To red tulips...

I saw you first this morning
While all was calm and still
Bright red tulips blooming
Beneath my window sill.

Gay cups of captured sunbeams,
Bright golden rays of cheer,
That winter long is ended!
Springtime, at last is here!
(Georgia Adams)

With wonderful warm temps reaching 80 this weekend lots of tulips opened up - while the greenery looks pretty rabbit ravaged and frost bitten the blooms managed to straggle through. What a wonderful spring sight they are to behold. Last fall, I was full of anticipation of what spring would bring from all those bulbs I planted and the six month wait is over. Yet, thanks to no snow cover, squirrels and rabbits there is far from 233 blooms out there but that is one of the joys of gardening - you never know what to expect :-) The first tulip blooms were on April 28 and I'll let you know when I see the last ones. Enjoy my little taste of spring!

I'm fortunate...

I'm fortunate to have a daughter
who is also my friend.

She was the prettiest thing in the garden back then and still is.

Today is my baby girl's birthday only she's not a baby anymore. She's all grown up and in just 10 short weeks will be getting married and become Mrs. B.

I'm thankful that she is not only my daughter but my best friend. The following poem says my sentiments exactly...Happy Birthday...I love you!

Beauty of Spring...

The whole wide world is so beautiful
In the fresh, warm days of spring...
Calling like a cheerful lark
To join in nature's happy fling.
(Nellie Stokes)

My early spring garden may only have a few 2-3" tall flowers in it but don't feel sorry for me...there is still lots of "COLOR" to enjoy :-) Yesterday brought the first goldfinches in summer plumage and I have a pair of purple finches come to feed regularly. Wonder why they are called purple finches when they are red?

Spring is really here...

I love the spring.
For every day
There's something new
That's come to stay.
Another bud
Another bird
Another blade
The sun has stirred.
(author unknown)
The sure signs of spring are really here now...the white throated sparrows have arrived in a large flock and the juncos are all gone.
Tuesday evening, I noticed there were a lot fewer juncos around and there was lots of "competition" or let's just say "fighting" at the dinner table between the white throats and remaining juncos. By Wednesday morning, I couldn't see a junco around and even after I put out their favorite corn shellings not a one came to feed. I kept a lookout all day and again this morning but I would say they are gone - the one true sign of spring for me - my little "snow" birds are gone :-)

Goldfish...

White bodies and a bright red cap,
How incredible is that?
How could you not love a fish,
So egg-shaped and so fat!
I adore the goldfish
Of them I'm very fond,
And I don't see my friends,
Putting Oscars in a pond!
(from "Carassius auratus - Not Just Feeder Fish!"
by Lisa Englander)

After five months in a stock tank in the garage my goldies tasted freedom in the pond once again this morning. It simply amazes me that in our cold weather all they need for that whole time is aeration in the water and no food! Yup, I said no food - yet, they are not any thinner that I can tell. I do not have my fish named but I "know" most of them. The white one with the red cap and the black speckled one are two of the original four that I started with - now entering their 5th summer. I put 43 back into the pond this morning and it will be interesting to see how many I take out next November.

Discovered the second bloom of the season today!

Earth Day...

Everyday is Earth Day,
If it's cold or wet or hot
Pitch in to save the planet
It's the only one we've got.
(author unknown)

Happy Earth Day! It started out sunny this morning but by noon it started raining and hasn't stopped. The yard and gardens should be greening up nicely after this soaking. Saturday was our annual pond cleaning day and with Jeff & Nathan's help we got it done. This morning I "turned on" the rock fountain for the first time this year and sat and waited with the camera to see which bird would arrive for the first bath. The first photo is the curious robin who took that honor :-) It was so much fun to sit and listen to the water and watch the activity in the garden while I waited for the first rock visitor. This weekend brought out the first butterflies of the season so I took that photo while waiting and also captured one of my little chickadees gathering up mulch for the birdhouse they cleaned out earlier. I love spring in the garden!

Spring Cleaning...

It seems each year about this time
Folks break out with a rash,
And in a frenzy sweep out all
accumulated trash.
(author unknown)



A pair of chickadees has been busy "cleaning house" for the past 2 days. They have decided this decorative birdhouse is now theirs so they have been busy cleaning out all the small twigs left by last year's wrens. They are probably my favorite little birds so it is such a joy to watch them set up house. Hopefully they are not scared off by my movements in the garden and I will have a whole season of photos to share with you :-)

Garden Time Again...

It's time to take your rake and hoe,
Your shovel and your spade,
To find your way outdoors again
And get your garden made.

The April sun is bright and warm
Against your windowpane,
And beckons you to come along,
It's garden time again.
(Garnett Schultz)

FINALLY...the first bloom of 2007! I was so excited to discover it yesterday while raking off the garden. It's looking a little ragged from our tough spring but still very beautiful to me. I think it will also be the only bloom for quite a while as I have a ton of rabbit damage out there - most of the spring bulbs are eaten down to ground level and the rest are only 2-3" tall.

Today is quite blustery out but yesterday was wonderful and I took advantage of it to do some garden cleanup. Oh, how I wished I could have been tilling and seeding but as the weatherman reminded me last night we have hard freezes until late April and frosts on average until mid May. I wish it were May :-)

The duck song...

I see a duck.
The duck sees me.
I like the ducks.
The ducks like me.
Big green ducks.
One, two, three.
I like the ducks
and the ducks like me.
(author unknown)


Whether you like my duck song or "duck, duck, duck, gray duck" or not, I hope you still appreciate these beautiful birds in the wild. Every year we have at least one nesting pair in our wood duck boxes but the last few mornings I have been seeing 6 ducks in our grove.



This morning I opened the window and tried to get some shots with my telephoto lens and as I was snapping away I was totally shocked to see this last bird attack a duck! Thank goodness, he got away. A quick look at my trusty bird book and I have identified him as an American Kestrel - a first for Marsha's garden. The book says he feeds on insects, reptiles and small mammals which is wonderful as I take that as "bugs, snakes and mice" but I sure hope he leaves my precious ducks and songbirds alone...

Spring, almost...

The sunshine gleams so bright and warm,
The sky is blue and clear.
I run outdoors without a coat,
And spring is almost here.

Then before I know it,
Small clouds have blown together,
Till the sun just can't get through them,
And again, it's mitten weather.

(author unknown)

Yes, this really is my garden on April 11th! It is looking pretty white out there and the little songbirds who have migrated back up north were puffed and shivering this morning.
Hopefully these April "snow" showers will still produce some May flowers though the tulips are looking pretty tough right now.

Happy Easter

Bunnies are brown
Bunnies are white
Bunnies are always
An Easter delight.

Bunnies are cuddly
The large and the small.
But I like chocolate ones
The best of them all.
(author unkown)

Look who I found hiding from Gabi & Ruger on the cabin porch! The dogs are always scaring up rabbits from the grove and I saw them chase one down the treeline. I heard a noise and lo and behold a second one hopped up on the porch and crouched down trying to avoid the dogs. Can't say I saw that before :-)

Still very cold and wintery in the garden so I am thinking spring with another blossom shot from Arkansas. I wish everyone a Happy Easter!

Minnesota spring...

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month. ~Henry Van Dyke

I am so happy I got to enjoy spring down south last week as it is COLD here in Marsha's garden. With high temperatures in the 20's the last 2 days, it seems more like the week before Thanksgiving and not Easter. We have had snow showers the last two days but nothing like Jayme has been having in Duluth. The robins don't know what to do in this cold - yesterday, I happened to look out the window and there was a flock of about 20-30 in our crabapple tree trying to find leftover fruit from last year.

A week ago things were warming up and the birds were choosing to drink from the pond rather than the heated water dish so I took it inside for the season. After several days of below freezing temps the pond iced over so they are walking all over it looking for a place to drink.

This poor mourning dove looked to be waving me down so I guess I better go out and plug the water dish back in again.

Give me one hour...

Give me one hour on a mountain
To ponder the beauty of skies,
And watch white clouds go sailing
Through yonder paradise.

Give me one hour in a valley
To wonder at nature's plan,
To drape the earth in blossoms
Painted by God's own hand.

Give me one hour in the country
To walk through meadows green,
And I shall keep forever
The memory of all I have seen.
(Anita Johns)




There were no blog entries for a week because Jeff & I went on a roadtrip in search of Spring and yes, we found it in the beautiful Ozark mountain area of northern Arkansas. What a wonderful and welcome sight it was to see all the beautiful dogwoods, redbuds, azaleas and other blossoms that are not hardy in our northern woods/gardens.


We stopped and saw many beautiful sights and enjoyed the warm spring temperatures and sunshine. On the advice of a naturalist at the elk foundation headquaters we braved a very steep, narrow, and rocky forest service gravel road for 5 miles to get down near these falls and hiked in the last few hundred yards. We enjoyed the falls and pool all to ourselves for the afternoon, a wonderful vacation experience and a memory to hold forever!

It was hard to come back to temps in the 30's & 40's but we know that spring is on its way north and we are ready for it!