a peaceful morning...

Always remember the beauty of the garden, for there is peace.
(Author Unknown)
It is a beautiful day and I spent the morning working in the garden. I have to rush off to an appt. or I would be there all day! I hope you enjoy some of the beauty in my garden...

Little Bits of Spring...

A little patch of tulips, all growing bright and fair,
The scent of lovely blossoms perfuming all the air;
A mother robin happy, we hear her gaily sing,
And know that life is glowing with little bits of spring.
(Garnett Ann Schultz)

The tulips that survived the hungry rabbits are blooming (about 50%) and it is so wonderful to see little bits of color throughout the garden. But what really strikes me is how beautiful they are on closer inspection with creamy pastels... and bright fringed edges...
with kaleidoscope-like centers...
and peony like blooms...
I just wish they lasted longer!

Good Morning, Sunshine!

After days of clouds and rain we have bright sunshine today. The early morning light reflected the dew on the tulips like diamonds. And gave the Mrs...
and the Mr. a glint in their eyes.
Spring sunshine, flowers and love are in the air...

Do not stir...

When you watch for
Feather or fur
Feather or fur
Do not stir.
Do not stir.

Feather or fur
Come crawling
Creeping
Some come peeping
Some by night
And some by day.
Most come gently
All come softly
Do not scare a friend away.
(John Becker)
With all the rain we have been having it is too wet to garden so I enjoy sitting quietly outside and watching the birds come. This morning there were 5 male baltimore orioles as well as 3 females all fighting over the feeding station. Look who joined the party (lower right at the jelly feeder and below)...an orchard oriole!
There is still lots of warbler activity high in the tree tops as only the yellow rumps venture into the garden. This is an extremely cropped photo but I just had to show you one of the Magnolia Warblers (click on the name to learn/see more) who are visiting. They do quite an acrobatic show when they fly out to capture an insect midair.
Remember the Tennesse Warbler? Well, now I have a Nashville Warbler to add to the garden guest list. This guy was really hard to capture sitting still...click on his name to see a better photo and learn more.
I am loving each new discovery I make during this spring migration and am actually thankful for the rain so that it gives me time to sit and "not stir"!

a great day...

To love and be loved, is to feel the sun from both sides.
(author unknown)

Look who showed up this weekend...
I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend...I did! Although Jayme and Scott were not able to be with us, there were many phone calls over the weekend and a wonderful loving blog post about me (including a 1983 photo...let's just say that Jeff & I have aged for the better). Nathan started the celebration by bringing me some fantail goldfish to replace the ones that did not survive an unwanted pond visitor last year.
Then I pulled the Mother's Day magic card of having them do whatever I wanted and I chose to go out for stuffed french toast at IHOP and a visit to my favorite speciality nursery. Now my 2 men in a nursery on one of their busiest days of the year....that was LOVE!
For the last two years I have admired this giraffe topiary at the nursery, but at $650 I guess I will just visit him once a year until some else buys him or I win the lottery.
This Mother's Day I am grateful for my two wonderful children, my son-in-law, my husband and my step-mother and we lovingly remember my mother (who I only had in my life for 20 years) and Jeff's mother...we miss them. To love and be loved...a very good thing!

Scenes through the window...

The grass is green.
Flower blossoms I have seen.
The days are warm.
By evening it cools.
It's time to find the garden tools.
(author unkown)
Yesterday morning when I was outside taking photos of the tulips, I decided to put out the grape jelly feeder with a small amount of jelly just to be ready for any orioles that might be arriving in the next week or two. I had big plans to garden yesterday but it turned into a chilly, drizzly day so I spent some time posting on my blog and catching up on a few others. From where I sat with the laptop and the camera the first thing that caught my eye out the window was a warbler couple enjoying a morning bath...
I was busy typing away when a bright spot caught the corner of my eye...I turned and looked and couldn't believe my eyes...it was the first oriole of the year! Now I had only put the jelly out about 10-15 minutes before that and here he was enjoying some already. Was he here before and I just didn't notice him?
So I quickly got out some orange halves and was a little less stingy with the jelly and then made up some sugar water.
By the afternoon I was busy in the house but took time to stop and look for the oriole throughout the day. The second big surprise of the day was next...HUMMINGBIRDS! I don't ever remember seeing them here this early before. There is a male and a female coming to the sugar water. These photos are severely cropped as I was still shooting through the window but I just had to show that they are here.
Remember the tail-less warbler I showed a few days back? Well, now there is a tail-less chickadee.
Some had suggested it is from a run in with a cat or hawk but we have no cats around. I am thinking it might be the resident kestrels or the red-tail hawk I see fly over once a week or so. The kestrels aren't cooperating with any photo shoots so here is a shot from last year.

finally...

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)
While I have been looking with envy at spring arriving around the country in other's blogs, I have been looking outside in my own yard and seeing mostly black & brown. (one little 1" grape hyancith didn't count)
But finally the grass is green and ready for it's first mowing, the trees are leafing out and this morning I have my first three tulips blooming! The leaves on the trees are making it harder to spot the wood ducks but I am fortunate to still see them everyday.
The birds are getting a little more used to me being outside all the time and are becoming less afraid...though this flicker was still a little wary of my presence and flew off as soon as he spotted me.
The white crowned sparrows have joined the migration party. The white throats are still here as well as the yellow rump warblers but the yellow warblers have moved on before I managed to capture a photo.
Mother Robin does indeed have "eyes behind her head" oh wait...I guess she just turns her head to look behind...
and all birds enjoy a good scratch once in awhile including this brown thrasher.

a perfect day...

Of all the days that's in the week
I dearly love but one day
And that's the day that comes betwixt
A Saturday and Monday.
(Henry Carey)
Last night's sunset was a beautiful end to a perfect day. It was just a wonderful and relaxing day for both of us...it included a Dairy Queen, seeing these deer right before the sunset and...
going to church, and grilling and eating lunch on the patio. As we sat there we enjoyed watching the many songbirds and listening to the water and Joseph's calls in the grove. We listened as he sounded closer and closer and finally he and the girls came to eat a corn lunch as we sat silently and watched.
Not great shots because from where I was sitting the corn view was obstructed but Joseph has never looked more handsome. I think the red around his face is brighter and his tail is definitely longer.
Hope you had a perfect Sunday as well...

beauty on a rainy day...

A bird in the hand is a certainty, but a bird in the bush may sing.
(Bret Harte)
It was rainy and cold yesterday and I didn't see the little yellow rumped warblers most of the day. Around 6 pm, I looked out and they had found the suet feeder and were feeding. The suet cake was almost gone and I wanted them to stay so I went out and refilled it along with crumbling some up in a dish. I was barely back inside and they were back. The bright colored one below kept chasing off the one shown in the bush...is he an immature male?
I just think they are the cutest little birds and hope they stick around a little longer. This morning I was watching one flit about the garden when I was thinking "this guy's yellow rump really shows up"...suddenly I realized it is because he doesn't have a tail!

the Tennessee Warbler

I was walzing,
with my darling,
to the Tennessee-walz,
when an old friend,
I happen to see.
I introduced him,
to my loved one,
and when they were dancing,
my friend stole my sweetheart from me.
(lyrics to the Tennessee Walz)I really am loving this spring migration! This is another new one in my garden...the Tennessee Warbler. I feel like I know the ending to the walz and they will soon be gone, but I sure hope they stay awhile.

A new bird...

This guy arrived today is and spent hours flying in short little bursts to grab insects mid air and on the ground.
I didn't want to scare him away so stayed back to get the photos, sorry for the poor quality.
I could not even find him in my bird book. Does anyone know the id? Thank you to BirdGirl for telling me he is a male yellow rumped warbler in full breeding plumage. My bird guide does not show the breeding plumage but I found a shot online and yes that is what he is...I am excited to host him.Congratulation to Bernie for being the reader who made the 20,000 hit. It was fun to see who it would be.