Earthly Delights. . . . .

 

My little 'garden of 'earthly delights'

surprises every morning when I raise the

 blinds and the early light of day shines in.

The hyacinth bulb has babies popping out - fitting a family

 into the vase is now difficult!

I must keep an eye on it so it won't fall over.

Perfume is almost overwhelming.......and I love it.

Welcome to these sunny mornings.

Apple Blossom amaryllis still a delight.

Basil being snipped for supper dishes.

Slow going in the other pots but I can wait - what

 else is there to do!

Are you an indoor gardener in winter?

I hope you have lovely perfumed blooms brightening

 your long, cold days.

Winter day down south. . . . . . . . .

It felt different this morning. Really like a winter day.

 I was out out on the front porch just before 7 AM.  

Scattered more birdseed along the rail, flipped the frozen WELCOME 

flag which had become tangled around its pole in the strong night wind, 

and noticed the fountain was frozen solid. The birds use it as another

 place to drink and bathe. A word to Bob later and he was out melting the

 ice with the tea kettle of warm water. Within minutes many birds arrived 

and I took a lot of photos through the window.

 I'll sort through them and share with you later.

Tall and elegant, the now blooming Apple Blossom amaryllis is part of my

 tiny tabletop "garden of earthly delights" and a third flower is opening with a

 fourth still in bud. There are new pots also, both from that quick run to

 LIDL yesterday which was mainly for salad greens and veggies. 

Snow, perhaps several inches coming today, we need to be prepared.

I couldn't pass up a pot of fresh bright green basil to snip, and of course the

 blue hyacinth in its own glass vase (just $2.99!) called out to be taken home. 

Who doesn't love a hyacinth before the garden ones appear in spring.

The fragrant aroma is wafting toward me as I write.

Note: These hyacinth bulbs are grown by a Women-Owned business in Pennsylvania. 

Way to go ladies, thank you.

The green bud in the the righthand pot will hopefully be another tall stem, 

and is the third amaryllis I've managed to regenerate this winter!  

As mentioned previously, patience and care often brings them into bloom

 over and over, so although good quality bulbs are somewhat expensive, 

you can get many years of pleasure from them.

Take care today, and over this weekend if you live in the areas where

 very cold and possibly dangerous, weather conditions are expected.

Here the southeast, and mid-Atlantic, may be bad with snow, ice and 

windstorms. Firewood at the ready, soup made, warm socks pulled on!

Just thinking about nesting. . . . . . . . . .

With the official first day of Spring now here. . . . .I've been thinking.

Mostly about the garden which requires a lot of sprucing up and TLC, and 

about the bird population which seems to be ever increasing around here.

It's a good thing! 

I need to start dragging home large bags of mulch to replenish the sad looking beds.

The sun has just popped out so it may be a good afternoon for a garden center

visit - with the temperature due to hit mid-60's.

Will there soon be more tulips?  This is the first and probably an old bulb, 

the stem and leaves are very short. Last Fall's planting are all in large pots 

and just coming up. . . . . . I hope they will be tall and strong, able to wave 

to passersby in the March winds.

Does my year-round robin, sitting in the fig tree, and whom I now think is a 

female, have a gentleman caller at long last? Is she playing hard to get? 

Will there be a nest construction project in the near future?

Note the suet cage on the ground - each time we fill it some animal, probably 

a raccoon, takes it down, opens it up, and has a greasy midnight meal.

Our woodpeckers are getting really upset!

Talking of nesting - will our longtime porch-living wren family be building again this Spring? 

I've already seen one checking the window box but still too cold and a bit early perhaps 

to start on construction.

My lovely blog friend Deb at Just Cats in still really snowy/chilly Ontario, Canada, 

has a great idea which I must share, and will be doing too as I already 

have the suet cage. Hopefully raccoons will steer clear!

She fills her cage with leftover scraps of yarn cut into 2" pieces, and even cat hair from 

her beautiful kitties - all of which nest building birds will pull out and use. 

Other bloggers, in their comments to Deb, also share the bits and bobs they 

put out for their birds, including lace. 

How lovely is that, a tiny bird weaving delicate lace through a twiggy nest.

 I usually tuck chunks of dryer lint into places on the front porch, and will be starting 

this again after my next laundry load - I have seen the lint used in the nests in our garden.

Hyacinths are late blooming this year too.  These will be pink and pretty, but blue

are my favorite - perhaps I can find some at the garden center for the dining room table 

Easter vignette. I love their fragrance

The white rabbits are ready, out of storage, and waiting for their place in the sun, and 

with Easter coming early I must stop thinking and get to work.

So dear friends, a very happy beginning of springtime. 

May your days get warmer, your blossoms bloom, your birds find mates, 

build pretty nests, sing early in the morning to start your day joyfully,

(notice how much louder they are singing now),

 and the real bunnies stay away from your lettuce!