Thursday, April 29, 2010

Pansies and ----- rocks?

I can't resist picking up a bag of rocks from the beach when I am in Nova Scotia. Each one is soooooo nice! The rocks had been sitting untidly in a heap on my boardwalk. When I planted my pots of pansies there were some empty spots so I decided to fill them with the rocks.

I was happy with the results. Doesn't this look nice with the rocks on the edge?



Here is the same pot after the flowers have grown a little.

Alea at "Premeditated Leftovers "(one of my favorite blogs) told me about Flaunt Your Flowers. So for the first time I am joining Tootsie at Flaunt Your Flowers Friday. She has a lovely blog and I look forward to more "Flower Fridays." And thanks Alea for the hint!

I'm also joining Shana at "Blaze 'n Crochet" for a blog hop called Friday Follow.


Friday Follow

Friday, April 23, 2010

A Front Door and a Porch!

I was on a nature walk today and focusing on tiny flowers on the ground. Then I happened to look up and saw this. Can't you imagine this as the front door to some bird's or animal's house and there is even a porch! Lovely!


So remember - look up too. You might be rewarded by seeing something unusual.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Spring in Gordonsville, VA

Mr. B had a dentist appointment and I went along for moral support. My support did not extend to going inside! Instead I spent the time taking pictures. The early heat has really rushed the blooms, including the trees.

The two pictures on the right are of the Presbyterian Church. All the photos were taken on Main Street.

I'm joining Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Valentine Rose

This lovely miniature rose bush was our gift to each other on Valentines Day. Mr. B and I found it at Lowes on the half price rack and "splurged." And who says romance is gone after forty-four years of marriage? Ha! It brought some much needed color to our sunny window sill in the midst of a very snowy winter in Virginia.

It bloomed and thrived, but all too soon the blooms were finished.

It continued to live on that windowsill until warm weather.

Now, minus its red paper wrapper, it is basking in the heat and sunshine on the back deck. It has put on new growth and seems very happy. I'm hoping it will bloom again.

Has anyone had luck with getting a rose like this to live and continue to bloom? Any chance it will be blooming next Valentines day?

Sunday, April 11, 2010

We aren't the only ones who live here!

I often hear the screeching cry (kee-ahh) of a hawk in my yard. One spring a pair had nested in our back yard very close to the house but I never saw more than a head poking above the nest. So one morning recently while I was enjoying my hammock and a good book, I heard the familiar cry (actually I am hearing it as I type this). I looked into the trees to find the source - and I found it! I excitedly ran to get my camera and here is the result.

After studying the pictures and the bird book, I think this is a Red Shouldered Hawk. Notice the striped tail and wings and the reddish color on the breast. He is one of the larger hawks.

He (or she?) very obligingly sat for about fifteen minutes. We had just had three days and nights of heavy rain and I wonder if he was drying himself in the sun. He kept holding his wings out and spreading his tail. These pictures were made from my front porch at a distance of 200 yards using my optical zoom.


I often hear and see him fly across my front yard and I hear him in the woods. Sometimes I hear him in the trees but just can't spot him. Seeing him that morning was really special! It reminded me that Mr. B and I aren't the only ones who live on this spot!

See what the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has to say about the Red Shouldered Hawk. Be sure to listen to the cry.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Ever feel like your house is too small?

The world's smallest house is for sale in Toronto, Canada. Measuring just a little over 7 feet wide and 47 feet long, this very cute house is literally squeezed in between its neighbors.

Boasting 312 square feet, there is a living room, a kitchen, a full sized bath, a bedroom and a back yard. It is selling for 110,000 pounds.

Need a weekend place in town? I have been to Toronto and found it to be a very nice place.

Think how large your house would seem when you get home!