The Rites of Spring!

On Saturday afternoon the skies turned black and thunder rolled. The house went dark. The heavens opened and Nature raged around us. Punishment came to mind. For what, I've no idea, other than perhaps to remind us we are small and weak in many things, and that there is something much bigger and stronger out there always at the ready to knock us down. Strength is a power I find harder to have and hold onto as I age, both physical and emotional. As the water rose around the back garden I wanted to cry as I watched the small river split in two and torrents of rainwater race down each side of our property, washing away everything in its path, pooling into a pond by the gazebo and then flowing down the driveway to the street.

Of course it's calm now and oh so green and lush with leaves and blooms. Gentle New Dawn pale pink roses clamber up the back fence, along with nameless red and deep pink ones, so thorny it's best to leave them than try to pick them. The heady perfume of blooming yellow Jasmin bowls me over as dusk approaches and I stand poking my head into the now huge expanse of vine covering the side fence, intoxicated in a good way. Then I visit the other also huge mass of white Jasmine on the back fence where the raging water came through, and sniff again that lovely fragrance.  

We've given up trying to stop the water ourselves, it's a job beyond our capabilities. It flows under the fence from the neighbor's sloping land behind us. It's really just a major problem in severe rainstorms, however today a 'land solutions' professional will hopefully show up as promised to look at the problem and give us some ideas as to how to rectify it!

This morning. . . . . . . . . green and glorious, however there's news on nesting birds. Despite all I said earlier about keeping the finches away from the Boston ferns on the front porch, guess what happened yesterday. While we were both away from the house for several hours, a pair of finches started constructing their nest in one of the hanging baskets! We considered removing it as there are no eggs yet, but felt it was really a wicked thing to do after all those flights back and forth with building supplies! Nests are pieces of art, woven and constructed with love and hard work.

   The finches have chosen us and we should feel grateful.

We do feel grateful as we are big time garden birders.  

So, they can move in and start a new family. 

Obviously they didn't read that NOT FOR RENT sign!!!

Easter Decor - House finch update -

 Welcome to Easter at the cottage.

I almost didn't crawl through the attic to where they were hiding!

But then I thought, no, nothing should stop the little pleasantries of 

life when it comes to such a special holiday on the Christian calendar.

Don't we need to keep going, celebrate something in these dark hours,

take pleasure in springtime and the arrival of Easter?

The rabbits were waiting patiently, wrapped in crinkled tissue paper to

protect their beautiful ears, carefully tucked into box under the eaves.

Two little families, both cute, and happy to be free for a couple of weeks!

They bring a smile to my face. . . . . and to you I hope.

Outdoors we're in full pollen season now - and this year it's so heavy, 

especially from the oak trees. Everything has taken on a yellowish hue. . . . . . 

. . . . . and Mama finch is still sitting on her three eggs! 
Rather late hatching. 
Hopefully some time this weekend we'll have baby birds and more
 activity at the front porch nest when the dad helps with feeding.

No Easter egg hunts around here this year! Not much Easter candy

 either - bunnies prefer lettuce, don't they?

So, our Easter will be quiet, just as most days are right now.
Today will be great weather to be in the garden and perhaps 
supper in the gazebo.

Looking back at this collage from another year I'm glad I decided
 to do some decorating this year also. . . . . . . . .it would have left 
a big empty hole on my blog!

How about you, did you decorate? 
Even just a little decoration is cheery I assure you.

Enjoy your Easter weekend, stay safe, and blessings to all.

Eggs Up - Heads up!

Eggs of all descriptions are becoming a big part of my life whilst living

 through the pandemic!  Later I will share with you the eggs we are eating. 

Because I'm a non-meat eating, lover of cooking and baking person, I do 

use a lot of eggs each week.

But today it's back to the front porch where, despite sadness, concern and bad

news from every continent being strewn across television screens and 

newspapers, there are small beacons of hope for the future.

Did you see the New York healthcare workers, doctors and nurses, are now having

 to resort to wearing black plastic garbage bags as personal protective 

equipment - for lack of gowns? The Big Apple is now our major hotspot for 

the virus in the USA? 

It's news like this which touch a nerve regarding how, when, will we really be

able to tame this raging virus that seems to have the planet in its grip.

Be steadfast in your self-isolation, keep your personal space, only go out

to stores remaining open for true necessities. This is where we learn to 

cut back. . . . . perhaps even go without!

Yes, there are also some small wonderful happenings in the fight against COVID-19.

  Today I've learned one is happening right here in North Carolina, and I'll share at the end of this post.

As for the other eggs, Mrs. Finch laid her first yesterday around noon. 

Later I managed to get this photo when she flew to the fig tree for a break, 

which she does every time we open the front door. When she returns, 

Mr. Finch comes with her and hangs about until she's comfortable 

on the nest. He is in charge of 'carry out' and will be bringing her

 meals during incubation. . . . . . a busy boy for a couple of weeks.

 . . . . . . and now this morning there are two - things are looking good.

House finches lay 4-5 blueish eggs (and have two broods per year), 
so I'll be watching the nest for the next couple of days and updating!

Mrs. Finch seems to keep her eye on us!  

Mr. Finch bringing a teeny weeny green bug to his wife, one of the House finch's 

favorite morsels, along with seeds and fruit.

Good luck little family.

Meanwhile, some good news. . . . . . .

At Duke University Health in Durham, North Carolina, just a hop and a skip from

here, there is this great news today, partially reprinted from our local newspaper below.

I applaud Duke - which is also part of the new clinical trial underway in the 

USA to find medicines to fight this, the most vicious virus ever.

Duke Health says it will stretch its supply of specialized masks used by health care workers treating coronavirus patients by decontaminating and reusing them.

Duke will use aerosolized hydrogen peroxide to treat N95 masks at its three hospitals in Durham and Raleigh. The gas permeates the masks to kill germs, including viruses, without harming the material, Duke says.

N95 masks are one type of personal protective equipment that hospitals are trying desperately to stockpile as the COVID-19 outbreak intensifies. Also known as the N95 respirator, the mask offers more protection than a standard surgical mask. It gets its name because it prevents at least 95% of airborne particles from entering the wearer’s mouth and nose, if worn properly.

“The ability to reuse the crucial N95 masks will boost the hospitals’ ability to protect frontline health care workers during this time of critical shortages of N95 masks,” Dr. Cameron Wolfe, an associate professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist, said in a written statement.

Before it could reliably use hydrogen peroxide to treat the masks, Duke Health says it had to do something the earlier researchers hadn’t: make sure the masks would still fit properly when the process was finished. That has been done, Duke said in announcing the new process Thursday.

. . . . . . . The News & Observer, Raleigh, NC - March 26, 2020

 Cheers dear readers - please take care, and keep blogging.

The world has tilted . . . . . . .

 . . . . . and our homes have become the safest and most comfortable place to be.

Our little house finch couple continue to build their home in our porch hanging

 basket - a cozy nest for a clutch of eggs which hopefully produce a family of 

baby birds in the weeks to come.

The camellias have been amazing for several weeks but now, just as the azaleas

 are starting to bloom, Camellia japonica's lovely flowers are fading and falling

 to the ground.  

It's always a good idea to clear away fallen flowers as fungal disease is

common. Camellia petal blight causes flowers to turn brown rapidly, then

drop.  Sanitation is the best control: pick up and destroy all fallen blossoms

as well as infected ones on the plant. Remove and discard any existing mulch,

then replace with new mulch.

  

I'm somewhat concerned this shrub may have a fungal issue as many of the flowers

 did turn brown this year. I do try to pick up the fallen ones asap, however perhaps

 I should rake out all the old mulch and replenish. No excuses now for 'no time' to 

work in the garden!

They still look beautiful to me!

Small mercies -

The kindness of the garden is still sharing spring flowers - thank you garden and 

Mother Nature.

This evening, when the season of spring officially starts, we will all have much on

 our minds which is worrisome, negative, and downright frightening. 

Everyone is offering thoughts on ways to get through this terrible time so I 

will not say anymore on this point. We all know what we need to be doing!

Instead, here are some things which have kept me busy this week.

I did some pruning, clipping the pulling in the back garden.

I took stock of the now messy potting shed - made myself a note to clean it 

out this coming week when the temperatures will be exceptionally warm.

I'm hoping to find a way to buy some plants to pot soon - one nearby 

garden center will be taking orders online and you can drive up and have 

your plants put in your car - something to consider.

Our food supply is running low on things like fresh produce - not sure

how to handle that right now other than get to a shop first thing in the morning 

before too many people are about.

I baked a lot of muffins this week (also two loaves of bread) to share with 

my neighbors - put them on their front steps, rang the bell with my elbow,

and stood in their yards within a good distance for a quick chat.

We had a raccoon visit the garden a few days ago - actually not this one
 whom I photographed a couple of years ago in the back garden - a smaller one, 
probably a female, who was under my azalea bushes.  
Bob had spent a good couple of hours out there mowing, trimming and blowing, 
but she didn't come out until I walked out there, sans camera or phone.
She looked healthy but perhaps tired from having her daytime sleep disturbed 
so just bypassed us silently and crossed the road into the wooded area. 
Don't see any babies here so maybe they are in the woods. There is a large owl 
in our trees this week - and they are predators of baby raccoons, so fingers
 are crossed!

Life definitely goes on - proven by a lot of bird activity in the garden. 

Before I could even take the now shriveled Boston ferns down from the porch
 (left up over winter for the Carolina wrens to sleep in nightly), a pair of 
House finches started building a nest!  I haven't the heart to stop them, 
especially as we need all the entertainment we can get now we're isolated
 at home, and watching their diligence creating that cozy spot for their 
coming family is amazing.

The somewhat dowdy little female does most of the nest building, but the more

colorful male always comes along and keeps watch whilst she's in the fern weaving

 the bits and pieces she carries back time and time again. It's day four of construction

 and now they get very upset if I try to look in the nest. They are messy birds so there

 will be plenty of cleaning of the porch - but what the heck we all need chores to keep 

us busy!

I'm still kitty sitting and plan to be until Nala's 'dad', my next door neighbor, gets home. 

He's due back tomorrow night IF his flight makes it. This morning I think she was 

missing him as she was snuggling up with his gardening shoes on the enclosed porch. 

I'm enjoying it because it gets me out of the house. . . . . . . I find myself going 

back and forth to see her even more times than really necessary!

Sending you best wishes - may you and your families, friends and neighbors stay well.

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!