Yesterday and Today.........

What a difference a day makes. Monday was such a lovely day. We went to Northport in the afternoon. I had gone out to take some pictures in the garden. I am so antsy to get things done and ready for Spring. We did get some raking done in the back garden but oh boy, you should see the front. Leaves from last Autumn inches thick all over. Keeping the garden warm.
I was checking on my Snowdrops and they were still there.

Not fussy little things, tough and beautiful. I walked around and some of the things that were coming up are either frozen tips or eaten.


I wonder if the Bunnies are busy?

So back inside I checked later at the bird feeder. I fill it up and the Squirrels eat it all


They love the Peanuts. The Blue Jays do too but they missed out. Have not seen them. This little guy was being very helpful though. The clean up crew.....

Look at that pretty little beady eye.

So here it is Tuesday.............and look at this.


There is now a Winter storm warning going on and we can expect a bunch dumped on us tonight. All I can say is it does not usually last too long. I won't be making the mistake I made last year and buying stuff and putting in too early. Oh no. I won't do that again. In any case I have to replan for this year. Last year was hardly a success. I really want some Zucchini. I just do not know where to put it. Hmmmmm I wonder, do you think I could put it by the road? Dump some good soil there and make a place for it. Maybe that would get Gerry out there to dig it up haha. Why not right? Good idea.

More snow coming..............

I got a couple of visitors today, they have been rather shy this Winter. I saw Mr Cardinal back on the shed at the end of the garden just before he came to the feeder.

They are obviously a pair and we usually do have at least a couple of nesting Cardinals around. Unfortunately the cats have to put them off a bit. I wish the cats would stay inside. They get out as often as they can sneak off. Thing is if they stay inside they are just such a pest and get on my nerves.


The birds will soon be moulting and when they do they look just terrible. Right now they must be nesting.
Mrs was down at the pond. I suspect taking a bath. There is a rock protruding and I am pretty sure she was on that unless she was swimming haha. I know they do go there for a drink so do the squirrels.

I took a walk around this afternoon in the sun. Bodi has trouble walking now so I had taken her down for a sniff around. She doesn't go far. Poor girl I am pretty sure she is on borrowed time and I dread that. She is such a sweetheart. Anyway, some buds popping through and the tulips were chewed off last time a looked. They have grown just a little since then but one can see that they are minus the tops. In fact I cant tell now if they are Tulips or Hosta's

In another garden there are some Hyacinths popping up.

All these will be sorry because this weekend is forecast snow again. I was hoping we were done with that but nope. More on the way.
I could see the Snowdrops tight buds, stay tight little Snowdrops, you need to stay warm.

I wonder if Mrs Cardinal noticed Boots taking a nap in the sunshine by the pond?

Well it wasn't warm for long and it was very soon after this that she came back inside. Neither one of the cats want to stay outside for long, but the sun was warm so Boots could not resist.

Spring? Is it really?...

My Garden journal is very boring in the winter. There is not a whole lot to say, same ol' same ol' snow snow snow.......well it is melting very slowly. So if we don't get anymore before next week when it is supposed to get up into the 40s again........maybe we will see some progress. I have the rakes out and the sun is out. That's about it. I am thinking of getting some seeds this weekend. Maybe some Basil and Parsley or Rosemary. It did not do well in the house when I brought it inside last Fall but who knows. It is supposed to be able to grow inside. Maybe Garden Goods has some fresh herbs? If I can persuade Gerry to look with me this weekend I will buy some if I see some. I know he would get some tomatoes if they had some.
Anyway..........for our anniversary he got me a nice little Daffodil. That will go in the garden when I can get it in.

Justin and Carry bought me some cut Tulips that are pretty. I prefer live ones that I can plant but these are really pretty.


I love Spring flowers, especially when they smell so good. I usually get a Hyacinth or two just for the perfume. Then they go in the garden. I always forget in the Fall when I am done with gardening, tired of it by the time everything is dead and wilted. This Spring clean up will be a mess because we never got a good chance to clean up last Fall. Inside, I need to replace some of my African Violets that are reaching the end of their lives. They do so well in that front window. They bloom all year

Meanwhile I do have to say I enjoy my fake flowers as much as any in the house and they are way less trouble. I will be looking at thrift shops for more to replace some of my real ones. Not sure I will bother bringing them in again next year.
I have bought some lovely beaded Violets from Craftymoose who does such a great job on them.



I have also bought plant stakes to go in the ones that are only really leaves, no flowers. I put those in outside plants come summer and they do not fade, and have never broken. I love her work. Do you see the little bee's in the next picture?

This year my garden will be picked over if I can get to it more often.I will pull stuff out and spread things around. I can not afford to buy a bunch of stuff like I usually do. Every year I must cut back more on spending. We want to retire, well Gerry does anyway and it is time I think. Maybe I can get him to do more around here haha.
I will have to put my money into mulch and Dairy Doo. I do need to finish the fence on the front side then that's finished.
So maybe next week I can make a start. The quicker the better before it gets hot and I won't want to be out there. I can not wait.

March Madness ..................

To snow or not to snow that is the question. One day it snows for 3 days and then the sun comes out for a couple and starts the melting process..........then it snows again. We gave up on the predictions of the Ground Hog long ago, that guy knows nothing.
I went out to see if there was any sign of life out there. A lot of snow has gone but, a lot remains and that is mainly ice now.

There are actually Hosta popping through but no Snowdrops. If I could get the rake out and move some of the Autumn leaves I think we would see them popping through. Right now they would have to fight their way through. It's probably as well I didn't uncover them because it snowed again. Today was sunny. Enough to drive us nuts, the temps will be under 40 the rest of the week. so.............when the deck clears of ice I will get back out there. The first thing I should do is work on the front porch. I need to put away the Christmas stuff. It is looking jut a bit out of place now.
So by the side of the garden by Buds I had said there was a lot of Rabbit poop. I hope it's good fertilizer. I hope J McGavin does not mind me borrowing their picture.

The Holly is looking pretty, I took a picture just because.

Finally some Finches came in to my feeder, maybe there is hope yet. This year has been bleak when it comes to birds. These yellow finches posed very nicely

They sat on the old Christmas decorations and looked so pretty.


It was so good to finally see a few old friends, when they came in the a Nuthatch showed up.


So there we go, a few birds at last and even one lone Starling made the effort. There's been a Cardinal come every evening but he doesn't go up on the feeder so I don't usually see him until he has spotted me and took off. Sometimes its getting dark so its not easy to take a picture anyway.

So there is hope yet. I am keeping my camera ready and my eyes open.
Sharing with Make it Pretty Monday at the Dedicated House

Stranger in Town................

Today we had a Red Winged Blackbird stop by. It did not stop at the feeder though. It was pure luck that I saw him/her. I think it was a male. At the same time I could hear a woodpecker doing his thing. It had to have been a very large one as it was very dramatic sounding. I could not see it, I went and got the camera and did get a couple of the Red Wing.

When we are out in the fields it is not very often that they stay still long enough to catch a picture. I think I may have got a couple over the years but not many.


So anyway, that was our visitor today. It would be lovely to see them in town. Not our usual visitors.
When I was putting out food today I put out some bread. A Seagull flew over right above, but did not circle back and I am pretty sure it saw the food. Maybe the wing span was too large to get down here? Besides that I bet Bud next door would have a hissy fit if Seagulls begin to come in haha. I would enjoy it but poor Bud he does not like my wildlife.
As the snow melts you should see the Bunny poop in the garden. At least its my side of the fence. It has to be good fertilizer there is that. I just wish I could see the Bunnies. They come on the deck at night. It's hard to get pictures when its semi dark. One year I was sitting on the steps and there were some baby bunnies eating bird seed around my feet, I would love to have one as a pet. I left them alone though. So sweet.

When Gabby and I went out on Friday, there were a whole bunch of Crows in the trees. Gabby forgot something so we had to turn around and go back so while I was waiting I was able to get a picture.

I do hope they stay around. I loved having the Crows come in to my garden and have missed them this past two Winters. I tried to get a closer look but the picture was not clear. This bunch of Crows were quite small individuals. I am used to Crows being bigger but these were a couple of houses away. The more I look at the picture I wonder if they were Grackles, they did not shine like Grackles do so I am not sure now. The eyes do not look like Grackles either.

I have walked around the garden but no shoots up just yet. It is only March so I can't expect too much I suppose. We can still get some heavy storms yet. Meanwhile I am trying to get outside as often as possible. I wanted Gerry to find me a rake but he says its too cold yet. Bah Humbug, I will have to try to find it myself. I can rake what I can rake a little at a time. I crave the outside air. The snow is melting a little at a time and even though we will get more I want to do what I can out there so it's not so overwhelming when it does get warmer.

Is it Spring yet?.........

The temperatures have gone up and the next few days could reach 50 degrees.That would be awesome, especially at the weekend. We hope to have Tristen and so we may go out for a ride in the country. I really want to go walk on the beach again.......today the sky was soooooo blue. I got this picture of Mr Cardinal singing his heart out against the brilliant sky. He has taken to sitting in the apple tree first thing in the morning. So I awaken to his squawking song. It does not sound so good before I have had my coffee. After that I can appreciate his effort a bit more. Here is is playing "I am king of the world"

We have not had many birds at all this Winter. I don't know why. The odd Chickadee turned up but mostly it was just Squirrels, lots of them. They have been chasing each other up and down trees today so maybe Spring really is on the way. I sure hope so.
We took Bodi to the vets on Saturday she's having trouble walking. I carry her outside to pee. Today was so sunny I took her to a sunny spot. She liked that. The vet put her on a strict diet. Said the same as the other vet. She needs to lose weight. She is our plus size model. The tumour on her leg is not what is causing the inability to walk. She got X rays done. It is arthritis in both knees and her hips. So taking off the weight should help all of that.

So today there was a Nuthatch at the feeder. I heard some Chickadee's and yesterday there were some Yellow finches but basically the birds have been rare.



So what was the problem this year? I usually have loads of birds at the feeders, it has always been one of my favourite things to do in the winter. Have my cats had anything to do with it? I don't know why because they hardly went out all Winter. In fact they are reluctant to go out even now. I would keep them inside all summer but they are a pain in the butt. They are soooo naughty.
I don't like that they hunt. Still the Squirrels get into the birds nests and take the eggs then if they do hatch any cat that notices the nest will go for it. I really do not like that about cats. They are just doing what cats do but these cats are not hungry.
This is Boots enjoying a sunny day

I took a short walk around outside today but there is still a lot of icy snow. Nothing coming up in the bare spots, still covered in Autumn leaves. Looking for Snowdrops but it is way too early. It is still February after all. I am just ready, ready for cool Spring weather. Emphasize cool.
Not at all ready for heat but no problem with that just yet.

Nothing...................

There is nothing going on in the garden right now.The snow is beginning to melt leaving a mess behind. Spring is in the air but does not show as far as the garden goes. Nothing to be done out there until the ground is showing again. I need exercise and so as soon as possible I will get out and rake and start to prepare for Spring. Meanwhile I am stuck inside with the winter blahs. I am drawing and painting and should be sewing but as of this moment I desperately want to be outside.
In England it's my favourite time of year and I know I say this every year. This is when I miss my home. '

I say the same thing every year, I know I know but.............it is just so drab out there. The birds did not come around this Winter, either the Squirrels were at the feeders or maybe cats put them off. The feeders were always full. They are full now, and no one is there.

Maybe it's time to get some Spring garden catalogues? Maybe that would be an incentive but I doubt it. I can't afford to replant everything. This year I must seriously cut back on expenses in the garden. Money must be spent on maintaining and tidying up. We may or may not sell this house. I do need to finish my fence at the very least. Then it will be start at the front and work my way to the back of the house just pruning and cleaning fluffing and buffing. Maybe I can make some more garden ornaments and liven it up that way.
The critters eat my Hosta's out front but that's OK I welcome them here

That picture made me think that I must transplant some violets out the front, they spread and fill in spots. That's a good idea as they overtake everything in my back garden and I hate to throw them away. I must make use of what I have and transplant things.
This year I have decided to try to get annuals again, they last all year and look so nice. I will plant the ones I brought into the house and let them fill in some spaces. Nice to start off big. My Geraniums are not loving it in the house as much this year but have survived at least. They did so well last year outside that I brought them in again.

In my Dad's garden in England Pansies bloomed all year and seeded themselves. Here they do not seem to do that. I don't believe a lot of plants like my soil either. So more Dairy Doo this year to make them a bit happier.
If I did get a flower catalogue I would look for some Cowslips and Bluebells

Till then I will dream on and think of England.