Sunshine and warmer temperatures for two whole days

Yes indeed the weather was so beautiful over the weekend, that I went outside and started in on cleaning up the gardens and planting a few cool weather flowers.

These pots all hold hostas and ferns but look so sad and bare until the hostas and ferns start to make an appearance. I like to plant primroses and pansies in them to provide a splash of color as you come up to our front door.


The front garden was such a mess until I trimmed away all the dead foliage, cut back the ferns and picked up all the fallen twigs and small branches which came down during our last wind storm.

Now that the garden has been tidied up, you can see a lot of new growth making an appearance.

The veggie garden also got some attention, but there is still lots to do before the planting season begins.

A friend gave me two lovely blueberry bushes I had to find a home for. I decided to plant them on the outside of the veggie garden fence, and took the precaution of surrounding them using a PVC frame, usually used to cover one of the raised beds, then the whole thing surrounded with a heavy bird netting. All this to keep the rabbits from digging around the roots until the bushes are fully established in their new home.

It has been beautiful, but I have had enough

Perhaps when, and if the rain comes later today, all this snow will melt away. It is beautiful to look at but when you can't get around on the roads, then it is not so nice.

There are two hummingbirds who visit the feeder, and I am sure they are happy to find the sweet nectar to keep up their energy.

There is a little nuthatch on the suet feeder, grabbing some food before the greedy starlings chase him away.

My toes are cold!

I wish this feeder would stop rotating, it is making me dizzy.

And.... a very unwelcome visitor.

The birds and critters are well fed at our home

First serious snowfall of the season

It started snowing early this morning and did not let up until around 3pm this afternoon. When I heard that the winter storm was coming through bringing lots of snow, I immediately went outside to make sure there was plenty of food for the birds.

I captured a photo of this hungry hummingbird through the kitchen window.

The trees look so beautiful with their coating of snow.

A splendid way to start Thanksgiving

Just a few minutes earlier, I had looked out my kitchen window at very ominous dark storm clouds brewing, then the sun crept up gilding the undersides of the clouds in shades of vibrant pink and orange. What a wonderful way to start our Thanksgiving day.

Happy Thanksgiving

To all my readers, Have a wonderful thanksgiving day. Blessings to all.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Still harvesting

Yes I still have a few tomatoes, and a surprise, three ripe strawberries and one very small bell pepper harvested today. Look on the pepper, and you will see the teeny tiny hitchhiker I did not know was there until I looked at the photos. I wonder where that little snail is now, I will have to go investigate.

Handsome visitors

These two handsome fellows came strutting through our yard, pecking here and there, and nervously looking around at the slightest noise. They should be nervous, as they have been released for the hunting season. I wish they would be smart, and stay on our property, where they would not meet any hunters.

Macro magic

Bounty from my garden

I have had a busy summer and have only a little put away for the winter months. There are also beans, strawberries and blueberries in the freezer.

Blackberry jelly, pickled beans, zucchini relish

Wordless wednesday

The shade garden...then & now

Early 2009 this shaded area beside the house was crying out for more than a bare place where nothing but a few weeds and leaves from the trees covered the ground.

I didn't really have a definite plan, rather the garden evolved as I placed rocks to build small beds.

It was a little like doing a jigsaw puzzle. I just placed the rocks where I thought they fit, and voila! a garden was born.

The garden beds were filled with topsoil and a whole lot of rich compost.

2011 and here is what the beds are looking like so far. I will be adding more plants as I can afford to. I have ferns, hellebore, primroses, wild strawberry plants as a ground cover, and a few other plants I can't remember the names of right now.

This past week I have started spreading bark mulch on the path, still have more to do on this project.

A few weeks ago, this moss and fern bed was created.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

My unpaid cleanup crew

When it comes time to pull the pea vines, I just toss them over the garden fence, and the cleanup crew does all the work of disposing of them for me *chuckle*

The cutest cleanup crew you have ever seen.

The semi tame rabbits always know when I am in the garden, and they come hopping over to hang around outside the fence hoping for goodies.

Sucking the pea down like you would a piece of spaghetti.