Albert Being Adorable

The world's cutest squirrel lives at my house. Don't miss the foot on his rock and the hands on his squirrel crossing sign. And he did all that with no prompting from me...I just said "be adorable" and this is what I got!

Random Raccoon Thoughts

• Plants that cost less than $14.99 are not worth digging up.


• If you dig first, then play in the bird bath, your feet will get REALLY muddy for playing with the clean bird feeders.


• No bird feeder is too good to try to destroy.


• The heavy expensive bird feeders are often too heavy to get over the fence and will not, therefore, make it all the way to your own place of residence.


• All bird seed is good - especially that expensive kind with the cayenne pepper in it.


• A really clever raccoon can make his human do remarkable things like putting chains and locks on otherwise beautiful bird feeders.


• If the humans open the windows to sleep you are more likely to get run off.


• And last, but not least, it's worth staying up in the morning to watch your human come outside with a cup of coffee and see what all you've done!

Icy Sunroom Day 2

Snowy, Icy Georgia Day

Another Squirrel Feeder

There are times when I think my complex neocortex and opposable thumb are somewhat overrated! Albert can open this feeder a bit faster than I can. Should I be worried?

Baby Bunny Attack

Recently the sweet potato vines started getting naked up to about 6 inches off the porch. Also, patches of grass were disappearing. This is too good not to share! If he sticks around I'll have to name him...

Garden Pondering

This morning I met Mr. Fox in my backyard. In a fraction of a second it became clear who my nest box robber was. I growled at him, why did I growl, and he ran back out of the yard using the bunny hole escape under the fence. I've never seen a red fox in person before and I was hoping that, when I did, he would not be in my back yard, licking his lips, and heading for my bird feeders! If I had had more time, I would have told him about the only other red fox I have ever seen - the stuffed one at the science center.

On a lighter note, I have harvested my first dill weed to put in my salmon salad at lunch. I also harvested parsley and rosemary for the dinner pork roast. I feel like such a farmer!

I have finished cleaning up from the giant, big-blow, storm on Tuesday. The yard looks beautiful but I need a bigger wheelbarrow...

On the lightest note of all, have you noticed how doves act? Always in pairs and always "after" each other. Mine are either sibs wanting to fight or lovers wanting to......oh well... I love the doves, their beauty and their mournful song, and I REALLY love their chocolate!

Garden Work

I went out early yesterday and worked in my gardens until I was weary. I pulled weeds, errant ivy, poison ivy, sticker vines, and Virginia Creeper (that does anything BUT creep). Then I rested in the gazebo and realized that no one would ever notice what I had done - only the few I had missed. Isn't life funny that way!

Getting Ready for Easter

Remember to pause the music at the bottom of this page before starting the video - or you get dualing tunes!

Spring in Georgia - Truest Beauty

Magnolia, cherry, and so much more...

Cedar Waxwings

It's always a special day when the waxwings visit!

Bluebirds Are Shopping!

One of my favorite times of year is when the bluebirds start preparing to build nests and raise their families. They're here and looking! It's always Valentines week - how do they know?

Parsley Snipping Time

I went out to snip some parsley for my salad and LOOK who got there first! Oh, my! Hope he will be a beautiful butterfly one day!

The Glory of the Garden

Our England is a garden that is full of stately views,
Of borders, beds and shrubberies and lawns and avenues,
With statues on the terraces and peacocks strutting by;
But the Glory of the Garden lies in more than meets the eye.

For where the old thick laurels grow, along the thin red wall,
You will find the tool- and potting-sheds which are the heart of all ;
The cold-frames and the hot-houses, the dungpits and the tanks:
The rollers, carts and drain-pipes, with the barrows and the planks.

And there you'll see the gardeners, the men and 'prentice boys
Told off to do as they are bid and do it without noise;
For, except when seeds are planted and we shout to scare the birds,
The Glory of the Garden it abideth not in words.

And some can pot begonias and some can bud a rose,
And some are hardly fit to trust with anything that grows;
But they can roll and trim the lawns and sift the sand and loam,
For the Glory of the Garden occupieth all who come.

Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing:--"Oh, how beautiful!" and sitting in the shade,
While better men than we go out and start their working lives
At grubbing weeds from gravel-paths with broken dinner-knives

There's not a pair of legs so thin, there's not a head so thick,
There's not a hand so weak and white, nor yet a heart so sick.
But it can find some needful job that's crying to be done,
For the Glory of the Garden glorifieth every one.

Then seek your job with thankfulness and work till further orders,
If it's only netting strawberries or killing slugs on borders;
And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden,
You will find yourself a partner in the Glory of the Garden.

Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees
That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees,
So when your work is finished, you can wash your hand and pray
For the Glory of the Garden, that it may not pass away!
And the Glory of the Garden it shall never pass away!

Rudyard Kipling.....

Look What I Have to Look at From My Sunroom ...

This red-headed woodpecker is almost having to tie himself in a knot to eat from this tiny feeder.  But he's not complaining.  Isn't he a remarkable gift!

Still Feathering the Nest

For the last few days I haven't seen any signs of the chickadees at the house they had worked so hard on.  I was thinking they had abandoned the project or something tragic had happened to the eggs or babies.  Well, today I finally see them adding a bit more dog fur to the nest.  Interesting!  I was expecting baby chickadees by now!

Gift for the Hard to Shop For.....

I know many of you have been wracking your brains for the perfect gift for me. Well, to help you out, I have found a perfect bird feeder - you know how I love those - that I really want. It is from http://www.douglasfeypottery.com and is an original work of art - stunning, I say! So if 600 of my closest friends go in together, it will only cost a dollar a piece. Sound good? (I wish I had tons of money - I'd sure have me one of these!)

Amazing how God provides...

Just at the same time that my chickadees need a fur-lined bed for their babies, the dog next door is shedding.  Ain't it wonderful!

Moving In Day

Today is the official moving in day for the precious chickadees who chose my new bird house to have their babies in this Spring.  You will probably see many shots of these guys as the house is right outside my sun room.  Stay tuned!

Hard to believe.....

...that this shot was taken less than one month ago!  What a difference a couple of weeks make!  Happy Spring!  PS - This is Albert in his beloved platform feeder that is now in the garage.