Cacophony of Life

I'm going on about 4 years with a certified wildlife habitat yard in a fully populated suburban area.

That means that the wildlife have food, water, cover, and shelter for raising their young. Some are a pleasure to have around, some are just doing the things that they are required to do to survive, and some are just plain weird....but all so strangely beautiful.

You might be sitting on the deck with a cold one, thinking you are all alone.....but no....there is a whole micro world going on if you just open your eyes to see it.

There is just so much flying, hovering, creeping, leaping, fluttering, oozing, hopping, spinning, munching, biting, chewing, stinging, eating, pooping and sleeping going on all the time. The births and deaths.....living and dying....and all the crazy mating rituals right there, possibly in plain view.

So take your kids, your husband or wife, a friend or just yourself outside and sit and observe and listen and live a little beyond the walls of your house.....it will make you smile!

And you might find you are bringing something interesting and entertaining to this "other" world.

And don't be surprised at what unusual and cute wildlife might show up at any time...........

If you plant it they will come......

I have just taken a tremendous leap into a new decade (for me). I didn't really want to except that the alternative was something I wanted even less. Aging has always been something my parents and grandparents did.....but not me.....heaven forbid! I still tear up the AARP card invitations that come almost weekly in the mail because it just makes me feel like I'm taking a stand and being that rebellious teenager and that I'll just show them......and as long as I don't look in the mirror I can almost convince myself (but the spinach in the teeth can be quite embarrassing).

And I still daydream of joining a summer league softball team and looking really good in a bathing suit....sigh....
But...the good news is that time seems to slow down or stop in the garden and in my little bitty slice of heaven surrounded by suburbia I am ageless!

So....my garden got a lot of fun birthday presents this year since I was in birthday denial and my sweet family and friends weren't quite sure how to deal with that....or they tricked me somehow by giving me really cool gifts to put in my favorite place...hmmmmmmmm...

Now that things are starting to speed up in the blooming department, I am anticipating my winged friends showing up more and more often. I've got my passionvine planted and established, my dutchman's pipevine has kicked into gear and I have two more coming in the mail. I've got pentas, salvias, cannas, hyssops, catmints, scaveola, red hot pokers, cleome, basil, cosmos, mexican milkweed, and oh so much more. The sun is shining, the bees are happily doing their thing and I am just waiting.......

So dear friends, the fennel is waiting.....the dill is available.....the rue is anticipating.....It's time to Party!

Oh and one more really cool unexpected birthday surprise showed up on my front porch........

Best birthday ever!

Monday...the best day ever!

I take Mondays off from my day job because what else makes Monday the best day ever....and it gives me one day to recover from our crazy weekends and catch up on things that have fallen by the wayside.....like my blog.
I've proudly crossed off several items on my "yeah right, you can get all this done in one day" list and I am now sitting on my deck, with the unbelievable sound of thunder rolling in.....a severe thunderstorm watch has been issued until 10 pm says our favorite meteorologist, Pete Delkus. Birds and squirrels  are hitting up all the feeding hotspots and don't seem to be too concerned about the impending storm and I am contemplating adding a glass of wine to completely make this an absolute perfect situation...to make it phenomenal would require a margarita but my sweetie is away at work and he is the best margarita maker around. So......wine it is! 

I'm pretty sure winter is finally over, at least in this neck of the woods. The garden is revving its engine getting ready to jump into gear and race into nonstop beauty and I can hardly wait. Things have been greening up, with some sporadic burst of blooms here and there.....but just you wait.....

I've been consulting with some local garden experts to see what kind of changes we will be making this year.

 And one of them is the Olla......our experiment to see if it makes a difference in the water situation....you know.....DROUGHT! Plus, we should all be aware of this world's resources and be as conscientious as possible. This little item will be buried in the bed up to its neck and filled with water.....it should slowly seep out and spread to the thirsty little roots.

We have almost reached the point that we can eliminated the lawn mower, except for two small patches of grass in the front and the "alley". But maybe we can convince the goats to take over!

Well, my presence is required in the house as the hours fly by and dinner time approaches.......my clever dogs are always kind enough to keep me informed of that fact.

So I will bid you adieu and leave you with just a few more minutes of garden time.........
just close the gate when you leave......

and no smoking please..........