Birds, Blooms, Books, etc

It's An Explosion in Color

2013-05-20T19:31:00.000-04:00

Joining Wordless Wednesday

Bloomin'

2013-05-15T19:47:00.000-04:00

Dianthus Weigela Iris Lily of the Valley Daffodil (name forgotten) More irises Columbine Siberian Iris Favorite iris Allium Going to bloom this year! YEAH! Peony. May apple Linking to May Bloom Day

Watch Out for That Window!

2013-05-15T06:52:00.000-04:00

We have many windows and despite the special reflector decals I've put on them, birds continue to make contact with mixed results. These two were lucky ones. This red bellied sapsucker was quite stunned by his hit. After many minutes I coaxed him to climb the beam. It was a good two hours before he finally flew off. Sunday we found this Kentucky warbler. I had to look him up in

Window Views

2013-05-14T10:51:00.001-04:00

There are many things to love about my house, but one of my favorite aspects is being able to look outside at ground level. Our house is all on one level so that is easy to do. From my study I see the pond garden. From the bedroom wing the perennial garden. There's nothing as nice as waking in the morning and looking out to see what has opened that day. Sarah looks out over the rain

Harvest Monday in Mid-May

2013-05-13T08:43:00.001-04:00

I have had a very slow growing, unproductive vegetable garden this year. I'm almost embarrassed to share these photos. I imagine others have had the same weather issues but I haven't seen such straggling results as mine. But here goes. Two types of spinach planted at the beginning of March - when it was warm. First harvest last week. Purchased broccoli plants. Garlic is the

Honoring My Mom!

2013-05-12T08:12:00.001-04:00

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! Nov. 2012 Nov. 2012 Christmas 2012 with 4 daughters (2 sons absent), some of the many grandchildren and great grand children. Above 3 months before Mom married Dad and below in 2006. At 94 years young I hope you have many more Mother's Days for us to celebrate you! With all our love!

Friday Favorite

2013-05-10T08:54:00.000-04:00

In the perennial garden the tall bearded irises are coming out. Here are the first ones. Columbine are blooming too. Here's just one. Allium with more irises getting ready to open. The clematis is growing taller than last year. Bleeding hearts still going strong. High of 85º today so growth spurts to be expected.

A Surprising Visitor

2013-05-09T19:33:00.000-04:00

This afternoon I went to fill up the watering can from the rain barrel and came upon this visitor keeping warm in the stone wall under Sarah's window. Can you see it curled up on the ledge of rock? Here's a closer view. And even closer. It's not as big as it looks. I checked back later in the day when the stones were out of the sun and it was gone. Does anyone know what kind

The Glen Garden

2013-05-09T09:28:00.000-04:00

The glen garden is along the edge of the woods where the forest conservation area begins. If you stand here you can often hear the stream down in the glen gurgling as it travels along its way. This is the perfect spot for shade loving plants. Many of these were gifts, some I bought and many of the ferns were transplants from the woods. Walk along the edge with me and enjoy the sights.

The Pond Garden

2013-05-08T10:23:00.001-04:00

The pond is full after a day of rain on Tuesday. It's been mulched (not by me!) and is looking good. It won't be long before it's rimmed in yellow but that will have to be another posting. Let me walk you around the pond. Oops. Wrong photo. That was when it was frozen which wasn't so very long ago. Here's the view from the garage. Under my study window are these lovely hosts.

Spring 2013 Here!

2013-04-21T09:29:00.000-04:00

Pansies on the porch! Hostas shooting up all over. They will need another dose of liquid fence and a general clean up of last year's dead leaves. First spring for the Japanese maple. It came through the winter fine. You know its spring when the bleeding heart blooms. I have three and some tiny volunteers. New green iris shoots around the pond and cattail spears in the

Sunday Walk in the Woods

2013-04-15T17:14:00.002-04:00

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and daughter, Sarah proposed a walk in the woods. It was sweatshirt temperature out there so we donned them and our hats and set off. Here are some of the spring colors we spied. Blooming violets first caught our eyes. Then these beauties. Then there were these random clumps of daffodils in the pipeline easement. Where did they escape

Sedona

2013-04-09T09:16:00.000-04:00

Just returned from a week in Arizona which included a trip to Sedona. Here are some of the lovely sights there.

Westminster Burying Ground

2013-04-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

I recently read about this cemetery in Wicked Baltimore - Charm City Sin & Scandal by Lauren Silberman and was fascinated by its description as the burying spot for Edgar Allan Poe and other famous Maryland notables. It was also a source of cadavers stolen in the dark of night for the medical students at the University of Maryland Medical School that was next door. Dan and I took a Sunday

Easter Greetings

2013-03-31T07:00:00.000-04:00

Morning Visitor

2013-03-26T11:46:00.000-04:00

A fox came visiting this morning outside my study window. It was oblivious to me but was captivated by something under the snow because it kept pouncing and digging after something. It never caught whatever it was and finally trotted off. It's coat and tail were fluffed up from the cold but it was a fine specimen and it can come hunting anytime it wants to.

Then and Now

2013-03-25T09:46:00.001-04:00

Last year at this time spring was in full swing. Flowers were blooming. Bleeding heart. Daffodils. The pond was coming to life with its ring of irises greening up and the goldfish and cattails in abundance. It was warm enough to do spring chores and enjoy doing them. Even the hostas in the glen garden were up and showing their colors. So were the ones

Flower Show Inspirations

2013-03-23T11:41:00.000-04:00

There were some lovely dish gardens at the Philadelphia Flower Show earlier this month. They have inspired me to start some for inside. When it warms up I'll try to make some bigger ones for outside. I have lots of glass bowls that Dan made in his glass blowing days. Here's one I made with three unlabeled plants possibly sedum (?) or aloe that I purchased from

First Day of Spring

2013-03-20T14:44:00.000-04:00

This morning in honor of the first day of Spring there was a coating of ice on the pond. The sun was bright enough to coax the first daffodils to open. These are miniatures that I purchased last year in the supermarket to have a touch of Spring inside. I'm glad I transplanted them outside because they are a delight to see. These daffodils won't be long in opening. Birds are busy.

Bloom Day

2013-03-15T05:30:00.000-04:00

This is all that's blooming here on the Ides of March!

Wordless Wednesday - More from the Flower Show

2013-03-13T13:09:00.000-04:00

Ukrainian Eggs or Pysanky

2013-03-11T12:39:00.002-04:00

I promised several internet friends I would post photos of the eggs I have been decorating, called pysanka. My daughter, Emily (Greens and Jeans) introduced me to them last Easter time. This year I purchased my own supplies from the Ukrainian Gift Shop and have had some fun. Above and below are the six I've made so far. I did have a seventh but when I pumped out the innards the side of

More from the Flower Show

2013-03-10T13:33:00.000-04:00

I am always fascinated by the types of containers, even some very plain ones, that others can make so striking with the assortment of plants selected for potting. Here are just a few that I managed to photograph at the Philadelphia Flower Show.

A Taste of Spring at the Philadelphia Flower Show

2013-03-09T08:21:00.001-05:00

I took a bus trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show - theme "Brilliant!" for Great Britain. Here's just a few of the many photos I took to give you a taste of Spring as it did for me. I'll post more photos in the days to come. Check back.

Mourning Doves

2013-03-04T18:36:00.000-05:00

Today was a cold blustery day. Strong winds made it feel so much colder than it was and these mourning doves chose to congregate under the bird feeder this morning and early into the afternoon. Some of them napped in the sun using their coloring to hide from any soaring hawks. This one chose to sit on the frozen pond. In the afternoon more had gathered.