Happy Mother’s Day from my Garden! What better place to be than outside on a lovely day. The garden is starting to show its most beautiful side during this time of spring. The heavenly fragrance of lilac blossoms attracted the first western swallowtail of the season. […]
In my last post I highlighted the male black-headed grosbeak. Here are some photographs of a female black-headed grosbeak. Her overall appearance is much more plain than her male counterpart. Her body is buff colored and her wings have white markings. The white stripes on […]
Every morning when I wake up I thank my lucky stars! When we moved to Portland almost 16 years ago I wasn’t sure I’d like it. But sometimes we don’t have a choice where life takes us. In the end it turned out to be […]
Meet Dingo, our “granddogter”! One of our sons adopted her from a rescue organization nearly two years ago. She’ a bit of a mutt, including German Shepard, possibly some Shar Pei and a whole lot of lovable. Like all happy dogs, Dingo loves to search […]
For many years we rarely got more than a handful of American Goldfinches in our garden. I’d buy some thistle seed, fill the feeder and wait … … until the thistle seeds finally got moldy. Since just about all birds love black oil sunflower seeds […]
Many, many years ago I bought a small package of pineapple lily bulbs at Fred Meyer. They were half off, so I figured it was worth trying to grow them. They’ve done quite well and bloom year after year. They’ve even survived a few ice […]
Hummers are resourceful when procuring their nectar. They are very agile and can fly in any direction, including upside! They weigh about 3 grams or approximately the weight of a penny. Look at her standing on the Rose of Sharon blossom! It’s just so much […]
One sign that spring is springing in my garden is when the daffodils start blooming. The sun has been shining a little more, but it’s still quite cold some days. I look forward to spending more time outside in the sun. 🙂
Yes, another hummingbird favorite growing in my garden! This red salvia is also loved by bees, bumblebees and butterflies. Whenever the hummers discover an especially tasty blossom … … they stay focused on the flower and stick their beaks all the way in. Until they […]
If hummingbirds could talk, they’d probably say that they love salvias. This black and blue salvia is another hummingbird favorite. I love how the hummers never miss the flower openings, no matter how tiny or oddly shaped. My garden and the visiting creature always have […]
Hummingbirds, just like butterflies, love Alstroemeria flowers! When these flowers start to bloom, this invasive patch of blossoms gets quite busy. My alstroemeria started out in a two inch pot and that has taken over a large flower bed. In moments I wish I hadn’t […]
All of last summer we had this personalized gardening service! First I thought there were just two of them. A big one and a small one. Mostly they stayed in the grassy area where they’d nibble on what isn’t much of a lawn. They happily […]
When the weather people announced snow for Portland last week, I got excited. “Lucky me”, I thought! “I’ll build a snowman!” 😉 Anticipating cold temps, I plugged in my hummer feeder heater to keep the nectar from freezing. Soon, snowflakes were falling, a frigid gorge […]
All summer long my garden gets visited by these beautiful Western Swallowtails. They very much love the butterfly bushes I planted, but really go crazy over Peruvian lilies. The swallowtails love basking in the hot afternoon sun and feed on the Alstroemeria’s nectar. Once they land […]
post covid day dreams into the wild blue yonder here, there, everywhere. Some of the things I have really missed this year are: my annual California road trip to connect with friends I’ve known half of my life spending time at my favorite beach taking […]
Sparkly tree topper resting, guarding, protecting, “I’m not sharing today” I recently put out a hummingbird feeder for those who stay over winter. One feisty hummer spotted it right away right and now fiercely guards “his feeder”. Then I put out a second hoping other […]
Deer visit throughout the year, but in early spring we get to see young fawns. These two weren’t afraid but some scamper off into the forest when they spot me. Have a peaceful weekend and stay healthy and safe! 🙂
“Can you see me now?” Hummingbirds never cease to amaze me! There’s an unbelievable amount of energy packed into these tiny birds. They appear seemingly out of nowhere, feast on their favorite flowers and then … they disappear again. Just like that! Sometimes if I’m […]
in cahoots with muddy boots 