Sunday in the Garden -

It's on days like this when all the hard, dirty, tiring work pays off!

Again, I walked early in the garden today to take these photos.

A little more rain during the night worked wonders and much is

 blooming. 

Unfortunately the pollen continues and air quality is poor with a gusty

breeze blowing. Not sure whether to head outside and do some garden

 work or just sit here and continue sneezing!

We still have a lot to do regarding hardscaping - a new

low wall across the back bed, re-do the pathways, and perhaps

remove a couple more very old trees, one of which was struck by 

lightning and is damaged. 

As we know. . . . . . ."a garden is a thing of beauty and a job forever."

June garden notes. . . . . . . . .

Thankfully June is here!

We, in just about all areas of North Carolina, after experiencing a truly drenching

 latter half of May, are excited about getting our gardens in shape. . . . . again!

Things were looking good in early May, we all had an early start with landscaping,

mulch spreading, planting summer veggies and annuals, outdoor furniture scrubbing,

 seed scattering. . . . . and then along came constant storms, torrential rains and

 flash flooding in many parts, and so much hard work was washed away, the

 remainder left a sodden mess.

The week ahead looks so much better for gardening chores.

Fingers are crossed, rakes, mowers and trimmers are at the ready, and those 

hundreds of weeds that suddenly appeared will be thwarted come 

Monday morning here in my garden!

Luckily my basil seeds were planted in pots and didn't get washed away. Today

 they are looking good - pasta and pesto making soon. The third pot I planted up

 was gifted to my dear friend MaryAnn as her own basil was supper for

 visiting deer last week!

The Boston fern on the left was the home of the house finch nest for the

 month of May this year. Thankfully, being partially under cover of the porch,

 the birdies were not drowned or blown away!

On May 20 the two baby finches fledged - two unhatched eggs remained in the nest.

The most amazing thing was that for some unknown reason, a Carolina chickadee

 helped feed these babies, along with the finch mama, and the dad often stopped by

 to check on the nursery.

It was a busy porch for all those weeks with three birds checking in, bringing tasty 

morsels of spiders and grubs, and the constant housekeeping done by the chickadee

 (finches are messy birds and don't clean their nests).

I won't mention the snake incident again other than to say I still have 

really bad dreams about that evening. 

Seeing the two new little ones fly safely off in the heat of the afternoon

 was heart warming.

These are my weekend flowers - peonies and alstroemeria 

from Trader Joe's on Friday.

So pretty!

Nature's extraordinary world. . . . . . .

. . . . . I'm sharing the Peace rose again. 

This morning she is full blown, glowing, and even more gorgeous!

More buds are also opening.

Little bees have been buzzing around her. . . . . . . . 

. . . . . . and the terra cotta cherub family is almost smiling.

  

It's so hot here - already 82F and heading up to 87F by late afternoon. 

Phew, much too hot for me, and others.

Perhaps the mama House finch whose nest is up above the roses in the

 hanging Boston fern is truly feeling the heat! Yes, she's a real mama now

as her first tiny baby hatched this morning.

One new little life - hopefully there will be three more soon.

I'll be watching the nest closely, but carefully, over the weekend. . . . . 

and hoping no predators show up on the front porch of course.

Enjoy your weekend wherever you are.


Update: Saturday morning 7:30 AM

We now have triplets!

Nesting. . . . . .

One of our new hanging Boston ferns has already become a home.
I didn't even have time to put the FOR RENT sign up!

Sweet mama-to-be!

Don't even ask how long I had to sit without moving/breathing at the dining room

 window to get this shot. The slightest move near the window and she flies out 

of the fern and takes a while to come back.

This rather plain little bird has moved onto the front porch. . . . . . . . and is 

laying her eggs.

Tuesday - April 17, 2018

Wednesday - April 18, 2018

The guests - Mr. & Mrs. House Finch - on our front feeder.

Finches lay 2-6 eggs - I'll keep you updated if more appear!

Green thumb . . . . . . . . . .

Somehow I missed celebrating Earth Day yesterday, so today I'm sharing the

view from the front porch this morning looking out across our little quarter acre.

My feeling is that every day this amazing planet Earth should be celebrated,

 whether you have beautiful sprawling country acreage, or just a small plot

 outside the city.

Yesterday morning we sat out here in brilliant sunshine with our coffee, and by

 late morning is was hot. Today cooler weather has returned with a vengeance

 and it will stay a couple of days with the possibility of heavy rains. . . . . . there's a

 light rain just starting now.   

Personally I am embracing this cool Sunday morning. I don't enjoy heat - especially

 when the air conditioning system is on the blink which ours is at present! 

With rain dampening down the pollen - enabling me to throw open the 

windows - and refreshing all the shades of green, I took these few photos early

 today to show you how green it is around the cottage.

The small oak tree, snuggling up to the fig, I've mentioned often.

This is 'Bob's Oak', growing from an acorn that sprouted here several years ago.

"Leave it" Bob would say when I showed up with the weeding tools.

 "Let's just see what it does". Well here it is, already a substantial tree 

with a pleasing shape which seems to be growing about a foot annually.

The birds love it, using it as a perching place for the feeder and bath.

These three trees were all started by us - the red maple, Celeste fig, and

 of course the some day 'mighty oak' perhaps to be enjoyed by generations to come!

New Boston ferns are now hanging on the porch - always a favorite here in

 Summer months. In Winter they become nighttime roosts for our family of 

Carolina wrens who snuggle in the pots, making small 'bedrooms' when the

 plants are brown and ugly. . . . . . .but I don't have the heart to take them

 down until I replace with new ones come April. I must admit, any birds 

trying to nest here in Spring - usually finches who adore hanging baskets but

 are so messy - get shooed away because the ferns can't be watered if they move in!