The Cardinal's Make a Nest or two"

The Cardinals in my garden seem to be the same couples that have taken up residents for at least 10 years.
I'm not an expert on bird behavior or habits, but I'm almost certain or would like to believe that these are the same two.

 

I read that Cardinals may produce four broods between April and August, They are already on their second nesting site this month, This time in the Weigela " Eva Rathke" the first nesting site was in the Duetzia Scabra where they produced and  reared three little babies.

I attempted to take photo's of their first little nest and brood by climbing up on a ladder, My Mom watched me with concern and amusement..."You know you  may get your eyes pecked out! .. "Yeah Mom, but If I can do this quickly, perhaps I won't disturb or scare them, It will only take a second"...So I thought"

  I didn't realize how dense the Duetzia Scabra  shrub really was  until I was high above it on the ladder.."Okay, mooove  slooowly"...

"Oh! there they are... If  I can just get this camera to focus"..

before my finger could even locate and  push the button.. LOUD  PIERCING SCREAMS and SHRIEKS! emitted from the biggest baby in the nest  like a Sonic Boom!...quicker than my cat can say Meow! ...

I had that ladder down and out of the way!  I knew Mom and Pop cardinal would be here in seconds flat after hearing those cries and they were!

I gave up trying to get photo's of this first event for this cardinal family was quick and smart as whips!

I guess I'll  have to leave this to the experts with fancy camera's..  However, once they were away attending to their babies who have now left the nest, I decided to take a picture of the empty nest... I watched the nest for several days, mom and dad returned,  but not to nest and it's single egg"  Instead they began a new nest in the Weigela. I will probably remove the nest and egg and save them as a keep sake.

I have a good view of Mom and Pops second nest site because this shrub is not as dense and is shaped a lot different.  This time I will just observe them from my garden chairs and maybe if I sit still enough,  perhaps I'll get lucky and capture a few pictures......

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Daddy Cardinal gets lunch for Mom and the kids... Mom ( below)  takes a rest on a lawn chair as she ponders dinner.

         Below: Mom and Dad take turns watching for enemies high up in the shrubs.

Mom working on her New nesting site in the Weigela.

The nest almost complete.... Stay tuned for my antics and attempts as I try to capture the  the second  chapter  as it happens in my garden.. Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment.

      

                                                  

Scenes from our May Garden- 2010

The Spiderwort is one of my favorite purple wild flowers... They close up when the sun comes out, so I took pictures early in the morning.

The robins are in and out of the yard feeding their young in various places. A young robin  prefers the smaller bird bath....While an adult takes a sip from the bigger antique that once belonged to my paternal grandmother.

This photo does not show the true color of the roses on the front gate, it's a deep velvety shade of red that I have not seen else where in my area..It was transplanted from my paternal grandmother's yard.

Daisies and Ivy share a corner near the wooden fence. 

A close up of my intoxicating citrusy scented Mock orange flowers
( Philadephus coronaruis aureus)  The poor thing is assaulted unmercifully every year by ants and aphids who suck it dry! I would like to find an organic insecticide that will keep them away from this plant...Thank you for sharing any tips you have  that may help..

 I really love the funnel shaped flowers and colors of  the shrub Weigela, they are beautiful flowering shrubs that also attract hummingbirds." Eva Rathke"  is a gorgeous reddish purple..it and Pink florida weigela
( Not shown ) was planted by previous owners ages ago.

 " Red Prince (  in container ) I just purchased last week.

Another pass-along from my grandparents..is a sedum called Wall pepper ( crassulaceae) It will grow any where that pieces of it may fall.. they are all over in various places of my yard in cracks, between stones and rocks on the ground.. but  I don't worry when I spot these run always, for the roots are very shallow making them very easy to remove.

Houdini  Panini caught in the Act!.. girlfriend discovered where the handle is on the back door... I caught her reaching for it with my camera and she dashed away under the bed disgusted that I found out how she was getting out last week! ... She reaches for it and than leaps..putting all her weight on the handle until the door springs open...I'm on to you Missy!

 A critter that's most likely a squirrel had several of my nice ripened strawberries  for breakfast, Panini would love to catch one of these Villains and I'm almost tempted to let her ( Not!) for she would also make a bee-line straight to where Mom and Poppa Cardinal's nest site that lay in what I think is a Dutseia scrabra shrub....I would also feel guilty if one those square toothed vermin's should happen to bite her in the head, the squirrels around here aren't afraid of  No cats"  and would make Panini's fore-head appear just like the bitten berry in the photo.

My pink roses on the side of the house are looking healthier than last year when they too" like the Mock orange were attack by ants and aphids...So far there are none on these.." whew!
These are the scenes of May from my garden.  I hope you enjoyed them,  may you and yours have a wonderful Memorial Day..

" A Man Named Pearl "

A Man Named Pearl' is a delightful true story for anyone who loves to garden and have an appreciation for Topiaries.

Pearl Fryer a novice gardener from Bishopsville Sc,  has done with his garden that many said could not be done with-out a Horticultural back ground.

 His garden is now a wonderful work of Art that is seen today by people all over the World  it's a must see and a wonderful Documentary for people of all ages! 
please visit... www.amannamedpearl.com


Photo credit is  by giddygirlie of flikr.com

A few pass alongs and berries

These bearded Irises were given to my Mother by her sister a couple of years ago and a few were passed along to me, they have a perfumed scent, but I have to place my nose near them to smell them.
 

Below: Comfrey (symphytum tuberosum).. is an herb that was given to my parent's by my eldest sister, it is not yet in full bloom but is still gorgeous, the bees love it and I do too".

Added a Solar water lily fountain this month. A baby sparrow kept trying to drink from it, leaped onto it and I thought it was going to drown, but it took a big gulp and flew up and out to my relief and to my surprise!. I hate that I did not catch this action  with my camera..

Last year I planted my first strawberries and politely forgot the variety in the planter that is holding the ceramic bunny momma and baby... I have  two other  containers of 'Ozark beauty' which are Ever bearers. Ever bearers will produce fruit from spring to autumn.

Thanks for stopping by..Do leave a comment I enjoy them.

                                                                                         

                  

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day.. May 2010

It's that time again, the 15th of every month when we join Carol our host of Garden Blogger's bloom Day to post What's blooming in our gardens.

 This is one of the prettiest shrubs in my yard and I have never known for sure of it's exact specie, it  has lots of round white clustered flowers with a wonderful light scent like a very, very faint gardenia...butterflies were all over it today.. I think it is called..Deutzia Scabra ( doot-see-uh ) belonging to the Hydrangeaceae Family..
 I didn't get around to clipping it into a nice shape like I did last year..Oh" well"... it's still pretty.
                                        

 

Why must these yellow drops of sunshine be such a beautiful weed! I removed mass mountain's of them today and left a small patch that will probably be a mountain next year...I need to replace it with a look alike that's Not a weed! ..This weed I'm speaking of  is a creeping buttercup.. ( Ranunculous repens ) it spreads by under ground runners, which make it  a Monsters to get rid of...It is very invasive and I have tried year after year to get rid of it by digging it up.... But I must not have done a very good job removing all of the root system..because they returned as if I had never moved them at all.

 I read today that I should repeat the process more than once  ( lots of digging and tilling ) and that should do the trick..if not, I should try an herbicide. I don't really like to use chemicals in my garden so I guess I'll be getting some more exercise until I can find a replacement.

Purple Ice plant and dainty blue bell flowers...Two of my favorite colors in the garden. Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comments and have a Happy Garden Blogger's Bloom Day!

 





                                                                                                 

Wishing you and your's a Happy Mother's Day!

A Mother’s love is something

that no one can explain,

It is made of deep devotion

and of sacrifice and pain,

It is endless and unselfish

and enduring come what may

For nothing can destroy it

or take that love away . . .

It is patient and forgiving

when all others are forsaking,

And it never fails or falters

     even though the heart is breaking 

It believes beyond believing

when the world around condemns,

And it glows with all the beauty

of the rarest, brightest gems . . .

It is far beyond defining,

it defies all explanation,

And it still remains a secret

  like the mysteries of creation 

A many splendor miracle

man cannot understand

And another wondrous evidence

of God’s tender guiding hand.

Helen Steiner Rice

(1900 – 1981)

                       Photo credit is ...by..Betsy J....of Flickr.com

A dental date to remove a Wisdom tooth

What are Wisdom teeth? and what do they have to do with Wisdom? The answer to this question never concerned me until I had to have one removed.

They are often referred to as the third Molars by Dentist and are the last teeth to develop... By the time we are 18 they are developed completely,  thus by tradition is the time of maturity and wisdom".. Some of you may have developed these teeth with-out any incident.. I, on the other hand,  have developed them impacted! which means they did not come through... So on.. Monday April 26th around 1:30pm I will have my 2nd Wisdom tooth removed on the lower right side.

I hope it will not be a repeat of my first extraction on the lower left side in 2004... It was an unforgettable experience, but I decided not to share the details of that experience with you because my goal is just to let you know that I'll be absent for a while until my healing process begins...Not to scare you away from oral surgery. Lol! .....  

I look forward to returning to catch up on your beautiful gardens and other fun events you like to share.. Happy gardening and thank you for your well wishes!

 P.S...the photo above is from animated teeth.com which explains a little more about wisdom teeth with animated photos and written explanations..

 http://www.animated-teeth.com/wisdom_teeth/t1_wisdom_tooth.htm

Garden blogger's bloom day April 2010

Hello to all..once again  it's time to join our host Carol of garden blogger's bloom day! of My Dream Gardens.   Bloom day begins the 15th of every month and all  participating blogger's  post what's blooming in their gardens.. then we're off to visit Carol to take a look at her blooms and others at  My Dream Gardens..join once in a while it's fun! and you get to meet someone new.

 

Magnolia one of my favorite  flowering trees, blooming in front yard.

                                                                               
                                              

 Below:  Forsythia blooms against the back gate.

Below:  This lovely shrub has many little yellow flowers that bloom all over it through out the summer, I don't know the name of it and really, really, love it... thanks if you can shed some light on it.

 (  update 5/14/2010 )
I found the name of this lovely shrub today it is known as Japanese rose, Kerria, Jew's Mallow...Cultivar: 'Pleniflora' Species: Japonica.

An Accent for the Garden

I read that adding a garden accent to one's garden expresses one's style and adds a personal touch to the garden..

But, I'm not sure what my style is.. or how to define it....It's the same with my gardening, be it a container or in the ground...I  never really have a specific plan in mind..do in part to the fact that I'm  a newbie and the other is do to my spontaneous  personality.
I just grow what I like or have time for.. depending on my circumstances and Mother nature.    

So with no particular garden plans to keep me busy at the moment I thought it would be fun to go searching for a few garden accents and stick with the act of spontaneity.


My first stop was at one of my favorite stores...Marshall's Home Goods they are similar in my opinion to Pier One Imports but have lower prices especially on the dishware and garden products.

I made a bee-line straight to the garden section and fell in love with everything I saw.

There where Buddha's  standing and sitting in their silent poses, Angels looking angelic as..angels should,  Silly gnomes big and small reading books and smoking pipes, turtles, frogs, snails and chickens posed in various poses, some even held welcome signs to welcome your guest when they visit...

I wanted everything!  but the calming effect emitting from a Buddha statue near by.. helped me come to my senses.." Buy me, I represent what you sometimes need in your life"..calmness, peace and quiet contemplation from the hurried stressful ways of this modern world.  place me in your home or garden and meditate your cares away I will be good for you and I only cost 24.99" .... I was sold! and left with my purchase and off to spy out other stores.
 

My next stop was Meijer's where I chuckled and giggled at more of the whimsical... A bear sleeping in a Hammock, a mouse on a mushroom having a chat with it's little frog friend, life sized quacking ducks and a Toad house with an extra room for quest... Now that's a really cute idea and the first of it's kind that I've every seen...

" Oh and speaking of Toad stools, you might want to check out our artistic blogging friend Karrita of My Mother's Garden... She creates lovely Ceramic art for the garden from toad stools to bird houses, click on her Ceramic Icon below under my blog list in the far right corner and it will take you to her shop.


I enjoyed my window shopping and proud of my spontaneous purchase and no doubt this summer, will be back  for more....










So... did I find my accent style?   You bet I didn't... I'm Like a lays potato chip.. I don't think I can pick just one and  like a Cottage garden... I'm free, cheerful and love many hues, colors and textures..what I did learn from the net, however...Is to choose statues or accents appropriate for your garden size.. A giant 12 foot elephant of course would not work in a tiny yard and too many statues over whelms a garden and gives it the appearance of a junk yard!  So don't go crazy!....  but do have fun!

Happy Gardening and Thank you for stopping by..

" Happy Easter Everyone"

God, give us eyes to see

the beauty of the Spring,

And to behold Your majesty

in every living thing -

And may we see in lacy leaves

and every budding flower

The Hand that rules the universe

with gentleness and power -

And may this Easter grandeur

that Spring lavishly imparts

Awaken faded flowers of faith

lying dormant in our hearts,

And give us ears to hear, dear God,

the Springtime song of birds

With messages more meaningful

than man's often empty words

Telling harried human beings

who are lost in dark despair -

'Be like us and do not worry

for God has you in His care.

Helen Steiner Rice (1900-1981)

     photo credits: Easter Lily, originally uploaded by donsutherland.