Storm watch this evening -

Well those few lovely calm and sunny days have flown on by and today we are under a severe storm watch.  Possibility of tornadoes, large size hail, high winds, and of course thunder, lightning and rain. 

We've 'battened down the hatches' here. Hopefully it won't be too bad and I'll be back tomorrow with a sigh of relief.

Colors in the garden this week.

 

The gentle Mourning doves - they pair for life and are delightful to watch.

Garden birds are busy, many are arriving in pairs to eat, drink and 

seek nesting places.

Eastern bluebirds - female above, male below - but they won't move in there, 

entrance is too small!

European starlings, not a favorite bird, but they are beautifully 'dressed.'

Cut a last bunch of daffodils before the storm - they could get battered.

Stay safe if you are in the path of these bad storms today.

St. Patrick's Day - Garden chores - delicious tea.

Sunrise this morning was accompanied by the loud hooting of a Barred owl in a tree right outside the bedroom window - it was an amazing sound. I opened the window hoping to see it but didn't. If you open this link you can click on owl sounds - the one I heard today was definitely the Barred owl.

https://www.audubon.org/news/learn-identify-five-owls-their-calls

I don't know where time goes. This past weekend the sunshine and temperatures were perfect and enabled us to spend a lot of time working in the garden. Blossom trees are opening, magnolia and camellias are beautiful right now. 

We were pruning and cleaning out flower beds of remaining fallen leaves. It became so warm on Sunday that I had to change into a short sleeved top. That resulted in scratched arms from the rose bushes, and from helping Bob cut out what had become a huge juniper, which had met its demise! Now there's more light for azalea bushes that will soon be in bloom, and later the summer flowering plants in that area.  

Sometimes life is just full of wonderful surprises. They don't have to be huge, over the top, or magnanimous. . . . . such as the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes Prize Patrol Dispatch arriving at your front door smothering you in balloons and bouquets of roses, holding a giant facsimile of a check with lots of zeros and YOUR NAME emblazoned across it!  

A gentle, elegant, fragrant surprise from across the pond popped up in the mail a couple of days ago!  More of the famous, and only, tea grown in the UK on the Tregothnan Estate in Cornwall arrived in my mailbox on Monday from blog friend Barbara at Small Moments. She also spoiled me with two truly gorgeous antique French embroidered napkins which I love. 

So today is St. Patrick's Day and sadly, for the second year in a row, there are no parades, no visits to local 'Irish' pubs for a drink with a bunch of cheery friends, or an Irish inspired meal. We will wear something green. We will chat with each other about our two fabulous visits to Ireland a couple of years back, and raise a glass together. We are playing our High Kings music CD, recalling our fun time when we met them on a sunny day in Galway. Bob will remember his Irish ancestors from County Kerry, and I will celebrate having my own live-in, life-sized leprechaun!!!!!

Erin go Bragh - and a happy day to you all.

Today - Mother's Day in the UK -

My 'snowdrops' are starting to bloom now, just in time to celebrate

UK Mother's Day. These are actually Leucojum aestivum known as

the 'Summer Snowflake'.

An English native dating back to the mid-eighteenth century, it is related

 to Galanthus nivalis. This prized naturalizer has umbels of pendant,

 bell-shaped, milky-white flowers with faint green tips and grass-like,

 strappy foliage. More moisture tolerant than other flower bulbs, it

 performs well near ponds or streams, just make sure to plant the

 bulbs above the high water mark. It's a strong, hardy and long lasting

 variety that thrives in areas of dappled sunlight. 

Some of you noticed them mixed with my daffodils in a previous post.

Thankfully rodent, and also deer resistant - yes, we have several beauties

 visiting the garden, especially at night - they are easy to grow, hardy 

perennials, a very welcome sight in early springtime.

May today day be special and all mothers loved, respected and remembered.