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!

Spring Portents...

Snow may linger in the corners
Of a sheltered nook;
Ice may fringe the shaded places
On the banks of pond and brook.

Cold my be the wind that's blowing,
Pale the sunshine, gray the sky,
But winter-weary mankind's certain
Spring is drawing very nigh.

For someone saw a willow branch
Trimmed with furry gray;
Someone saw green sprouts thrust upward
Where snow lay yesterday.

Someone saw a robin redbreast,
Someone heard him sing...
Welcome signs and certain portents
When winter turns to spring.
(Virginia Moore)
Spring is here! We still have some snow and the ice on the pond is deep enough to walk on, but the robin's are back! I saw my first one yesterday though it was too gray and drizzly out to photograph but today their bright orange breasts were easy to spot in the sunshine. Happy Spring!

a time to start anew...

Every sunrise is a present, a gift from God above,
Gift-wrapped with scarlet ribbons and tied with bows of love.

Each day's a new beginning, a time to start anew,
While all the stars are sleeping, and the rose is fresh with dew.

Every day's a new creation, too lovely to ignore,
And may we find a blessing, just outside our door.

We cannot keep the past, like fireflies in a jar
Nor journey to the future by wishing on a star.

Every sunrise is a blessing, a gift for just today.
Rejoice, my friend, embrace it before it fades away!
(author unknown)

We had a really beautiful sunrise today - a fitting end to the last day of winter. I wish you a spring full of new beginnings and wonderful blessings.

wearin' o' the green...

Today is the day fer the wearin' o' the green.
Today is the day when the little people are seen.
Today is St. Patrick's Day, so if ye'r Irish me lad,
Join the celebratin' fer the grandest time ta' be had.






He's Italian not Irish but today's his day. It is my soon to be son-in-law's birthday and I'm sure there is some wearing of the green as well as drinking of a little green (beer) too! Happy Birthday Scott - tried to get you some birds on the shamrock flag but they did not cooperate.

Pleasant things...

I try to fill my life
with pleasant things:
With the peace that simple
daily living brings,
With love of nature
in each passing phase
From spring's shy dawn
to winter's icy days.
(Margaret Aeberhard)
Even though I know that winter weather is probably still here for a few weeks it is so wonderful to see the first signs of spring. Honking geese are flying north at sunrise and I found the first buds poking through the ground (though I really had to search for some).
Most of the garden is still snow covered and I hope this guy sticks to fallen birdseed and doesn't find my first tulip shoots!

Let's talk turkeys...

Let's talk turkey!
What a walk it's got!
Strut about, strut about,
Do the turkey trot!

Let's talk turkey,
What a shaky wobble!
Strut about, strut about,
Gobble, gobble, gobble!
(Meish Goldish)
















We saw about 2 dozen wild turkeys on our roadtrip looking for pheasants on Friday afternoon. They have a unique beauty with the greenish tint to their backs and red coloration on their neck and heads.















While watching a flock of turkeys in a field of corn stubble a young racoon walked by and stopped for a bite of leftover corn.Spring is almost here! We saw our first northern flicker that afternoon so the robins can't be far behind.

Pheasants in the snow...

"Poetry is a pheasant disappearing in the brush"
(Wallace Stevens)







Our snow is disappearing very quickly with the warmer temperatures we have had the last few days. The pheasants that we have been seeing for the last week or so are leaving the roadsides and going back out to the fields so Jeff & I went for a ride late this afternoon so I could photograph some before the snow was all gone. Sorry for the quality as these skittish birds don't like to stand still for a photo :-)

Icicles...

I see icy icicles
Hanging off the trees.
I see icy icicles
Forming in the freeze!
Here, oh here's the way
That an icicle will form:
A stream of water drips
While the air is still warm.
When the air turns colder
And water starts to freeze,
It forms a stick of ice
That hangs from the trees!
I see icy icicles!
(Meish Goldish)

As I was checking out the sunset from the warmth of my house (that is why it is viewed through the trees), I was pleasantly surprised to see the rainbow effects the sunset was giving the many icicles hanging from the eaves of the house. I ran to grab the camera and wasn't able to capture the brillance my naked eye saw but it still made a unique photo anyways.

















With all the snow that is around we are seeing many pheasants. I'm sure they have been here the whole while but were hidden in the brown grass. I'm going to have to start carrying the camera in the car because we saw about 50 along the roadsides traveling to town today. Hopefully I will have some good shots to share soon.

Today's the day...

Today's the day
We get to say
We're happy you were born-
Hooray!

Happy Birthday Tammie!



Today is my youngest sister's birthday. She was always the "cute little blonde one" in the family of brunettes. The baby sister. Now she's a wife, mother of five, college professor and a great friend. I wish her a wonderful day and another happy and healthy year ahead. May your nest always be feathered.

In like a lion...

The March wind roars
Like a lion in the sky,
And makes us shiver
As he passes by.

When winds are soft,
And the days are warm and clear,
Just like a gentle lamb,
Then spring is here.
(Author Unknown)


March is here and is being ushered in like a lion so hopefully the old saying is right and she goes out like a lamb. After our winter of no snow we are being hit with snowstorms twice in one week. The snow is as deep as the garden lanterns and up to 15-20 more inches are predicted in the next 2 days along with high winds. The gardens are a flurry of bird activity as they feed and stock up for the storm ahead.