Spring has Sprung

Today was a gorgeous day, the temperature reached almost 60°! I went for a long walk with my daughter and a short walk with Lilly! It felt wonderful to finally be outside and get a little exercise again. Lilly was glad to be out walking again too!




I had walked around the house on Saturday to see if I had a crocus in bloom, and didn't find anything. I was pleasantly surprised today when I saw one in bloom!






I pulled a few weeds, and thought about cleaning up in the flower beds a little. I didn't get around to it because I sat on the patio just basking in the warmth and enjoying the moment.




It will probably be raining for the next few days, but at least we had a respite from the cold, and now we know that spring is very, very close because we got a wonderful taste of it today.



One lone flower, but a wonderful harbinger of spring.





Libby has enjoyed the wheat grass that I planted for her.

My sweet mother-in-law is in the final stages of Alzheimer's. Last month when they weighed her she weighed only 77 pounds. I'm pretty sure she weighs less than that now. It is heartbreaking to watch her slowly waste away.

I didn't do much winter sowing this year because I didn't want to baby plants all winter and then have to abandon them while taking care of Mom in her last days. We know that it is just a matter of time before she passes away. In fact we are simply amazed at her strength and will to live. I planted so many seeds last year only to have most of them die while I was in Alabama caring for my dad during his lung cancer surgery. I just didn't have the heart to have that happen again.

I do have a few things planted using my indoor growing system. I have Purple Wave petunias, penstemon, parsley and cilantro. The only seeds I have bought this year, so far, are zinnias and sunflowers. The rest of the seeds were collected from my flowers last fall. I should still have plenty of flowers...

because I have a bag full of these orange cosmos seeds. I won't mind at all filling my flower garden with these sweet beauties. I love the way they look with the Verbena Bonariensis.

Soaking Up the Sunshine

The sunshine was out today for the first time in about two weeks. Libby and I sat at the kitchen table and soaked up the rays.



The glare from the sun on the snow was so bright that I had to put on my sunglasses so I could watch the birds this morning!

I had a terrible time doing this post due to issues with both Blogger and Picasa. I hope that it is a temporary issue! My quick post turned into a two hour torture session!

A Close Call

A few days ago I was in the kitchen talking on the phone with my mom. Something hit my sliding glass doors and made such a loud noise that I screamed! I looked up just in time to see a dove fall to the patio and a Cooper's hawk right at the door swooping down to catch the dove! My scream caused the hawk to fly off very quickly leaving the dove behind.


This is my sliding glass door after the dove hit. It left almost the whole impression of the dove in flight on the glass. I wish I knew what was on the feathers that caused the white powdery substance to be on the glass. Do birds have that much dander?



The poor stunned bird sat for the longest time not moving. I finally put on some gloves and slipped outside and stroked the bird. It never flinched.




Libby sat for the longest time with her nose to the glass watching the dove. I stayed close by too keeping an eye out for the hawk.


After about three hours it finally stood on its feet and turned around. It was getting close to dark and the temperature was dropping, I tried to figure out what to do with the injured bird. Not know what else to do, I decided that I would cut some of my ornamental grass and put it in a box and put the bird in the box on the patio for the night. I stepped outside with the box and the bird immediately flew away. What a huge relief!

The next day I moved the swing frame with the feeders a little farther back in the yard and closer to a tree. This is the first time that a bird has hit my windows like this. It was very upsetting, but at least it turned out well for everyone, well, everyone except the hawk!

Snow and Bird Watching

Today we got about three inches of snow. Being from Alabama, I really dislike the long winters here in Indiana, but I've grown to love, really love, watching the snow fall while the birds flock to my feeders. It brings me incredible pleasure to sit at my kitchen table, sipping on coffee, with my camera close by snapping pictures of the birds. I use my swing frame for a bird feeding station and the birds come right up to the patio, even as close as the door. The pictures aren't as clear as I'd like since they are taken through the sliding glass doors, but from the warmth of my kitchen, I get some pretty good photo opportunities.





I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Our Christmas was different this year since we weren't able to travel home to Alabama. There have been many years with plenty, but this was a very lean Christmas for us. We are still kind of reeling financially from the previous job losses. That is OK, thankfully my children are older and they understand. It also helps us to put our faith into practice since we acknowledge that the real reason for the season isn't about gifts, but about celebrating the birth of our Saviour. We know this is just a bump in the road and we also know there are many who are in the same boat. We hope and pray that 2010 will be the year that we get firmly back on our feet and we are striving toward that end. I hope that 2010 is a year of peace, health and happiness for each of you.

After Thanksgiving Miscellany

Wednesday while in the kitchen cooking, I noticed a Cooper's hawk on the bird feeder dining on a house sparrow. Wouldn't you know it, my good camera was upstairs, but it didn't have the zoom lens on it anyway. I grabbed the camera that I keep in my purse and took a few shots before it flew away. The white balance setting was wrong, so the pictures didn't turn out very well.

I didn't see the hawks much over the summer, I guess now that it's turning colder they'll be more frequent visitors. As long as they dine on house sparrows and starlings I won't be sad to see them visit.

I dread seeing how many rabbits are here next year. There are more this year than I ever recall seeing and they are quite brave considering we have a dog that chases them out of the yard when she see them. They just keep coming right back.

I was cleaning and organizing in my craft room and closet a few days ago, of course Ms. Kitty has to be in the middle of it all. She particularly loves flowers.

Today has been a restful day, sleeping late and eating leftovers. No Black Friday shopping for me, there has never been anything that I wanted bad enough to fight the crowds over. Some people love it but, no thank you, that is not my thing.

Seeds

I've been a very patient gardener so far this winter. Last year I wasn't patient and started some seeds as early as February 5th which was way too early for my zone 5 garden. I'm getting antsy to start sowing and will probably begin in the next few days.

Just out of curiosity, I counted my seed packets tonight and so far there are 52, including the ones I collected from my own flower garden. I'm sure I'll be buying more when I go to the Indy Flower and Patio show in a few days. Most of them are zinnias, cosmos and sunflower seeds which will be directly sown in the ground. I can't have too many of those in the garden.

Of course Libby had to get right in the middle of things.

She plopped down on the seeds and began to play with the string on my pajamas. Silly cat!

I had to change my RSS feeds due to the changes with Feedburner and Blotanical. This stuff confuses me and I almost have to do it with my eyes closed because I'm so afraid I'll mess something up. I hope it doesn't cause problems with anyone. Please let me know if something isn't working right.

Poor Little Bird

This morning my daughter noticed the cat trying to get up to the window. She opened the blinds and saw this poor little goldfinch huddled in the corner.

I went outside to see if I could tell what was wrong. It was shivering in the cold with it's little head tucked in its feathers. It wasn't moving, not even with the cat so close to it...

and pawing at the window. As I approached it flew away, obviously injured, but still able to get away. It flew to my neighbors back yard.


A little while later I heard Lilly in the kitchen going nuts at the door, I was sad to see that the goldfinch had returned.

Poor sweet little bird. I wish I knew what to do for it. Any ideas?

Edit: The goldfinch has died on the patio. I wonder what was wrong with it. So sad.

Enjoying the Sunshine!

We are enjoying another day of sunshine, two in a row! The temps are in the mid-forties today but at least the sun is streaming through the windows.

We are having to step over both the cat and dog as we go down the stairs, because the sun is now most prominent through the landing window. Libby is sunning on the stairs and Lilly is sunning herself on the landing. Good thing I'm not doing laundry today!

LAPCPADPOUB

At the invitation of HappyMouffetard, from The Inelegant Garden, a lot of bloggers are posting about their cats today.
'Lets all post cat photos and dire poetry on our blogs' (LAPCPADPOUB*)

I couldn't pass up this opportunity to share a few pictures of my own special kitty, (I'll have to skip the dire poetry part, I'm not feeling that creative tonight.)

Sometimes Libby is aloof like other cats, but most of the time she is very friendly.

She often finds unusual places for her catnaps.






She loves to lay on books, especially if they are open and in my lap.

She loves to roll around in the catnip.




She often sits in my lap while I'm at the computer, trying to lick my fingers as I type. She is my shadow and sleeps beside me at night. She actually comes when I call her. As much as I love her, it is hard to remember that there was a time that I really disliked cats. She has definitely won me over to the cat side.

Tulips...Finally!

These are the purple tulips I planted in the fall, at least they were supposed to be purple. I know I'm not the only one this happened to, Sherry, from Sherry's Zoo and Gardens had red tulips instead of pink coming up in her garden. At least these are in the backyard garden and it really doesn't matter there.

I took this picture just a couple of hours after the first one. I couldn't believe how quickly they opened.

Thankfully, this cluster of tulips all turned out to be purple.

I'm having a few new visitors here at Robin's Nesting Place; the Common Grackle is enjoying the peanuts and the birdbath.

The brown-headed cowbird also stopped by for a visit and a bath.

I was sitting out on the patio, in the swing, watching Libby attack the chair leg. She loves this game and I love watching her play it.

The weather has been gorgeous the last few days, but I've not been out working because I've had other projects going on. Now that I've pretty much finished those, we have rain in the forecast for several days. Bummer! I've got quite a few of my seedlings outside hardening off. Now I just need to get outside and get them planted.

Well Behaved Kitty and Seedlings Galore

I couldn't ask for a more well behaved kitty. She really is a sweetheart. Not once has she attempted to play in the dirt or nibble on my plants. Even though I have a few gnats swarming around the plants and she is fascinated with them, she just watches from a close but safe distance.

Honest, mom, I was just looking.

Four of the five gerbera daisies are blooming right now. This yellow one has three blooms.

As you can see from my pictures I'm kind of desperate for containers. Thankfully I eat a lot of yogurt and had saved some of the containers. (Dannon All Natural Vanilla is my absolute favorite yogurt.)

In the grouping above I have pansies, foxglove, bee balm, balloon flowers and three kinds of grass that have germinated and seem to be doing well.

I bought a package of lilies the other day that had already started growing. There were six in the package, 2 Stargazer, 2 Le Reve, and 2 Mona Lisa all three types are differing shades of pink. I've never grown them before and hope they will do well until they can be planted outside. The large plastic yogurt containers are a great size for planting bulbs. I punched holes, with an ice pick, in the bottom and lower sides to aid in drainage.






The impatiens are still doing great. They were growing so fast that the dreaded task of pinching back was much easier for me to do this time. They are filling out quite nicely.










All but three or four of the 43 Purple Wave petunia seeds have germinated.
The Scabiosa, Blue flax, and rudbeckia 'Irish Eyes' have also germinated in large quantities.

The Blanketflower seeds, that were guaranteed to grow, are growing. Beside the blanketflower is liatris. I don't know if the corms are viable or not, but there were 12 corms in a package at Aldis for under $3.00, (I think it was $2.49, maybe $2.99), anyway, I thought it was worth a shot. I also bought a package with two 'Bright-eyes' phlox for the same price. They already had a little bit of growth, so I know at least they were alive.



Here is another picture of the Bee Balm.

















I don't know what I'm going to do with all of these seedlings. I guess I had better be finding more containers for transplanting, which will need to be done soon. I still have so much more that I want to plant, but I'm quickly running out of space.