February Rain and Garden Birds -

 

The rain pelted down most of yesterday.  The birds came nonstop to feed and then find sheltering places to dry off - on the front porch, under the eaves of the potting shed etc.

There were a lot of Eastern bluebirds whom we haven't seen during the winter but always welcome back. Others were the usual suspects including Blue jays, Carolina wrens, Cardinals, finches, sparrows and of course the woodpeckers.

Songbirds have always been the most pleasant addition to my garden. It looks like the feeders are going to need refilling often with so many who will soon be searching for nesting sites.

Today the sun is back and it's warming up. I need to get outside soon with rake and pruners and start some pre-springtime prep around the garden. I have to admit it gets harder each year.  We are now past adding much new in the way of shrubs and plants, but determination, effort, and a little hard work to at least keep things neat and tidy will pay off and bring a sense of satisfaction.

Yesterday - in the shadows. . . . . .

Yesterday was one of those days - you know, those days when things just don't feel quite right. It could have been the weather, dull, dreary, dark, with threatening rain which didn't come until the afternoon, then drizzled for a while, then poured for a good half hour and watered the garden which of course was good. 

Yesterday I also received bad news from France where my brother was playing in a tennis tournament, reached the finals, and then badly injured a knee - has to wait almost a week for an MRI - and is hardly able to move with a lot of pain! 

Meanwhile, Bob went for his annual physical - it seems all is good despite his recent AFib diagnosis and having to take a blood thinner from hereon out.  He looks amazing and will turn 81 on July 5 - following the fireworks displays of July 4th which his mother always said were in honor of his impending arrival!!!  

I didn't do much of interest yesterday. . . . . . . but was happy when the postman delivered another long overdue UK Country Living magazine, this being the April issue! They are so late arriving due to shipping now by sea rather than air from England since COVID arrived. This is my favorite magazine and keeps me up to date with all I need to know about my far away home. Even after traveling the world there really is "no place like home."  I usually don't stop and literally put my feet up much during the day. . . . . .yesterday I did!

. . . . . .and today?  The sun is trying its best to come out this morning but it's obviously struggling. More showers later, then a five day spell of very hot, dry weather which will require time back in the garden to keep things in check.

Summer in the south is not easy to deal with but somehow we manage.  Would I like to live somewhere else? In all honesty, yes I would, but it's not going to happen this late in life. I used to dream of returning to an English village and living in a pretty 'chocolate-box cottage' ~ now and then a seaport town in New England calls ~ or, if we'd gone wild and moved to the French village some years back, I would at least be there to help my sister-in-law care for my brother.  As active as he is I'm betting he's currently a force to be reckoned with!

A new day and still raining!

Another 'umbrella day' if you have to spend time outside.

I'm staying indoors and have decided to keep the outdoor decorations

 up until it dries out and warms up!

The birds are hungry and many are coming to the front porch to

shelter. . . . . .especially when Bob scatters some seed for them!

A Child's Garden of Verses

Robert Louis Stevenson

Illustrated by : Charles Robinson

It rains often in many places ~ these above I'm familiar with ~ Ireland, 

my original home on the southwest coast England, and the North Carolina mountains. 

Here in central North Carolina we are getting so many dreary days of rain, 

rather unusual. 

Back to Galway. . . . . . .

If you ever go across the sea to Ireland. . . . .

. . . . .then maybe at the the closin' of your day

You will sit and watch the moon rise over Claddagh

And see the sun go down on Galway Bay

Three days in Galway. . . . . . . showers continue, yesterday more like non-stop

 downpours, however today was much better with sunshine and a cool wind. 

It doesn't feel like June but actually is quite nice for walking and sightseeing.

So you grab your rain jacket, tuck an umbrella in your bag, and off you go!

There's plenty of traditional Irish music on the streets and in the pubs. 

A warming bowl of seafood chowder with Irish brown bread and butter, 

a couple of glasses of a favorite beverage to quench the thirst after lots of

 chatting with the very friendly locals, and other tourists from around the world,

and the day flies by.

Follow with a great night's sleep in a comfy bed in one of the best run, 

cleanest hotels we've ever stayed in. If you plan a visit here you can't go

 wrong with the Park House Hotel, just about perfect in every way.

Cardinals never leave. . . . . . . .

Northern cardinal : Cardinalis cardinalis

The name comes from the LATIN word cardinalis which 

means 'important.'

The sweet, pale-feathered female cardinal is a very familiar backyard bird.

 Along with many bright red males usually close by, they are non-migrators.

 They are extremely territorial in springtime, however become non-territorial

 during winter and gather in small flocks of up to 20 birds. 

We enjoy their visits to our feeders and bird baths, and the now bare fig tree

 is a favorite perch as they go about their day come rain or shine.

 Male Northern cardinal.

I managed to get photos from the window of Mrs. Cardinal yesterday, and
 brilliant red Mr. Cardinal today, when the rain stopped for a while. 
Everywhere is saturated and today yet another storm continues to
 bring nonstop rain for the entire day.

Garden - November 2018

Much of autumn still clings to wet branches.

 While all around the air turns brisk and damp.

 Winter stirs in the heart and mind.

Rainy day on the front porch. . . . . .

Rain, rain come and stay. . . . . . we love having you

 for a day!

Yesterday's near perfect weather provided quite good conditions for mowing

 the grass and tidying up a bit around the front garden. 

Pollen still a problem as it was breezy - evening was spent sneezing - but fortunately 

we don't seem incapacitated by serious allergies as are so many during this season.

Our fixer-upper guy had a medical problem and hasn't shown up yet, hopefully 

he's going to arrive tomorrow and start on the cottage repairs.

Today it's raining which has helped dampen down the pollen. You can see it here

 on the cushions - no point in cleaning them off until perhaps next weekend when most

of the pollen should be done with. After today the weather will be sunny and dry for 

many days.

Did you see my little nesting box in the above photos?

I told you some weeks back that the Carolina chickadees were cleaning out 

the box. Later they brought in new twigs and such, now there are apparently 

eggs being kept warm - both male and female incubate - and we see this pair

coming and going with food as this one was yesterday in the sunshine. 

Baby chickadees soon hopefully!

Our two jasmines on the porch posts are already in bud, new growth is rampant

 and will soon require pruning weekly so we can get in the front door!

Everywhere is looking quite lush and lovely. That middle tree behind the bird

 feeder - which needs filling again - is our Celeste fig which hopefully will bring us a

 good harvest again in late Summer.

We live on a cul-de-sac and are fortunate there is no house directly across from us,

 just the small wooded area where the foxes and hawks hang out.

In so many ways we are lucky to live here, and it looks like we too will be 

hanging out here for a while longer!!!

Raining all around. . . . . . . . . . .

We've had a lot of rain the past couple of days - not just showers either. 

Heavy rain, saturating the garden, running in a river down the driveway,

filling the bird baths and causing fountain effects as the rain toppled over

 the edges, bring down dead branches and the remaining crumpled

brown leaves from aging oaks around us.

If it had been cold it would have been a massive snowfall.

Despite the conditions, yesterday morning early, when the downpour 

had let up for a while, I hurried out into the garden, still in my night clothes

(older people do things like that), to scatter fertilizer on the many green tips of

 Spring bulbs now appearing everywhere. With rain expected all day I needed

to get going with feeding what hopefully will be a glorious display of blooms

 come March and April.

1975 publication of the enlarged version of Scottish poet

 Robert Louis Stevenson's 1896 edition of 

A Child's Garden of Verses

Magnificent illustrations by Charles Robinson ~ 1870-1937

This was the first full book he illustrated with over 100 pages of pen and ink

 drawings where a distinct beautiful Art Nouveau flavor is evident.

I found my lovely copy in a used book shop several years back and

look at it often. Old people in pajamas reading awesome books for children -

what is the world coming to? 

By the way, the sun is shining brightly this morning and there

 will be some drying out  - but colder days and nights are

 coming with a tiny chance of snowflakes next week. 

Keeping those warm pajamas handy. . . .along with more special books!