Followed by a trip to San Francisco. It’s difficult to go right now because of all that needs to be done in the garden.
Plus, look who showed up yesterday.
Our first bluebird of the season.
And look who I saw in the back yard.
We don’t often see the foxes in the daytime. Better keep my little dogs inside.
Never a dull moment around here.
Right Now at Bumblebee
It’s official. Dawn over at Owl Hollow News won the Grocery Gardening drawing. Congratulations, Dawn. I hope you enjoy the book.
What’s on your plate today? The weather here is sunny and at least not frigid. I’ll continue my early spring garden cleanup and also clean and repair bird houses. The bluebirds have made their return and are already checking out the real estate. What a joy to watch over my Sunday morning coffee.
Robin
I find this one of the most anxiety-producing times of the year in the garden.
As I head outside and begin the winter cleanup, the whole summer garden thing just seems incredibly overwhelming. There’s so much to do. And I’m just one person out there. Honestly, I felt like sitting down to have a good cry about mid-afternoon. But I managed to put one foot in front of the other and actually got a good amount of tidy-up work done. Tomorrow will be more of the same.
Thank you everyone who left a comment explaining how you approach reading and leaving comments on blog posts. The cumulative input has been extremely helpful. The overall consensus is that you’ll read comments if it’s an interesting discussion. You don’t usually subscribe to comments because it clogs up your email box. And you’ll only check back to see if the author has responded if you’ve left a question. That about sums it up.
On another note, I have selected by random number generator the winner of Grocery Gardening. She’s been notified. When she responds back, I’ll announce who she is.
Thank you everyone!
Robin Ripley
My lawn is a wreck.
I went outside to re-fill the bird feeders—AGAIN. The parts of my lawn that don’t look like the frozen tundra resemble a swamp. With every step I take my foot sinks down at least an inch. Walking to the feeders I can see my path in the mud.
I also see that we lost one small ornamental tree by the driveway as well as one of my rose trellises, which succumbed to the weight of the snow.
Spring better hurry up and get here. I have a lot of work to do.
Robin
Are you sick of everyone talking about the weather? I am too, but here goes…
There is so much snow on the ground, I don’t know when it’ll all melt. On top of that, much of it has iced to the extent that moving it from one place to another requires a pick ax. Walking in the back yard to fill the bird feeders is like walking on a bumpy ice rink. There are trees and bushes that need a bit of first aid to remove partially broken branches, but I don’t dare risk skating across the ice with my pruners. Not yet anyway.
Still, there is hope. Although we’re expecting snow flurries today, the weather should warm up into the forties in the next few days, providing some melting relief.
But really, all this unrelieved WHITE is getting to me!
Robin
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April 4th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
We sure don’t get that kind of animal around here. I do have two families of bluebirds nesting though. I’m really enjoying them. I’m kept busy filling the birdfeeders.
Brenda
April 4th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Looking forward to having you in Austin. Maybe we can spot a coyote to go with your fox.
April 4th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Where can I see wild blue birds? I’m in Chula Vista, California, no blue birds here. Norine
April 4th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Hi Norine,
Here’s a link to the San Diego County Audubon Society:
http://www.sandiegoaudubon.org/
Their county bird checklist includes both the Mountain and Western Bluebirds. Looks like they have some field trips coming up too and you could contact them about the possibility of seeing bluebirds on any of these field trips.
April 4th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Hey Robin,
Any visits or reports of Purple Martins yet? Those gourds look pretty inviting. Just make sure the tree swallows don’t get in there first!
April 4th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Nice to chat with you at dinner tonight! So glad you stopped on your way to SF!
April 4th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Hope we have more time to talk tomorrow. Fancy our both having Spitfires in our youth.
April 5th, 2008 at 8:28 am
Do you get bluebrids every year? That is a great picture. We had a couple of bluebirds nest the first year we put up a bird house. It was so nice to have them around. We’ve seen a few “couples” check out the house this spring but don’t have ny takers yet.
April 6th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
My husband takes pictures and we know how hard it is to get a good picture of a fox. We did when we lived in a state park in Florida at night. I love your blog and sure will be back
Donna Godfrey
http://ramblingandstitching.blogspot.com
(you can see a few of his photos here)
April 6th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Wow, what great pictures–although scary for your little dogs, for sure!
Hope you had a grand time in Austin, and an even better time in San Fran.
April 7th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
oooohhh I love your picture of the fox, we had a fox family last year living somewhere along the creek behind our property. Yesterday I saw some coyote chasing deer here in(Indiana).
Karen
April 7th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
we just saw a coyote, grazing in a nearby meadow. i would rather see them from the car!
while i love wildlife, it makes me nervous to think about falling asleep on the chaise in the gardens!
April 7th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
That fox is a bit scary. Hopefully you scared him. Your gourd houses look inviting. Do you get many different types of birds?
April 8th, 2008 at 6:38 am
I should send you our bad boy cat. He’ll chase that fox off your property. We feed a wild cat but had 3 foxes who also frequented the feed bowl. Our cat snuck up on one, attacked and raked his claws on the fox’s leg. Left bloodstains on our walk and driveway. Trouble is … he would probably attack your dogs too although he seems to get along fine with our shar pei terrier mix with a few fake feints thrown in.
We wanted to put up a purple martin house but was disappointed when I read you needed a large field or open space to attract the martins.
May 17th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
we have had a family of foxes living here this spring – the babies and mama were playing on the front lawn every morning while we had breakfast… it was delightful dancing on their hind legs – if we had a dog – we wouldnt see them.. our cat is a bit of a monster too tho and has left fox fur on the lawn.