An uninvited guest

I finally have a picture to share. When I opened the grill to get it fired up for dinner yesterday evening, I discovered that it had been appropriated by one of our feathered friends. Fortunately, it was still under construction and there were no eggs in it because the nest had to go! We feed the birds year round and always have lots of nests around the house. The wrens are constantly trying to build nests in my husband's boots when they are parked outside the door. We have several bluebird boxes that are occupied every spring and summer. I use birdhouses to decorate one of my bedrooms. Last week I was working in that room and heard a fluttering sound. I looked at the shelf above the window and saw a wren perched on one of the decorative bird houses sitting there. It kept flying from the birdhouses to the silk ficus tree and back. We closed up the other rooms and finally guided it back outside. My husband had propped the front door open and evidently the bird flew in and proceeded to make itself at home. We've spotted many types of birds at the feeders this spring including bluebirds, goldfinches, house finches, red-bellied woodpeckers, cardinals, the dreaded brown-headed cowbird, mourning doves, and today I saw the first indigo bunting of the season. The hummingbirds are also back - visiting the hummingbird feeder regularly.

Friday Update

Well, I've already started out behind! I was determined to post something every day. All I can say is that I probably started this thing at the wrong time. Wednesday morning we went to the Pickens Flea Market. Then I went to the hair dresser. That evening we went to the Memorial service at church - didn't have dinner until we returned from there. We had to drive to Greenville yesterday to take care of some business, then had company for a couple of hours yesterday evening. We were both tired from all the hassles. Nothing wears you out worse than haggling with a lawyer!! We still have one of the Grandsons with us for his spring break. AND I'm trying to get all the housework and laundry caught up before my surgery. That's what I really should be doing now instead of fooling around on the computer. On today's agenda is housework, laundry, paperwork for one of the husband's business deals, guestimating taxes so that I can get the extension and payment sent in. For now I'm off to do all that. Maybe later today I can try posting some pictures of my garden.

Getting Started

After several weeks of reading a sampling of quilting blogs, I've finally decided to jump in and start my own. I'm a beginning quilter, so it may be a while before I have quilting pictures to post. However, my major project right now is getting my flower beds ready before I undergo neck surgery next week. After the surgery I won't be able to work in the yard for a couple of weeks, so I must do as much as I can now. To make room for the big pot with the elephant ear, I had to dig up several hostas. I divided them and gave about 10 plants to a friend and still have about 13 to find new homes for. I have already dug up 6 clumps of yellow daylilies that are looking for a new home and divided 3 clumps of Stella d'Oro lillies and replanted them. Today I planted 6 canna lilies that I rescued from a large pot that was left behind at one of our rental houses. Three large pots on my front porch have new soil and are ready to be planted with annuals and the caladium bulbs that I bought at the flea market last week. I was pleasantly surprised that my wave petunies appear to have survived the winter in large pots out back by the pool. I'm glad now that I didn't remove the plants when they supposedly died after the first frost. New green plants are coming up from the old roots. I'll give them a chance to show their colors before I decide whether or not I'll replant the pots. The pansies that were planted in pots by the bird bath are still gorgeous, so they will stay until they begin to get too leggy. On the perenial front, my purple coneflowers and coreopsis are already coming up. I can see that I will have a bumper crop of baby plants to share. I leave the seedheads on the plants for the finches, so there are always plenty of new plants that come up each spring. I usually wait until they get about 4 inches high before I dig them up to share with friends. My purple Homestead verbena is already covered with beautiful flowers. The mums are already tall enough to be pinched back. The clemetis is climbing the new trellis and has several flower buds. I'll probably wait until after the surgery to plant the annuals in the front courtyard. The weeds have taken over there and it will require more work than I have time for this week. My husband just mowed that spot to neaten it for the time being. As you can see I tend to get carried away when I start writing. Maybe I'll have some pictures with my next post.