Garden Wildlife

Daniel and I have a fairly small garden, and yet we have a lot of animals visiting every day. Maybe because we have eight large trees in our backyard alone.

A couple of weeks ago, we discovered that a raccoon had made her nest in one of the trees in our neighbor's yard. I'm sitting outside as I type this and I can see her looking out just like in the photo below.

Before we discovered the nest, we found one of her babies (a newborn) at the foot of the tree. After waiting for some time to see if he'd get picked up, we took him in (it was fairly cold outside) and contacted a wildlife rehabber in our area who took him in. He was the cutest little thing and quite wiggly.

Here's a different raccoon trying to get comfy for a daily snooze.

We also get a lot of bird visitors and the woodpeckers are always a favorite of mine! The red bellied woodpeckers come to our feeders all the time and aren't shy at all. We love when they start bringing the babies around in the spring. Hopefully I'll get some good photos!  

The pileated woodpecker is one we hear often enough but rarely see. Usually they are high up in the tall trees. They are large and striking looking and when one comes close enough, I run for the camera!

Ok, so this isn't really wildlife, but I couldn't resist taking a picture of Ramses and Louie, the flat cats! It was a sunny afternoon and they both loved the warmth!

Winslow, of course, is the overseer of the garden and makes sure that everyone gets along.

I'm looking forward to the baby raccoons being old enough to peek out of the nest so I can snap a photo for you.

❧ Silke

Signs of Spring

It has been warmer than normal here - today we are getting close to 78℉ (25℃), which is WAY above average (low 60's). That's how our winter has been so far - much colder than normal or a good bit warmer.

But because these were the first really warm days pretty much since November, everyone was outside. We practically lived on our back porch this last weekend.

Earlier this year, Daniel had ordered a bluebird house for our front yard and it looks like a happy bluebird couple has moved in. I'll have to try to get a photo for you...

I can't believe some of the daffodils are getting flowers already. Daniel planted over 100 bulbs last year, so it'll be very pretty around our yard this spring!

The roses are starting to grow and, of course, the hardy pansies have been blooming all winter! I took a photo of these because I just love that color. Talk about happy flowers!

And the shamrocks seem to be practicing for St. Patrick's Day, a huge deal in Savannah next month!

As you can see, sooner or later nature wakes up again!

A little bit of hope for those of you still dealing with blankets of snow and freezing temperatures! I hope spring comes your way soon...

Nesting...

Look what we found! A tiny pair of Carolina Wrens is building a nest in our hanging fern basket, right on our front porch. They are a joy to watch as they construct a perfect little cave. A sure sign of spring - nesting!

And that's what I'm doing with my cold - staying in my own little nest and slowly I am starting to feel better.

I hope you are all doing well and look forward to visiting your blogs again soon! I sure miss you!!

Hoping for Spring...

I am trying to force spring in our house. It's been so cold here and I am so ready for some warmer days that Daniel brought in branches of our ornamental pear, which are now in full bloom in my kitchen. And I've bought some silk flowers and place little bouquets around the house.
Then, yesterday, I got out some yarn and spring colors and knit this scarf. I guess I am in spring mode now...
If you like it, you can find it in my knitting/crocheting etsy store. Simply click here.

Hoping for a few balmy days soon... How about you?!

A Work in Progress...

Oh, this is so much fun!! Yesterday I played with a clay board I had found and did some gel medium image transfers. I had gotten the idea from watching Milliande's great video for producing weathered backgrounds. Actually, the transfers were much too good, so I had to distress them a bit and might have to do some more of that. And the colors in the uploaded picture are a bit more muted than the actual colors. It's a bit garish and I like it! Now to figure out what to use this background for...

Daniel and I have been getting ready to plant some seeds for herbs, fruits, and veggies to sprout them indoors. We've got several kinds of heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, zucchini, basil, parsley, muskmelon, and lima beans.

A few weeks ago, I sprouted some castor beans before putting them outside (they are doing very well) and took some time-lapse photos which I made into this fun little video.



I love spring time with all it's beauty, freshness, and promises! Don't you?!