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Fresh snow (strange I think that's good):
New boots (just in time for said fresh snow):
One relieved owner & happy kitty home from the vet hospital (in matching kitty carrier):
Yellow hyacinths (forced bulbs that began chilling on Jan 5th):
The weekend is kicking off with promise ~ hope it stays that way!!
Late yesterday afternoon, we had to rush our sweet kitty Regis to the vet for emergency bladder stone surgery:
shown above wrapped in a pink boa
Thankfully, he is recovering nicely today (tho still in the hospital) so now I can share some far less stressful news. Blooming a full ten days earlier they did in 2010 ~ the winter aconites (Eranthis hyemalis)!
If you don't have this tiny bulb planted in your garden, I highly recommend adding it. Last year, it even beat the snowdrops to bloom!! I discovered it while searching for early bloomers several years ago and am so glad I did. Anything to add color to the winter landscape and speed up spring, right?
This little bulb is an heirloom, dating back to the 1500's. It's kind of cool to think I have something growing in my garden that's been around so long.
One thing for sure, now that I know about it, I'll never be without it.
I did remember to count more than one day! Actually, it was pretty easy since the most bird activity in our garden occurs during the morning hours ~ we simply counted while we ate breakfast. :-)
In no particular order and no numbers ~ since the count varied the three days I participated:
House Finches (in abundance) ~ here's one taking a bath Saturday morning:
Red winged Blackbirds
English Sparrows
Blue Jays (the pair that nest in our pine tree wait for me to get up every morning so they can collect their daily ration of peanuts!)
Flicker
Downy Woodpecker
Goldfinches (A visit with the owner of our local Wild Bird Center on Sunday was interesting. She said she had goldfinches in full summer plummage on her feeders! It's really early for that ~ she was attributing the change to our mild winter weather. However, I have not made that observation ~ as you can see, the ones visiting my feeders are still in winter plummage)
Robins
Juncos
Mountain Chickadee
Eurasian Collared Doves
Unfortunately, I did not see anything out of the ordinary. Everything on my list are birds that visit my feeders/garden on a daily basis. Other than red-winged blackbirds, I did not see any spring migrators either ~ like the white crowned sparrows I've had in previous years.
Today or tomorrow I will submit my results ~ I bet many of you will be doing the same??
is one of the final Amaryllis to bloom in my collection. (I have one more, 'Razzle Dazzle,' but it's not quite open yet.)
'Dancing Queen' joined the group last year when I thought I was purchasing 'Aphrodite.' I wonder why it's so hard to keep bulb labels straight?? Oh well, she's a beauty so no way I could be too upset about the mix-up.
'Dancing Queen' is the "frilliest" of all my double Amaryllis. It seems like she has more petals than any of the others for some reason or maybe that's just my imagination?
Doesn't it look like there are layers and layers of them??
Completely off topic but very pertinent, today is the start of the GBBC ~ it will be my second year participating (I hope I can remember to count more than one day!) If you're interested, click the link above to download instructions and/or regional bird checklists. It's pretty easy and doesn't take very much time. I'm not anticipating seeing anything unusual but it would be nice if that happened!
Yes indeed ~ the show is not over! There are still Amaryllis waiting to bloom. Isn't it grand? Spring bulbs poking up outdoors while the parade of indoor blooms marches on.
Miniature Amaryllis 'Green Goddess' is the latest in the succession. Photographed below, lit up by the morning sun streaming thru the blind slats:
And then again, without the glare of the sun to detract/distract from her pristine white petals:
If you look closely, it appears 'Green Goddess' was photographed in front of a mirror ~ see the backside of the opposite blossom in the background? A cool optical illusion, wouldn't you say?
The "throat" is what I love the most:
Described in the catalog (where I ordered the bulb) as "chartreuse," it's the fresh, spring green color we are all longing to see this time of year. Last year, ' Green Goddess' bloomed in December ~ I think I like it better blooming later. It seems like the perfect prelude to spring and the perfect complement to snowdrops (the only bulb blooming outdoors right now).
The blooms on my Amaryllis should all be over in a couple weeks, right when the outdoor bulbs begin in earnest. Even tho it occurred more by accident than good planning, it was timed perfectly, don't you think?
Yesterday was one of the nicest Valentine's we've had in a while (weatherwise). It was warm enough to do a few gardening chores which makes me a happier person all the way around. I'm hoping to get back outdoors today to cut my grasses back (and work off some chocolate!) My daughter received a beautiful arrangement which brightened both our days too:
I also managed to squeeze in a trip to my local Lowes store between chores and errands. My Mom has been talking about orchids lately but she doesn't have the best track record for keeping them alive. (sorry to "out" you Mom) When I spotted two beautiful Phal orchids for $7.49 each (on the clearance rack), I figured they were perfect to help her try again. I better get them out of here soon tho before I get attached!
The yellow spotted one above has two bloom stalks, one of which hasn't developed buds yet and the other just has these two flowers open (with eight more buds to go). I couldn't figure out why it was being clearanced?
The other Phal was pink:
and a bit more "bloomed out" than the yellow spotted one. Since the blooms last a long time I'm guessing it will still be beautiful for quite a while too.
See why I'm worried about getting attached!?
I don't think I've ever gone in that store without visiting the clearance racks and I'm certainly glad I stopped by yesterday. All the patio furniture was out too which got me even more excited for spring. Every year I think outdoor furniture styles get better and better. Some of it is now so nice looking I'm tempted to redo my patio. We'll see tho. I'm not buying anything yet!
One last thing to share, in honor of Valentine's Day, some "guilt-free" lollipops I recently had published:
I think next year, I should just stick to these and leave the chocolate alone! How fun would that be tho???
I feel a little "rusty" navigating around my blog this morning. It hasn't been that long of an absence but I guess long enough? Last week was insanely busy for me and also crazy cold ~ giving me neither the time to blog or the inclination. I'm happy this week is an entirely different scenario, it also helps that we're experiencing another of our crazy temperatures swings ~ this time in the mild direction ~ 60's all week!! The snow evaporated almost overnight and the garden has a decidedly spring feel to it. I'm itching to get out there and do some spring clean up even though it's probably a smidge too early.
I did hook up my pond spouter and filter yesterday tho ~ that always makes it feel like spring. It feels and looks like spring indoors too thanks to the hyacinth bulbs I removed from the frig last week. I have them sitting on the kitchen windowsill (where I can smell them while I wash dishes), here's the purple one, which is the furthest along:
I've grabbed it off the sill several times in the last two days just to bury my nose in the blossoms.
That's the one thing missing from the Amaryllis bulbs that you know I adore ~ fragrance!
'Exotica,' sitting in another window, on her third bloom scape:
If they smelled as good as they looked, I'm absolutely positive they'd be the perfect bulb.
I am hoping to be around more this week and I'm sure there will be a lot popping up in the garden with a week of mild weather. It's going to be fun walking around looking for newly emerging bulbs!!!
P.S. Happy Valentine's day too!!
We've been experiencing some of our coldest weather of the winter since the calendar flipped over to February. Remember the minus 20 degree temps I posted about last week? Today we're in another deep freeze ~ single digits with overnight temperatures below zero again. ugh.
When it gets this cold, I feel like a slug and certainly don't enjoy being outdoors. I force myself to keep clean water in the birdbath (it's heated) and make sure the feeders stay full. I know this is no time to think of myself and neglect them. Something new, coinciding with the cold ~ a Downy woodpecker has been making daily appearances at the suet cage:
Apologies for the photo ~ it's not the best quality because the suet feeder is at the back of my garden plus it's taken thru the kitchen window glass.
I am happy to welcome him as a regular to the garden and hope he continues to visit even after the temperatures moderate. It is cheering to look out & see him so often.
I've had a lot of non-gardening activities occupying my time lately so maybe it's okay that it's cold? Did I really just type that?? Helps me stay focused and not want to wander outside instead. This weekend is supposed to be much nicer so I plan to check on those snowdrops plus look for any other signs of new life/activity. I hope it's better gardening where you are?
Blooms again ~ the high note on an otherwise, dreary, snow-flurrying Saturday.
Last summer I separated four bulblets from her too! None of those have developed buds yet (unlike Charismas did) so I'm guessing it will be another year before they bloom.
That's okay ~ I think I have my share of Amaryllis!
This morning I thought it would be fun to line up all the currently blooming bulbs on the fireplace hearth and take a "group photo:"
l to r: 'Siren,' 'Susan,' 'Charisma,' 'Exotica' and a snippet of 'Red Pearl'
Easiest multiple subject shot ever! I loved seeing them grouped together too ~ normally they are scattered throughout my home. If only I weren't using the fireplace nightly, I would leave them here.
No chance of turning off the fireplace tho ~ we're supposed to have more snow and arctic air over the next four days. ugh. I guess it's back to your original positions bulbs!
Although, when several bulbs are in bloom at the same time, like I have right now, it's the perfect opportunity to try cross-pollinating, something I've always wanted to do. I think I read it takes four years to produce flowers from an Amaryllis seed? That would take a lot of patience but the reward of creating your own unique variety would be very fulfilling. I wonder which (if any) would be fun/interesting to co-mingle?? Hmmmm...
opened its first bud this morning.
Just in time to save me from going completely stir crazy. My daughter and I have been inside the house for three days straight (our absolute max limit) because of the weather. Monday, we had snow and high temperatures in the single digits. Yesterday, daytime temperatures never even got above zero and the prediction for last nights low was 20 below. Mercury readings that make wimps like us shudder! My thermometer doesn't seem to be reading correctly so I'm not sure if we actually hit that low or not? Maybe I don't want to know??
Today is forecasted to be in the single digits again but the good news is that we go up from here. :-)
Hard to believe I was sitting outside, in my shorts, enjoying 65 degree temperatures just last Friday! The bees were out with me, looking for anything they could find. Feeling bad for them (two snowdrops don't go far) I shared my tulip bouquet (just like I've done in previous years.) I was almost ready to pitch it anyway and, at this time of year, they aren't picky about "past the peak" blooms. In very short order, every tulip was swarmed with bees:
I don't see temperatures that nice in our extended forecast but at least we all had that one fabulous day. A break like that goes a long way in the middle of winter...
And so does a gorgeous Moth (phalaenopsis) orchid bloom!