What's in your garden today? - Part II

Another glimpse into the garden which is keeping us busy with hot days

 and plenty of rain bringing fast growth.

Here's the promised second part of the May garden goings on.

Sit a while and hopefully you will enjoy a little visit.

Prepared the gazebo and deck ready for summertime dining al fresco

and have already had supper there the past two evenings.........

.....enjoying the heady fragrance of the jasmine now in full bloom, and very 

loud birdsong.

Our pair of finches built the nest in the hanging Boston fern but must 

have decided to try another spot as we've had no eggs.

Birdhouse is busy but can't determine which birds are actually nesting 

as they fly in and out in a flash.

Plenty of cardinal pairs now, many nesting in bushes but still busy

at the feeders.

The front porch is busy. 

Yesterday Charlie gecko returned when we were having a cup of

 afternoon tea. . . . . . . .and he was chasing a second gecko so

 looks like we are definitely home to a pair of these cuties!

Then, not to be left out, 'Chippy' Chipmunk paid us a visit and I

 managed a quick photo before he headed on his way to drink

 from the bird bath.

This morning is another beautiful one after a brief thunderstorm

last night with a little rain to wash away the remaining pollen and

freshen things up.

Hydrangeas are doing well - opening their always lovely blue

 blooms. Canna lily in pot coming into bloom for a second year - just

 left it out all winter and it didn't seem to mind the cold.

No, didn't grow the strawberries, but these were delicious and so fresh

 from the Farmers' Market, a generous gift from a neighbor. 

Strawberry season is now in full swing in North Carolina.

My garden posts may be missing for a while as we will be traveling

soon . . . . . . .hopefully Nature will take care of things and I'll be

posting new views come end of the month or early in June.

What's going on in your May garden?

Pretty in Pink + Wildlife!

This has been another crazy, far too busy week. 

The garden took up a lot of time.

Household things went wrong and kept us on our toes.

Appointments had to be kept.

Hair cut - shorter as weather heating up.

Purchased an iPhone 13 Pro Max, love it.

Food shopping and cooking for company.

Cat sitting again for my neighbor.

I'm hoping for a weekend where I can just sit a while, gather my senses

 and make plans for what looks like an even more hectic week ahead as we

will be taking a little trip.

I'm going to Van Gogh The Immersive Experience on

 Mother's Day with granddaughter Jasmin.

We love Van Gogh's work and I visited his last home in Auvers-sur-Oise

 at the Auberge Ravoux (click to read and view photos from that visit.)

 Also took Jasmin to Arles, Provence several years ago where we visited

 his yellow house, climbed the stairs to his bedroom, and other locations

 where he painted his remarkable canvasses.

"Glance up at the glimmering heavens of The Starry 

Night, admire the Almond Blossoms bursting into flower. 

Take a step into the world of Van Gogh's most iconic

 works of art and experience what it is to be inside a painting!"

Beside the pink roses, the pink peonies have also bloomed this week and

 many other plants and shrubs are filling out with lush leaves and buds.

Our weather has been fine with hot days reaching almost 90F but low humidity, 

and no mosquitoes yet which was great for working outside.  This will change

 soon of course and later today bad weather is expected with possible severe storms . . . . . .

. . . . . . .hopefully not upsetting my little baby bunny.

I prepared him for rain yesterday by accidentally watering him with

the garden hose!

Speaking of arriving wildlife. . . . . I also have Charlie gecko

 back on the front porch which makes me think he hibernated 

nearby all winter.

He was bright green before jumping on my new chair cushion where

he immediately changed to brown to blend in, wonderful camouflage!

Yes, all is very green here. This week I also cleaned out the potting shed

 with a little help.  As mentioned before, April and May are beautiful months

 in this part of America and gardening keeps us so busy.

Enjoy your Mother's Day weekend.

Run rabbit run. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . .or just stay and nibble in the garden!

This week we seem to have a family of rabbits, large, medium, and 

a cute as a button tiny baby appeared yesterday. All are rollicking across

 the lawn, hopping across the back deck, climbing up on flower pots

 and biting off leaves, nibbling the grass as in these photos from yesterday,

 and taking a shady break under one of the big hydrangea bushes in front

 of the porch as 90+ degrees return.

Note our grass is getting too long - rabbits like this I think.

Our neighbor borrowed our mower and accidentally damaged a wheel

 so it's out of commission until we can get it repaired. May have to hire a

 service to mow before we have a meadow rather than a lawn!

 I know they can become pests, however right now I'm enjoying them, would

 love to cuddle the baby. . . . . . . . but at least they don't jump on the feeders

 and gobble the birdseed like the darned squirrels!

There is nothing more delightful than a garden alive with butterflies, bees, 

birdsong, and small creatures. Natural habitats are often eroded and it 

seems our gardens, even those close to cities and highways, are now

 offering them much-needed refuge. With so much building going on in

 our neighborhood woodland has almost disappeared. Some wildlife

 can be dangerous that close to home, one has to be aware, but many

 creatures are delightful to see just outside the window. 

Nature really is wonderful.

Here I'm sharing my list of actual sightings recalled over the 35 years

 we've lived in this house (at last one, very often an entire family) - other

 than the many different birds and insects - seen in my garden, and we

 do not live in the countryside!

Grey Fox
Grey Squirrel
Chipmunk
Rabbit
Deer
Lizard
Frog
Toad
Opossum
Raccoon
Mouse
Feral Cat
Vole
Mole
Coyote
Various Snakes 

So, who's "coming to dinner" in your garden?

Our property is only a quarter acre but sometimes I feel like I'm

 living on a farm. Actually it was a farm years ago!

Enjoy your Sunday. Very hot here with afternoon rain - as if

we didn't have enough on Thursday when Elsa went through.

Thankfully we survived - just a lot of water pooling in the 

low spots, but no wind gusts to cause damage.

Oh deer!

Here's a wake up photo!  

Ms. Jane Doe was back yesterday afternoon around 5PM. Just happened to

 look out and saw her under the fig tree eating some of the dropped fruits.

 She saw us looking at her through the glass storm door and didn't seem at all

 concerned - I think she's may be getting too tame, or she just likes what's on 

our garden menu!  

She certainly is photogenic - and look at those eyelashes!
I took over fifty photos but will just share few here.

'Jane' then moved on to the bird feeder which was almost empty from so many

 hungry birds hanging out these hot days.  We allowed her to nibble for a short

 while, and I took my photos - before clapping hands and shooing her off - though 

how she actually gets the seeds out those small holes made for tiny bird

 beaks, is beyond me!

She is so sweet - and I'm almost ready to forgive her a bit of nibbling as she must 
eat - but I'm wondering where the rest of her family might be. I hope she's not an
 orphan and that they have moved on leaving her here alone.

Another early morning breakfast visitor. . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . .and this time it was not my granddaughter!

On opening the dining room blinds early this morning I was quite surprised 

to see this larger than usual visitor checking out the bird feeder! 

In the almost thirty years we've lived in the cottage, we've never had deer

in the garden, and we can count on one hand the times we've seen one in the 

cul-de-sac. . . . . . . until yesterday early evening when a neighbor called to tell

 me a deer had just walked up my driveway. I didn't get photos then as it jumped

 over a fence and was gone in no time flat. We are not in the country and are 

actually just a heartbeat away from a very heavily traveled main road.

This morning I was able to grab a camera, managed a few shots from the

 window before this one toddled off over the lawn, then crossed the street into

 the small wooded area opposite.

We really don't want deer knowing how they can enjoy three meals a day

 once they find plants and shrubs on their menu growing in your garden. 

My neighbor has tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions coming along 

and is going on vacation soon. As I'm going to be cat-sitting for a couple of 

weeks I've been given the go ahead to harvest - and enjoy cooking/eating - these

 summer veggies. I'm growing a lot of basil in pots, so I'm ready for fresh-picked 
tomatoes.

- Neighbor's veggie patch -

Methinks I may be spending more time in the garden in my robe these

coming mornings! I have big plans for gazpacho, ratatouille, pasta sauce etc. -

and I may need to be out there ahead of the deer if those are veggies they enjoy!

If you are growing veggies and have visiting deer - do they eat them?

Any tips will be welcomed. . . . . . but no instructions for building deer 

fences please, too late for that.

Just taking a break and sitting in the garden on a sudden whim is not really an option

 for me at this time of year. . . . . .unless I spray heavily with messy, smelly bug

 repellent I become a feast for every mosquito within a square mile.  

This morning I did venture out after the deer left, after all I was already armed

with a camera, nobody was around, being in pj's and robe was acceptable,

 (it's actually one of those 'old lady' habits neighbors expect I think!).

  The garden did look pretty in the early sunlight. . . . . . . and I wanted 

to share a little bit of North Carolina with you.

Have a fabulous week dear friends.

Bob will be heading out with the mower shortly - as you can see, time to

tackle the grass again, grows non-stop at this time of year.