Thursday's Miscellany - Flora, Fauna and Free

So far this spring it has been quite rainy and cool. After hearing from my friends down south who haven't been getting much rain and after our drought conditions last summer, I'm not complaining about it. It has however had an affect on our bee and butterfly population. Last year was pretty hot and dry and I saw more butterflies than ever before. I have yet to see a butterfly in the garden.

The robins have been busy nesting, but they are not very prolific this spring. So far around the neighborhood, I've seen quite a few nests with missing baby birds, (hopefully they fledged the nest but they seemed too young for that), and I've seen a number of eggs that didn't hatch.

This nest was beside my house, in a small tree. Only one of the four eggs hatched.

The day after I took this picture, the baby robin was gone. I've seen the hawks flying around, I hope they aren't getting the babies.

I have daisies in bloom right now...

and black-eyed Susans.

I love this color of hollyhock, but for some reason the pests seem to always do a number on the leaves and they never look very attractive.

The downy woodpeckers have nested nearby.  From my kitchen window, I watched the father feeding peanuts to his son.

We have a new visitor here at Robin's Nesting Place. One that I'm not particularly excited about. I had a lot of these little guys at my home in Alabama and they are quite a nuisance. He sure is cute though!

He sat on the wall and watched me while I was reading on the patio.

Here is a dragonfly on the neighbor's fence. I haven't seen too many of those this spring either.

The chickadee's have nested in my birdhouse and have already fledged. I was able to see the little ones the day they fledged; they were so cute! Now there is a very loud wren building his nest in the box, singing his little heart out. I hope the female chooses to nest here.




I was so excited to have my potting bench featured on one of my favorite blogs, Better After! Thank you, Lindsey!

I am busy now working on a dining table and chairs that I got FREE on Craigslist! I can't wait to get it finished!

November Garden Blogger Bloom Day

The weather the last few days has been absolutely delightful! I've been trying to stay outdoors as much as possible for I know the warm sunny weather won't last much longer.

These pictures were taken a few days ago and, after the frosts we've had, I was surprised to see so many of the plants still in bloom. The mums are the most prolific bloomers by far, and I guess the biggest surprise was to find a few blooms on the dianthus. I forgot to include the picture of the lavender bloom in the collage.



This clematis is another pleasant surprise! I wasn't expecting to see another round of blooms, especially so late in the year!



I've lost most of the cosmos due to the frost, but these are in a more protected area next to the house and they are still blooming and attracting the few remaining insects.

It's been a while since I've participated in Garden Blogger Bloom Day, (hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens), hopefully by next spring I'll have my act together and be able to participate more regularly.

I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend!

Plant Sale

I stopped by Lowe's today to look at the paint and just happened to see the 75% off trees, shrubs and perennials sign in front of the garden center. It was cold and drizzly but I braved the weather to see what they had remaining. I didn't think there would be too much left and I figured it wouldn't be healthy, but I was pleasantly surprised. They still had a pretty good selection of perennials and they actually looked like they hadn't been in stock very long. The sale even included mums! I have been on a really tight budget, and have bought very few plants this year, but I just couldn't pass up these beauties.

I only spent $16.00 and here is what I purchased: Five 'Palace Purple' Coral Bells, (Heuchera), one 'Melting Fire' Heuchera, one 'Summer Sun Sundrops', Heliopsis, yellow twig dogwood, two mums, one spiderwort, and one sedum. I was so excited about the great deals! One shrub and eleven perennials for only $16.00!

We are supposed to have a freeze tonight, but it should get a little warmer next week. Hopefully I can get these in the ground and move a few other things around before winter sets in.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Black-eyed Susans

A Much Needed Break

Yesterday I wasn't feeling well and decided that I just needed a break from from all of the stress. It was a beautiful morning and the temperature was perfect. I did absolutely nothing all morning long except sit in my patio swing, watch the birds and read. I was surprised by all of the bird activity at the feeder and even more surprised when a flock of cedar waxwings landed in a tree.

In addition to the birds pictured I saw catbirds, house sparrows, starlings, mourning doves, and chickadees. I was really hoping to see the hummingbirds again. I've spotted them twice so far, but they take a sip and leave ever so quickly.

It was so peaceful and relaxing, just what the doctor ordered!



Today was back to business as usual. My mother-in-law is now down to 86 pounds. It was heart wrenching to see therapy try to walk her. She has always been a pacer and rarely sat down. Since her fall she has lost so much weight and has become stiff. I don't believe she will ever walk on her own again. The saddest thing is that the Alzheimer's has worsened and she is so fearful of any change from what she is currently doing. She is terrified to roll in the wheelchair and grabs at things to keep from moving. It is so incredibly sad. We got a call tonight that she fell from her wheelchair, thankfully this time there was only a minor injury to her knee. I just really don't think she is going to be with us much longer.

My dad will start his chemo and radiation next week. He'll have radiation five days a week for five weeks and chemo every Tuesday (not sure how long the chemo treatments will be).

I will be very grateful when life becomes more normal again and doesn't revolve around sickness. In the meantime I'll continue to soak in the beauty that surrounds me every chance I get.

Lollipop Gerbera

I wanted to share the pictures of the 'Lollipop' gerbera daisies with you! I love gerbera daisies and these are absolutely delightful! They cheered me up instantly when I saw them! I went to the garden center looking specifically for lantana . I haven't had time to garden but my favorite lantana can be difficult to find, so I've been on the lookout for it, (haven't found it yet). So I didn't buy any of the gerbera daisies this time. I'm kind of glad it's been too rainy to be outside, since I've been taking care of my mother-in-law. Hopefully by the time it gets pretty things will have settled down with injured and sick family members and I can spend some much needed time in the garden. My garden needs it and I do as well.

Thank you all so much for your caring comments during this difficult time, they have really meant a lot to me.

Fabulous Poppy

The poppies that I winter sowed are beginning to open. I have never grown poppies before, and even though I'm not usually fond of orange red colors, this little flower is fabulous! It is kind of like a crinkly crepe paper. The wind was blowing so hard while I was trying to take the pictures, so I stuck the container in a green bucket that was nearby, which is why it has the green background color. I was almost late for work because I had a hard time tearing myself away from the peonies and poppy. I'll have to post the peony pictures tomorrow because we are in the midst of a thunderstorm.

Rainy Day Pictures

Between the cool rainy weather, the lingering virus, my new job and neighborhood volunteer work, I've not had as much time outside this spring as I would like, nor have I had as much time or energy for blogging. I was able to get a little accomplished yesterday. Now that the perennials are getting larger, I needed to move some things around. I'm really glad for the cooler rainy day we had today, it was perfect weather for those stressed plants that were moved.

I finally got a few more container plantings finished. This one is on the front porch. (I really need to repaint these planters; that may be a project for this fall.) I used Anna's container soil recipe. Hopefully my containers will be healthier this year.

This container of superbells and trailing vinca is on the front porch railing.

I went out for a few minutes this evening, it has been raining off and on all day and was still sprinkling as I walked around with my camera. I love to take pictures in the early morning or evening after a rain.

The 'Raspberry Surprise' dianthus is blooming.

An allium bud.

The colors are so much richer when you take pictures on a cloudy day or in the evening.

Several clematis plants are blooming now. I didn't prune back the clematis on the mailbox last fall. It has more blooms, but it isn't as pretty this year.



I finally have foxglove! I grew these from seed last year and am finally seeing the results of the labor. Out of the hundreds of plants that germinated only three of the plants survived this long.


After the rain the robins have worms aplenty.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend.

Bumblebee and Grosbeak

Yesterday was a little cool, but thankfully the sun was shining. I have a cold right now and feel lousy, but I was determined to work outside anyway. I transplanted some daisies and lambs ear. I did some much needed weeding and planted a few of the plants that were grown from seed and the red salvia that I purchased.

I'm enjoying the allium that I planted in the fall and so are the bumblebees. It is wonderful to see the little creatures enjoying the fruits of my labor.

I had a new guest here today at Robin's Nesting Place. For the first time ever I saw a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. I was in the kitchen putting something in the crockpot and saw a flash of red. I saw just enough of the bird to know it was a grosbeak and ran to get my camera. I took these pictures through the patio door.

Thankfully he stayed for a while at the feeder, so I could get several pictures. I love attracting new birds to my feeders and this was a thrill for me.

I didn't see a female, but hopefully she is around here too.


It is always thrilling to see the bold little chickadee. I love to hear them too.

Lilac Bouquet and George

I went outside this morning, before the rain, to gather some lilac blossoms for my first ever lilac bouquet. The lovely fragrance just fills the room. I can't wait until my small shrubs grow and I have more of these delightful blooms.

On my way back to the house, I noticed that something had been digging in one of my winter sowing containers,(#22 Hollyhock), I bent down for a closer look and jumped back when I saw the dirt move. I slowly moved the container around with my foot...


and this toad poked his head out of the dirt.

The first few springs and summers in our new neighborhood we had a lot of frogs. So many, that when I would walk in the evenings I would have to really watch my step because they were constantly jumping across the sidewalk. As our neighborhood grew and people began to use chemicals on the lawns causing runoff into our neighborhood ponds I saw fewer frogs, (at least that is what I believe has caused the decline). In fact for the last two or three years I haven't seen a single one. So, I am very glad to see this fellow here today. When my children were young and I would find a frog I'd call them all George. I'd use a funny voice and for some reason George just sounded like the frog name that fit with the silly voice. I hope "George" sticks around Robin's Nesting Place for a while.

One Year Old Today

After spending the winter months last year reading gardening blogs and enjoying them immensely. I decided to start a blog of my own. I had never even thought about having a blog before, because I couldn't imagine having personal information about myself or my family on the internet.


However, with my interest in gardening and a budding interest in photography, a garden blog seemed like a perfect fit. I took the Blogger plunge on April 7, 2007 and I'm so very glad that I did. It has been both a rewarding and pleasurable experience for me.

Because I had read other blogs and their comments for several months before starting my own gardening blog, I knew there was a very active and friendly garden blog community. I wasn't expecting the warm and friendly welcome I received though.

I was amazed at how quickly people found my blog and the wonderful, friendly comments I received.

It still amazes me and thrills me each time I receive a comment on my blog. I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you to each person who has visited me, especially to those who have left comments here at Robin's Nesting Place. You have enriched my life by your time spent here.

Since it is my blog birthday I decided to reward myself with a few little gifts. I collect teacups and teapots and it had been a while since I bought any. I loved these and couldn't pass them up.

I also decided I needed a little treat for the birds too and bought this. Now I can replace the broken clay saucer the ducks and birds have been eating from.

The weather is gorgeous and it definitely feels like spring now. I have things sprouting up all over the place and flowers are beginning to bloom.

Thank you to Mr. McGregor's Daughter for identifying the Scilla-sibirica for me. I love these tiny deep blue blooms that are spreading under my Japanese maple.

The maple trees are blooming now; I love the red blooms against the blue sky.

The young Bradford Pear trees will soon be blooming. The picture above was taken with the grass as the background, the picture below, of course, has the blue sky for its background.
Again, thank you all for making Robin's Nesting Place such a wonderful experience for me during this first year of my blogging adventure. You all are the greatest!