Garden surprises can be special, sometimes annoying!

Rain again last night but luckily not the damaging storms with large hail

 other places in the southeast received.  

As you can see, the 'reborn' amaryllis is doing beautifully and weathered the storm,

opening even more since yesterday's photos below. An additional surprise

 is that it's not the salmon-colored one I expected, but perhaps 'Charming' from

 back in 2018 which I must have planted out. I think this one is delightful.

A garden surprise is never unexpected, after all a garden is always a magical place.

However bad things sometimes happen.

A plant doesn't grow or thrive in the spot you picked.

A weather happening burns, freezes or soaks it, and an early death occurs.

It is eaten by a hungry visitor - of which there are many - here's a list of wildlife 

that have been caught hanging out in my small garden over the years -

Grey Squirrel

Opossum

Raccoon

Coyote

Rabbit

Deer

Fox

Vole

Mole

Mice

Feral Cat

Black Rat Snake

Copperhead Snake

Most have not just been one time visitors either!

Some, such as fox, squirrel, deer, feral cat, rabbit - have even birthed their young,

in trees, under the shed and gazebo. . . . . .or brought them along from the woods to

 nibble, munch, crunch, trample and crush my lovely plants, shrubs, bulbs and flowers!

Do I get upset? Of course I do.

Do I give up on gardening?  No, and never will.

The underground marauders are almost impossible to deal with - they love roots, 

they need to eat.

The tree climbers escape to places we can't even see at such heights.

The burrowers will always hide out of sight goodness knows where.

The slithery ones are silent and move away effortlessly - and the poisonous

 copperhead is the only one to really be scared of. . . . . and I am!

The beautiful deer of all sizes, though quiet and gentle, can really do a job on a

night time garden raid. Over the past few years, as more and more construction

 has happened close to us and their natural habitat has been stolen from them, 

we've been visited by deer in families as large as six at one time.

I'm really enjoying taking photos with the new iPhone11 Pro.

In fact I'm taking far too many of the garden but what else is there

right now!

Have a beautiful Sunday - perhaps next week, although

still at home, we will hear better news from around the 

world.  Prayers still needed, regulations must be followed.

Let's get those numbers down and hope people will 

soon be able to go back to work.

Go with the flow -

Thanks to all who checked in at my previous post regarding the sizing of posted

 photos.  It seems the majority enjoy the larger format showing clearer details.

As I do often used PicMonkey for editing photos I can change to almost any size.

For those who do prefer smaller, please remember you can always click on a

 photo in the post and have them all appear for viewing in a line at the bottom of 

another screen - there they are in a smaller format. Sometimes though it may just

 be the size screen you're viewing on. I do all my blogging on a MacBook Air 13" 

laptop - when I view my photos on Bob's larger desktop iMac they are bigger still!

Here again are the two sizes of same photo so you can see the difference clearly.

Sometimes I'll use the larger, other times smaller, all depending on the type of photo.

e.g. - larger for flowers, smaller for my face with wrinkles, haha!!!!!!!!

Kitchen Window flowers for today - the Knockout rose clambering around the
 birdhouse below.

All photos via iPhone 11 Pro

Light rain today so no garden chores planned. 
Did a little online ordering this morning, nothing ridiculous, just a
 leather case for the new phone and a few books as I can't
 get to a bookshop for a while.

Cabin fever yet?
Cooking up a storm?
Eating too much?
Walking up and down your stairs for exercise?

Hang in there dear friends. . . . . blue skies ahead.

This one or that one?

This post may annoy you. . . . . . . . . because I'm posting very large photos!

I know some people have a lengthy wait to download photos depending on

 their Internet/WIFI capabilities etc., and that must be really tiresome. 

Personally I've no problem downloading content (we have Google Fiber WIFI)

 and I do love seeing the large detailed photos which several of you post.

 If you use a smartphone or tablet instead of a larger computer screen, 

it may be hard to view really large photos.  

So this is an experiment of sorts because I have a new iPhone11 Pro and went wild

 with it in the garden the past couple of days!  I have to say the new triple-camera on 

this phone is awesome (includes a telephoto lens) but more than an extra lens it also 

precisely calibrates white balance and exposure.  I'm no techie but do now feel I 

could probably even travel with just this iPhone and leave my camera at home! 

Of course travel is only a dream right now so forgive me if I start to bore you silly

 with so many photos taken in the garden!

So I've added a few photos both in X-Large and Original display which

 gives you a general idea as to the difference.

 Which is better, this one. . . . . . . . . . .

......or this one?

(Kinda like when you go to the eye doctor for a check up!)

I'm going to try some dahlias this summer, picked these up at COSTCO - love them

 but haven't grown them since a child in England - my mother grew 'dinner plate' 

ones and they were fabulous.

Morning Glory seedlings - will be trained to climb up the porch later.

 The garden surprise of the week - my two salmon colored Amaryllis from

 Winter 2018, have decided to come back to life after being planted out over a

 year ago!  I told you gardening takes a lot of patience.

Climbing rose on the back fence.

Basil seedlings sharing a pot of petunias and ornamental ivy planted two weeks ago.

One and only native rhododendron blooming in back garden.

 Peony buds looking healthy with plenty of necessary ants helping them to eventually
opening those beautiful petals.

Trumpet vine almost over but clematis and roses have arrived.

So will you please let me know which size photos you like best of the
 two formats - X-Large (which is the smaller) or Original (the larger).

We've had a few crazy days, first with TV problems! Then getting out to shop for food, 

and pick up the phone at COSTCO in a horrendous soaking rain. When we got home

and I had spent two hours transferring my data (no easy task for moi) to my new 

phone and started to transfer Bob's phone to my old phone, I noticed I had the wrong

 new phone, and had to go back to exchange the next day (all that took several 
hours wearing humid masks in COSTCO (I don't like the tropics and I thought I 
would faint if I got much warmer!). . . . . . and I was told off for "idling" (just sitting
 for a few minutes) on the garden furniture display near the Verizon kiosk
 because my legs ached!

Today is much better - watered my seeds, pruned climbing roses that are climbing 

into my hydrangeas, playing with the camera photos. Now off to make potato leek soup, 

and salmon with fresh skinny asparagus because my skinny days are becoming chubby

 I fear with not enough exercise. . . . . . .and eating too much home-baked bread!!!!!

What will the 'new world' be like? 

Are you wondering?

Are you nervous?

Which size photos do you prefer please?

Staying Home - The Luckiest

Home Sweet Home

The days come and go. Some good, some not so good. When life is compromised, as it is now, your mind plays tricks. You go to bed, either exhausted and worried but fall asleep immediately, or you lie there over-thinking, tossing and turning knowing sleep will be a long time coming.

What do you think about? 

More bad news and high numbers. What's left in the cupboard to scrabble together for a decent meal tomorrow. Are your family, friends, neighbors really healthy, or will they become ill. Are you really healthy yourself. What about anyone sharing your daily space closely. How will you know.

What will you do if you both get sick?

Yes, too many questions, so you get up again each morning, not caring what time it is. You feel OK once you start moving. If the sun is shining it's better - it was damp and cold here early morning but has now warmed up and the sun is breaking through the clouds. He asked, "What are you planning to do today?" I answered with just a sideways glance and almost laughed, words didn't come. Today however will be a cleaning house day as the pollen is just about gone. He will be mowing the grass. I'm thinking of making a lasagna as I do have a stock of pasta and sauce, and I did remember to buy ricotta and mozzarella when last at the grocery store. . . . . which already feels like eons ago.

Speaking of grocery stores - 

I pulled out this amazing book to re-read after thinking about how shopping for food was much worse for my mother long ago. The late Marguerite Patten, worked for the British Ministry of Food during World War II. Her job was to help families prepare nutritious and appetizing dishes with their weekly rations. She became the doyenne of English cookery writers and was probably one of the world's first 'celebrity cooks'.  In case you're not aware, although the war ended in 1945 (I was born in 1943) food rationing in Britain didn't end until 1954!  

Growing up in that time, I also recall how most houses had a 'Victory Garden' where we grew a lot of our own vegetables, also some fruits such as strawberries and raspberries.  My mother was the gardener at our house, she definitely had a green thumb and, although she always worked full time, somehow made time to grow healthy foods and cook delicious meals with what was available from the shops. Many of my friends and neighbors now have a version of a victory garden also.

Currently I have a very small kitchen garden - just four tomato plants, two Roma, a German Johnson and a Better Boy. Also tucked in there are some squash seeds - and scattered around in sunny spots, several pots of basil, dill and parsley seeds which are just starting to germinate.  My neighbor also grows tomatoes and peppers and shares with me, so I'm thinking Italian dishes will be plentiful this summer!

Do you find yourself playing more music now isolated at home?

I listen mostly to soothing background music - piano, classical, chorale.  I love VOCES8, the a cappella octet from the United Kingdom - they can sing just about anything. If you haven't heard them you should, I think their music is wonderful for this time when we need beauty around us in so many ways. Linking one of their modern pieces - the amazing Ben Folds' (he's from North Carolina) song, The Luckiest.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv9CSQjUPPQ

. . . . . and to their stunning version of Sir Edward Elgar's - Lux Aeterna (Nimrod)
https://www.youtube.com/watchv=IwdeqVmXlHk&list=PL2tFLT5qytwSTVwD8NLh2jw3qGXMEv-uC&index=2

I hope your day is good. I'm going out to walk around the garden, then

do the cleaning!

House sparrows in the April garden -

"I suppose I am a sparrow, a

 stay-at-home bird." Gladys Taber (1899-1980)

How true - most of us around the globe are all 'sparrows' 

right now!

 

House sparrow: Passer domesticus

Introduced from Europe to Central Park, New York in the mid-1800's and now

 found throughout North America. 

They build domed cup nests within a cavity - and this particular female above

picked my birdhouse which was a huge surprise!

While walking in the garden yesterday, luckily with camera in hand, this bird seemed

 bothered as I approached the birdhouse and perched on the nearby split rail fence. 

I noticed the insect in its beak and knew it was a mother bringing food to its young. 

After a minute it flew up to one of the entrances on the birdhouse and stayed long

 enough for me to get these shots.

Female House sparrow with an orange Asian Lady Beetle lunch for her hatchlings - wonder

 how many are in there!

She would have laid 4-6 white eggs with brown markings. 

Both parents feed the young for 14-17 days prior to fledging. Then they'll be

 on their own searching for insects, fruit and coming to the bird feeders.

She soon popped into the nest site - I couldn't believe how lucky I was to catch her 

and to be able to share these photos of another busy garden bird.

If you are my age, or older, I know you may be familiar with the late American

 author of 59 books, Gladys Taber whom I quoted above. I recall her writings, 

especially her columns in the Ladies' Home Journal and Family Circle magazines.

 I loved those publications in the 1960's when I was a new wife and homemaker here

 in the USA. There was so much to learn about becoming a 'domestic goddess' 

in a new to me country. . . . . . .Ms. Taber's writings certainly helped out a lot!

Several of you requested the Pistachio Muffins recipe - I'll put that up soon.

They are so easy and truly yummy!

'Trumpets' and strawberries!

After some thunderstorms last night and an early morning shower, 

the sun is out, shining brightly into the east facing upstairs bedroom. 

Another 80F day ahead but no garden watering required.

Yesterday I almost fell over when I checked the arbor and

 noticed such a mass of blooms on the trumpet vine - the best I can recall

in the years of growing, being cut down, and climbing up again! Maybe it was

due to the very mild winter weather.

Bob at work in the garden, plenty to keep him busy.

Note we also have fairy lights on the arbor - it's very bright 

and cheery in the evenings.

  Yesterday we also heard there were fabulous local strawberries for sale at a

 roadside stand nearby. Bob gathered his mask and car keys and took a

 quick ride - his first time out in a week - to get some.

There can be no 'PICK YOUR OWN' customers in the berry patch this spring due

 to the virus isolation rules, so this farmer is bringing them to us. He expects to 

have berries for at least two months so I know we'll be back often.

Yes,  I'm washing them well!

These have to be the best tasting strawberries ever, and I like that the

 basket held assorted sizes.

Don't forget, Bob will be pulling the winner's name from his hat on Monday!

If you didn't leave a comment on my post regarding the book giveaway, there's 

still a chance to win if you go to this post, GIVEAWAY

Hope you join in.