Delicate Drops

Our stretch of rainy days continues. During the interludes between showers, I go out to check on our gardens. Shimmery raindrops on the bleeding heart leaves look magical!

Lots of rain ...

Lots of roses!!!

Nature isn't always pretty ...

The predator prey relationship can be downright gruesome to our eyes, but everything needs to eat! In late spring, we see skinks on our patio and pathways. Many of them quickly lose a portion of their long, shiny tails.

Adult skink beginning to regrow a lost tail-tip

Chipmunk eating a skink tail

Having never seen a skink get caught and lose its tail, I'd always thought that birds preyed on them. Today, as I gazed out the window, I witnessed this cute little chipmunk grab a skink by the tail and yank on it. The skink hobbled away with a stub of a tail remaining, and the chipmunk savored the tasty tail morsel. We have lots of chipmunks and lots of skinks, and one of them enjoys a meal at the expense of the other! 

Backyard Bunny

After a brief afternoon thunderstorm, a little cottontail rabbit showed up in our backyard and was very happy to munch on the abundant clover, of which there is more of than grass :) 

Companion Planting

With the many animal foragers we have around us, I needed a better plan for my vegetable garden this year. Deer and rabbits decimated previous gardens, mowing down beans and nibbling away at tomato and pepper plants. The solution came in pairing marigolds with my veggies, planting them both at the same time. The animals don't like the smell of marigolds and leave plants growing among them alone. So far, so good this season!

Tomato & a variety of peppers with marigold flowers 

Healthy, strong, & not nibbled!

All Grown Up

This evening just before it got dark outside, we got a visit from the twin fawn sisters born last summer ... now grown into two lovely young does. They were grazing in different parts of our back yard. One preferred greens, while the other liked flowers :)

Early Morning

Roses, Rhododendron, & Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Another glorious sunny day here today. After all the rain, the flowers are super-sized and the gardens are lush. Our roses in front are in full bloom, while our cottage roses in back are just budding, but there will be a lot of them in bloom very soon. Our single rhododendron bush is huge this year with saucer-sized clusters of pinky-purple flowers. While walking around and taking in all the floral sights, a melodic bird followed me from place to place. Surprisingly, I was able to take a fairly clear photo when the bird was in a branch of our peach tree. I discovered it was a female rose-breasted grosbeak. We don't see many grosbeaks, and it was fun to have one tag around with me!

Full bloom in front

Buds in back

Giant Rhododendron Bush

Rhododendron Flower Clusters

My buddy bird - Female Rose-Breasted Grosbeak

Good Morning Sunshine

After being sun-starved, this morning brought a glorious return of the sun ...

Peeking through the trees

Full spectrum of sunlight

Sun rays through the trees

Bathed in early morning light

Respite from the Rain

What a rainy week we've had! Every day of the past week was a rainy day. Today, we got a reprieve with a lovely, sunny Sunday. The rain greened up our world, and the plants are so lush.

Our cabin decorated in greenery

Bushes laden with flowers

Wild blackberry blossoms

Rushing Sandy Run

Fern Gulley

Our Kitty Kids

Silver and Shanti both turned 3 years old last month. Today, they enjoyed an early morning photo shoot to celebrate being the best cats ever ...

Shanti glances over her shoulder

"I know I'm gorgeous."

Silver hams it up for the camera

So many choices for what to do next

"Silver that was so funny!"

Forever buddies, Shanti & Silver bird watching together

The Azaleas Time to Shine

At this time of year, the azaleas are the brightest flowers blooming in our yard. There are bushes in our front, side, and back yard, surrounding us with color and keeping the butterflies and bees happy!

The Hummers are Here

Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Very soon after putting the feeder out, the first hummingbird of spring arrived to sip at the sugar water. This year, I hung the feeder on a tree branch in a shadier, more protected location which seems to be just right for the new arrivals. It always brings such happiness to see these tiny jewel-like birds and hear them chattering as they go about the business of being hummingbirds!

Hello there!

Today, when I was outside tending our gardens, a tiny toad popped up on the side of one of the garden beds ... so cute!

May Flower

The Lovely Lily-of-the-Valley

A Day of Firsts

In addition to seeing our first box turtle of the season today, we saw our first swallowtail butterfly!  Usually, once the azaleas are in full bloom, we see more butterflies, and we start to see hummingbirds, too. I'm keeping my eyes out for the hummers.

That Time Again!

Every spring, we look forward to seeing box turtles again as they waken from hibernation. Today was the day we came across our first turtle of the year, who'd obviously just unearthed itself from our garden and was eager to go about being part of the newly green world around it.

Just got up!

On the move

Pausing to pose

Taking it all in

Off to explore ...