Suburban Wildlife Garden: March 2008

Friday, March 21, 2008

'The Winds of March With Beauty'

Spring is in the air. This American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) and his friends come by almost daily to take a bath in my water garden.

They seem to prefer it to the birdbath; maybe to avoid the neighborhood tomcat. Here is one goldfinch balancing on my solar fountain...

My son and I went to The Natural Gardener where we bought some small ice plants that we just popped in to the left of the lavender, below...

I've hesitated to plant things before putting in a pool for my son's therapy because I know the workmen will likely stomp the plants -- not purposely, but in the line of duty, as it were. But with displays like the one below, what is a gal to do?

We saw some beautiful Texas Mountain Laurels (Sophora secundiflora) at the nursery as well. They are spectacular in Austin this year. I wish I could afford to have a goodly-sized specimen planted in my front garden to replace my crepe myrtle. Too bad they grow so slowly. I do love them as do the butterflies and birds.

We are getting ready for Easter here. Our lovely friends in Scotland -- my son's pen pal's family who we've known for over 10 years -- sent a box of Easter goodies that arrived today. What a wonderful surprise! My son opened it to find a plenthora of treats...

Mysteriously the Scooby-Doo Chocolate Egg vanished almost immediately. Heehee! There was even a package of "Scottish Wildflower Mix" for me (my friend knows me so well). Looks like there are all sorts of wonderful seeds included. [And it even meets the Worldwide Agricultural Requirements. So take that Seed Police!] We are truly blessed. I hope all of you will have a Happy Celebration as well.

Free Easter Greeting Cards.

I'm trying to keep my mind calm before my son's spinal surgery. When we lived here in 1989 I began reading the China Bayles mystery series by Susan Wittig Albert and loved it, (I still do). Recently I discovered Ms. Albert's Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter series of books and recommend them to anyone who enjoys mysteries and gardening.

These are delightful books that transport the reader directly into Miss Potter's world. I love the way some of the characters 'hear' the animals speak without realizing it. The books are a real solace for me right now as I crave peace. As you can see, they go well with a morning cup of coffee...

Some of you may know that Susan Wittig Albert has kindly agreed to join the Garden Blogger's Spring Fling for a book signing. Please take the time to check out Susan's impressive Lifescapes gardening blog as well.

Speaking of reading, I read a sort of love story on Der Spiegel recently. Seems Petra the black swan fell in love with a swan-shaped paddle boat and wouldn't leave its side. Officials in Muenster decided to bring the swan and the boat into the city zoo over the winter. Happily, Petra met her Prince Charming: a real flesh & blood white swan named Paul. Whew! You can see them here...

As my friend Nancy so aptly phrased it: "Goodbye Mr. Right Now. Hello Mr. Right!" Well said. Though is it just me or does Petra seem to look a little wistfully at Herr Paddle Boat? Ah, unrequited love can be a real bite. sigh.

Update: As of 3/26/08 Petra's 'real' swan dude seems to have left her and Petra is to be reunited with her Paddleboat once again. Read about it here.

I hope all of you have a very Happy Easter, Spring...or whatever you happen to celebrate. And for a little smile, please check out Ceasar the cat's photo from Stuffonmycat.com.

"First a howling blizzard woke us,
Then the rain came down to soak us,
And now before the eye can focus -
Crocus." ~Lilja Rogers

Monday, March 17, 2008

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I love St. Patrick's Day. It reminds me of traveling to Ireland just before my son was born. One of my very favorite movies is Waking Ned Devine. If you haven't seen it, please check it out. It's very funny. Here's a little St. Paddy's e-card with a sweet song you might enjoy...

St Patricks Day Postcards.

And now, back to gardening...the holly near my front porch has brilliant red berries right now which you see here and tiny white flowers that attract the bees.

The lavender I planted around my front garden birdbath is finally coming up. I can claim these blossoms as my own.

So far I can only see a few bluebonnet leaves peeking up from last year's batch, just left of the terracotta water dish...

I can't believe the same dianthus are still alive after almost a year. Still, I'm going to have to fill in the bed with some more plants this spring. Time to go to the Natural Gardener! :-)

No great reason to show my hose holder other than the fact that it's rather new & I like it.

In other news, my cat Lily has taken it upon herself to start a new, rather disturbing, habit called 'barbering' where she nibbles the fur from her belly and lower legs to about one millimeter in length. Here she is in all her naked-tummy glory... Oh Lily!

Yes, she is a shaven maven. The vet says her condition is not life-threatening, but we're still trying different foods at this point to see if perhaps she's developed an allergy. I wonder if she's getting ready for bikini weather. On the bright side she seems just as fat & happy as always. The photo proves the fat part for certain. Heh.

I will now leave you with something hopefully a bit more in keeping with the holiday; a little Loreena McKennitt...

"May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you, and all your heart might desire." ~Irish Blessing

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

My Sister's Visit

My sister came to visit us last weekend. She's actually toying with the idea of moving to Austin so we showed her some of the sights within the limited time she had with us. Here are some nice things we saw while she visited.

One of our first stops was Georgetown, Texas. We admired this unique flower bike-rack...

One of the most beautiful buildings in Historic Georgetown is the Old Masonic Lodge...

Near the Town Square was a sweet secret cottage tucked away on a wooded lot...

The next day we took her to see the view from Mount Bonnell. From up here you can see Town Lake...

Below is the ubiquitous tree-on-a-cliff photo. Yes, it's a cursed cedar, but it still looks lovely...

On Sunday we dropped by Wimberly, Texas for a little shopping. We always have to visit the whimsical metal animals by Lloyd Burns. I liked these saber-toothed tigers...