First daffodil

This morning, we have fix or six daffodils starting to bloom. James said he saw them yesterday. Gray, dreary day out there today, but I stepped out long enough to shoot a few photos. Last year, the first one bloomed February 12 so they're a bit late this year.

It should be a beautiful spring with lots of wildflowers since we've had so much rain in the past few months. Such a blessing! And a lot to look forward to.....

It's beginning to look a LOT like spring!

No rain for a few days, and warm sunshine this afternoon. So I got out with my shears and trimmed trimmed trimmed. It was VERY popular with the bees!

For more than an hour, I cut back dead blue mistflower, salvia branches, Mexican bush sage, Indigo spires and turk's cap. I could already see some green here and there, peeking out from under the leaves and debris. Wonderful!!



But first, I noticed this lone dandelion bloom in the back

Nearly time for purple martins!

Word has it that purple martin scouts have already been spotted in Texas! (Check out the Scout Arrival-Texas page at the Purple Martin Conservation Association website.) That bit of exciting news prompted James and I to get out our house and get it ready yesterday. First thing we did...actually, James did...was to switch out the entrance doors. Last year, our Coates home had half-moon entrance holes, which deter starlings (but not sparrows, darn it). However, the local purple martins didn't know how to use them so we didn't get any tenants. (We watched some try to get in but they couldn't so they left, frustrated.) This year, we're trying the traditional round holes, which we've got capped until martins arrive.




So our house is officially up! In the meantime, you can read a recent article I wrote on purple martins in the January 2010 issue of Texas Co-op Power magazine: "Purple Martin Landlords."

P.S. On Facebook, I'm a fan on the Purple Martin page. Which is where I found the Purple Martin Research Group. Right now, I'm in the process of joining the forum...

Freeze aftermath

Some plants in our Wildscape fared well after recent freezes. Not so for others.....

The real test will be next spring when we find out what survived!

Agatha's back!

This afternoon, I heard a TERRIBLE commotion in the Meadow. Bluejays, wrens, titmice–they were all screaming at the top of their lungs while I sat in front of my computer, trying to write about beetles. Hmm, snake? Owl? Curiosity got the best of me, and I pushed away from my desk. I trekked outside, peered into the live oaks and scanned the branches. Meanwhile, the uproar continued. Some birds gathered near the owl box. Must be an owl, I thought.

This evening after dusk, James went outside with camera in hand. Sure enough, a little eastern screech owl perched in the box. Agatha! It has to be her! She probably returned a week or so ago when I heard the birds mobbing another time but couldn't find anything in the trees when I went outside to investigate.

Our eastern screech owl couple will roost in our two boxes during the winter. Nesting doesn't start up again until next March or so.

Lovely day

Mexican mint marigold

"Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, LOVELY DAY!" Remember that old song by Bill Withers? Give it a listen, then go outside! The day is truly beautiful. And so are our golden flowers in bloom! The Mexican mint marigold's looks wonderful, and so does our copper canyon daisy. Wow, the butterflies are everywhere on it!




P.S. I asked James if he remembered the song, "Lovely Day," and he just gave me a blank look. Even after I "sang" a few bars. So then I played it for him on the Internet. Nothing, nada. "You don't remember THAT?" I asked, astounded. "You've never heard that song before?"

James shook his head. "Did they play it on AM?" he offered. "I never listened to that kind of stuff. It was ROCK for me."

Alas. We may have gone to high school together back when, but we were definitely on different planets musically speaking. (Pssst, I confess. I loved the Carpenters. James, I'm pretty sure, was a Metallica man.)

Lovely day to you!

Serenity and hope

We've had more rains, which is such a blessing. Tiny red columbine seedlings have sprung up everywhere beneath their "parents." I'm not sure if they'll survive frosts and freezes that are just around the corner. But do they do offer a lot of hope for a beautiful spring. Our Wildscape is so lush now, thanks to all the moisture brought by nature. What a difference rain makes! We barely kept our plants alive through the dry summer with faucet water. Then the rains came, and they seemed to rejoice with growth and GREEN GREEN GREEN! God is Good!