Backyard Babies

My intention was to give my small vegetable garden a quick watering before lunch.

But on the way to the vegetable garden I noticed that the first peony of the season was blooming.  Thinking this was a "baby picture" moment, I took a detour into the house for the camera.

As I was preparing to take the peony's picture, a speck of blue caught my eye.  Since this is the first Japanese iris to bloom, it was necessary to capture it with a photo too.

Across the yard I noticed one bloom on the bearded iris.  Just yesterday it was only a bud.  This is such an exciting time in the garden.  Each day brings new surprises.

 

Plants that were too new to bloom last season are bursting with blooms this year. 

If you're feeling a bit down, a little walk around your yard, your neighborhood or a local park may be just what you need to lift your spirits.  Everywhere you look there are signs of new life. 

Today I discovered new life of another type in my backyard. 

Yesterday there were 4 bluebird eggs in this carefully constructed nest.  If you look closely you will see that one of the eggs has been replaced with a fuzzy little birdie.  Now this really is a "baby picture" moment.  In fact I attempted to get a better quality photo, but the next time I checked mama bluebird was firmly planted on top of her babies so I quietly closed the door and tiptoed away.

I headed back to the vegetable garden which is where I was supposed to be all along.  Once there I noticed my radishes are getting ready to be harvested.  Before I got the hose turned on to begin my watering, the skies opened up and my camera and I sprinted toward the house.

No need to water that garden now.

A well timed shower in my opinion.



The Flower Cross

One of my favorite traditions at church on Easter Sunday is the flower cross.  I had never seen this done until I moved to North Carolina.  The cross sits outside the doors of the church as an empty structure made out of chicken wire.  Everybody is invited to bring a few flowers to add to it.  Most of them are cut from backyard gardens and it's always so fun to see how they all come together to create such a pretty cross.   By the time the service begins, the cross looks like this.  As we sing the opening hymn, the cross is wheeled into the church.

 Once the service is over, it is wheeled outside where it becomes a popular backdrop to family Easter photos.

I love this flower cross and I also love looking at the children in their Easter outfits (A-dorable) and I especially love to listen to the powerful voices of the choir singing The Hallelujah Chorus.  Always, always moves me to tears.

What are your favorite Easter traditions?



~ Easter Greetings ~

This bunny is too busy for blog hoppin' today, but wants to take a moment to wish you all a Happy & Blessed Easter.

Don't Even Think About It, Mr. Bunny

I planted strawberries for the first time.

I was so excited to see them turning red.

Looks like I'm not the only one who's excited about it.

There's More Than One Way To Feather A Nest

I spent the weekend gardening and feathering my nest for Easter.

When it rained outside, I was inside creating Easter land and when the sun came out I headed outside to plant, weed, prune  and enjoy the beauty of Springtime.  A perfect weekend, in my opinion.

Come on in and I'll show you what I've been up to.

This shelf worked out perfectly for displaying a few of my vintage Easter cards.

The little lamb was in a bag of Christmas figurines I bought at a thrift shop.  I think he works pretty well with this card, although I'm not sure if he's too happy about it.

While I was busy decorating the house, somebunny else was busy decorating the eggs and making the candy for the Easter baskets.

He even made some with zero calories ;-).

Gotta love that guy.

It's not often that you find a book in a thrift shop that matches your flower arrangement.  When you do, you must buy it ~ mustn't you?

A little table on the way to the powder room.

As you can see there is no shortage of bunnies and eggs around here.

See what I mean?

So this weekend found me not only looking into magical eggs, but also ...

looking into magical birdhouses full of eggs of a different sort.

I'm not sure what kind of bird laid these eggs, but she sure did a remarkable job of creating a safe, soft haven for her babies.
She quite literally feathered her nest.

It made me smile to think that while I was in my house feathering my nest for my family a sweet little birdie was also busy feathering her nest for her family.

I love Spring !!!

Smilin'

~ Things that are making me smile today ~

• Quite possibly my new favorite bread for toasting.  Recipe here.
• Last night's quick, but tasty dinner which hit the spot on a cold and damp night.  Recipe here.
• Another new recipe that proved to be not only tasty, but low fat.  Gotta love that.  The closest I could get to a direct link found here.

• The return of blue skies after a gray and gloomy week.
• Birdsong in the morning.

• Rainbows on the ceiling.

• Rhubarb.  I planted it last year and was convinced the heat had done it in.  Guess what ... it's back.  Woo Hoo!  Wonder if I'll get enough to make a strawberry-rhubarb pie with?  Can anybody tell me how I know when it's ready to be cut?

• Cutting the first knock-out rose of the season and pairing it with a few grape hyacinths which will always, always remind me of my mom.  Hi mom!!

• Having a head full of curlers when the garage door repairman rings the doorbell.  Oops, no, April Fool's ... that one didn't exactly make me smile.  I think I set a record for pulling those babies out and tossing them on the counter while running for the door.  Ever notice how when they say between 9:00 and 11:00 it's always 9 when you're not quite ready and 11:00 when you are?

• A cheery picture on my calendar ... that also matches my kitchen ... and was free from the local power company ~ no fooling :), ;), =)

What's making you smile today?