Monday garden and thoughts. . . . . . . .

Wow, time flies!  Here it is Monday again and this will be a crazy, busy week for me.

I managed to prepare a few posts over the weekend.

 I was fed up with trying to decide what to pack for Patagonia. . . . . and how to fit 

it all into a large rolling duffel . . . . . so took short breaks from looking at piles

 of layering clothes and tons of toiletries all over the bed, shot a few photos 

around the garden, and wrote some posts to share this week. 

Last evening I collapsed in my chair with a glass of red and two chocolates!!

 To hell with the prednisone weight gain, I'm tired of fighting that issue for

 the past year. 

Absolutely loved watching that hour and a half series finale of VICTORIA

 which I thought amazing! Did you see it?

NO, your acorns are not buried here! Guess they'll continue digging in my pots of tulip

bulbs and pansies whilst I'm gone.

The saucer magnolia continues to brighten the February garden.

Plenty of garden chores will have to wait 'til April.

The daffodils and jonquils brought 'sunshine' to a somewhat cloudy weekend 

with a few showers.

So here's to the week ahead. Know you are freezing in the UK - even the

 English Channel is turning to ice along the Devon coast where my family lives, 

and severe storms caused by Siberian winds with snow and ice are heading

 across England from north to south for much of this week.

So take care wherever you are. . . . . . and do stop by tomorrow as it's a

 special anniversary for me!

February garden delights. . . . . . .

Akebia budding on the potting shed. . .

Magnolia liliiflora 

Read more, and see photos, of my pretty tree shared on this day last year - it's
 taller and blooming right now in this warm late February weather.

The very first violets under the watchful eyes of the garden cherubs. . . . . . 

From my North Carolina garden. . . . . . . . . wishing you a good weekend.

It's all about HOME. . . . . . . .

I thought today I would chat a bit about home. 

This is a garden house for the birds, and probably my favorite with the tiny china bird 

on a nest perched on top. Birds have yet to nest in this home, maybe this will be the 

year, who knows.

It's a holiday for some, Presidents' Day, the day on the calendar now honoring

all American Presidents. It used to be a celebration of George Washington's birthday,

 things change! As this is not and never will be a political blog, I rest my case.

Staying home today is just like many other winter days. It's dreary, cool, raining off

 and on, but tomorrow and the rest of this week promises to be warm and sunny again. 

The weekend was fabulous and I did some required garden chores in hot sunshine

 under a cloudless deep blue sky.

Yesterday, early evening, we enjoyed a glass of wine of the front porch with a

 neighbor - sharing travel stories - until the coolness of dusk arrived and I had to

 reach for a sweater.

Yesterday I actually saw a pair of wrens flying around the gazebo with dried leaves

 in their bills - goodness it's much too early to be picking home sites and building nests! 

This winter I hung some of my bird houses in the fig tree out front - along with

 feeders and a few lanterns with battery operated candles which light up at

 dusk - and fortunately they've held up well through the drastic weather changes

 this season brought.

So, off to do some Monday kitchen chores - making leek and potato soup

 (a good day for soup of any kind), and trying a recipe I recently found for

 mushrooms and polenta. I'll share later if it turns out to be as tasty as promised.

Tonight is my Tai Chi class. It continues to be very interesting. . . . . and difficult!

 Practicing alone between classes is hard but I'm enjoying the class and will continue.

 I'll miss three March classes whilst in Patagonia so will have a lot to catch up with

 on my return!

Yes, going away again soon. Always fun, but thoughts of home will

accompany me on this exciting expedition adventure. . . . . . .as always.

Fair vernal flowers. . . . . . . .

Awake, thou wintry earth -

Fling off thy sadness!

Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth

Your ancient gladness!

~ Thomas Blackburn ~

~ Leucojum aestivum : called Summer snowflake but blooms in Spring ~

A morning of sunshine and an early walk through the garden 
brought new surprises.

The first flowers to open. . . . . . . . . always bring a smile.
I send these tiny beauties to those of you in colder climes who have
 yet to see your own push through the earth.
Along with the daffodils already in bloom, and with very warm days 
this coming week, we are well on our way to welcoming Spring.

My favorite deep cobalt blue hyacinth.
Have a pleasant Sunday.

A Common grackle visits alone. . . . . . . . . .

When Common grackles appear they are often in huge numbers - I've seen

several hundred appear at one time!  They can be a noisy nuisance in a small

 garden, also quite ominous, like a scene from the classic 1964 horror/suspense

 movie, "The Birds" directed by Sir Alfred Hitchcock.

A large black bird, 11-13", it sports an iridescent blue black head, 

purple brown body, long black tail, long thin bill, and very bright golden eyes.

Usually flying with other black birds in large flocks, it's known to feed in

 farmers' fields, dining on fruits, seeds and insects.

When a flock comes to the garden, thankfully not often, we shoo them

away and they fly up into the trees making their loud raspy calls.

This wet weekend, a single grackle arrived in the fig tree, looking lonely

 and apparently feeling hungry, it hopped onto the feeder and nibbled away

 for several minutes.

Probably a first for me, actually getting a photo of a grackle this close

 up, and through the window, so that the beautiful coloring is visible.

~ Common grackle : Quiscalis quiscula ~

A very colorful black bird, which isn't really black but a mix of beautiful colors.

Nature is very adept with her paintbrushes!

Wet Sunday in the garden. . . . . . . . . .

There are no trumpets welcoming the imminent arrival of a new

season, just a quiet pushing through the ground of bright green tips, the

 silent opening of buds, then pops of unexpected color as one looks out

 at the early morning.

Doesn't seem possible that well over a week of February has already

 disappeared into history! 

The days fleet fast for me at this time of life, how about you? 

Some people complain of days such as this one when the weather

is not to their liking. . . . . . whereas I gather each day around me thankful

it came and that I'm here to enjoy it.

February can be dreary, but this morning in my garden, I spy little things

 Nature is sharing to brighten my spirit, to be thankful for, to smile at, and

to know there is another Spring on the way.

 ~ Raindrops on daffodil leaves ~

~ Tufts of bluebell leaves pushing through garden mulch ~

~ First daffodil bloom of the year ~

~ Buds are opening ~

Today was already 60F at dawn, rain fell in the night, pansies are happy. . . . . . 

. . . . . . and the robins are back searching for worms - here's just a few of perhaps

 thirty who gathered on the front lawn!

Later today it will reach the mid-70's with perhaps some thunder.

The rain is light and intermittent - typical of February here in the 

southeast.

My thoughts this morning:

A Sunday in the cottage makes sense - there is much to do with our 
leaving home drawing closer.

I should bake something - or perhaps make a trifle! 

I need to clean the front porch as the beastly cute squirrels pulled the 
birdseed bell down, gobbled it up and left a mess!

Speaking of plants - we so enjoyed Raleigh Little Theatre's rendition of 
Little Shop of Horrors last evening!

Great cast as always, and special guests seated at the end of our row were 

North Carolina's Governor and First Lady, laughing along with the 

rest of us. I was happy to see them supporting this always fabulous local 

amateur theatre group.

The Saturday morning wren. . . . . . . . .

Carolina wren, as you know by now, is my much-loved sweet little bird.

Our live-in pair. . . . . . . . sleeping nightly in the now dead hanging Boston ferns

on the front porch (those plants left purposely to serve as their 'hotel rooms' 

every winter) . . . . . . have been nibbling on this seed bell to which I add

 peanut butter each morning.

Yesterday morning was a golden gift of cold, yet brilliant, sunshine. 

The bird baths were frozen solid, the birds were hungry - Bob ventured out,

 filling feeders and suet holders. Me? I grabbed the camera and spent time

 at the windows just watching and enjoying the tiny visitors at breakfast.

Today is overcast, grey, cold, and a drizzly rain has started falling and will

continue until evening. I'm definitely not a football fan - but I do enjoy 

a fireside snack (naughty I know) and a nice glass of red on a cold evening, 

so guess that's where I'll be tonight. . . . . . . but viewing VICTORIA!

Thanks for being wonderful 'you' - your comments on the

woodpecker photos were lovely.

Woodpeckers and suet feeders . . . . . . . . .

Since the cold weather hit the large woodpeckers are here every day, 

all day, coming and going at the suet feeders.

Above and below - female Northern flicker - such a beautiful large bird (up to 12") 

who loves our suet feeders.

Male Flicker - note he has the black 'moustache'

Both male and female have the brilliant red spot on the nape of the neck.

This colorful garden bird is the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a somewhat smaller

 8-9" medium-sized woodpecker. This is the male with the red chin - female has

a white chin.
An interesting bird, it drills holes in a pattern of horizontal rows in small to
 medium sized trees to bleed tree sap. Many birds drink from sapsucker taps,
 and oozing sap attracts insects which sapsuckers eat. 
The Sapsucker itself actually doesn't suck sap, rather it laps it with a long tongue.

Any woodpeckers in your garden lately?
Best wishes for the weekend - how on earth did the week go by so quickly!