only one that is enjoying the sun and warmer temperatures. 
Even many bugs have emerged. Bees, flies. It is nice to see them all. 
Trees are budding. By the end of this day the Redbuds will be open. This crabapple was planted only last year and it is all budded up. 
There is some pale blue grape hyacinths blooming their little heads off. Oh no, maybe it is the wind blowing their heads off. 
The first epimedium is blooming.  
The red, white and blue arrangement out front didn't quite turn out as I imagined but I am not complaining since they are so pretty no matter what the colors. 
The all white tulips are as they should be. This clump has multiplied this year. This makes me happy too. 
The wild violets are blooming up a storm too. Love seeing these cheerful little faces.
Who couldn't be happy when hearing the First of the Year House Wren singing at the top of his lungs on the patio this morning. 
I hope you are all having a good day. Have a great weekend too despite the rain and chill that is to move in. There will be more days like today.

Monday, April 2, 2018

In a Vase on Monday

I don't often fill vases full of flowers. Since it was Easter Sunday yesterday and this year the daffodils were blooming up a storm I thought it a good thing to pick a bunch for the dinner table. 
I put the daffs in a rabbit pitcher. Since it was so chilly here during the day not everyone wanted to go outside to see them so they got to see them this way. 
I also had a couple of tiny vases made up for the bathroom. I brought them out this morning since our bathroom doesn't have a window. I simply placed the small vases into the orchid pot. You can see the little grape hyacinths (left front) and the pink hyacinth on the other side of the pot. The small orchid to the right is also blooming. I think they look sweet together.
Even though I don't often participate in Cathy's meme of IN A VASE ON MONDAY,  I always go there to see what everyone is finding to put in their vases on Monday. You should go have a look too.

New Blogger, Old Blogger

     All I can say it is difficult to deal with change. This new Blogger format is not as user friendly in my opinion. I guess I will get us...