Winter surprises

This little wren was peeking into my window this morning looking as if to say "why don't you come out?".  So that is what I decided to do.  I got my coat on and mushed out to see how things were faring in our garden.

I found that the hellebores were in something of a pout what with the cold and scattering of snow.

The Autumn Fern was in complete agreement with the hellebores about how awful the weather had turned. With the temperatures dipping and the wind blowing. Brrrr

One surprise I found was this bit of Helichruysum thianschanicum that is an annual here.  It has survived when all the rest in the pot long ago sucumbed to the weather.  This licorice plant is aptly named 'Icicles'.  I will think of other places to plant it next spring.  It has held up to the drought in summer and now the cold temps. It will be intersting to see just how long it survives.

Another surprise I found was the Meadow Rue that still shows a bit of green.  It is usually down for the count by this time.

Another little shot of color comes from this Carex. Its yellow stripes are shining in the gloom.

Are there any surprises in your winter garden? I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Wren Haven

Another good name for our place would have been Wren Haven. The House and Carolina Wrens do like our garden. Our garden is only approximately 100'x175'. We have three wren nests in our garden as I type. I had been wondering where the CArolina Wrens had nested in the neighborhood for their first brood. I found their second brood when I went to get some potting soil out of the barn. In this chicken coop on the lower right side is where the Carolina Wren has built its nest. This is what it looks like. She sometimes sits in that hole and looks at me when I peek into the box to see if there are any young ones up by the opening so I can take a picture. I haven't seen any bodies other than the Mom so far. This nest is toward the south end of our lot.

On the west side of our lot there is a Howese Wren that is nesting in this box. They never give me a chance to take their picture. She stays inside while he sings his displeasure at me getting so close to their nest.

Across the garden on the east side is where a second House Wren family has taken up residence in this nice ceramic bird house. They have only successfully nested in this one other time. I don't know if it holds moisture or what the problem might be with it but we will keep an eye on this one.

I peeked inside to see if this was a dummy nest or if it was actually being used and sure enough there were 4 eggs in there. They often lay 3-5 eggs. It looks like they will have a nice size family soon.

Sorry about the quality of this picture but I didn't want to take too much time away from the wren sitting on her eggs or prevent her from laying one more if she needed to. Auto wasn't wanting to focus on what I was interested in. You can get the idea though.

Trying to get a picture of the adults is another matter. I haven't been able to get their picture to show you. They are so small and so "busy" they just don't stand still for a portrait.