February 23~2017

I have found yet another buried creature....this little guy was inside the fenced back yard. I was loosening the soil and removing weeds. I thought I  had hit a stone....And up he came. He's metal and happy to be back above ground. How many more lie hidden below the dirt......

February 23~2017

Spring comes to North Carolina

Test your vision....Find the Hummingbird in this picture.

Did you find him??

I love this picture. Andrew and Jess spent a day wandering around the city of San Francisco last Saturday when they spotted this little guy. Now, for the 

pièce de résistance....

A hummingbird caught at the moment of takeoff! Wonderful shot Andrew!

February 18th, 2017

The Tiniest Violets I have ever seen.....

They are scattered throughout the lawns....

Looking up into our Magnolia Tree. This tree won't blossom for several months.

It's interesting how a limb of the magnolia is actually being swallowed by the tree trunk.

The Tulip Magnolia blossoms are opening....

I'll be keeping an eye on that bird nest to see if whatever bird nested there last comes back.

The Daffodils are just about ready to open:)

February 12th, 2017

February 11th, 2017

                                       The Giant Woolly Bear

While clearing brush I found this large ball of spines...you can't see it in this picture but there are red rings in between the spines. He is about three inches long.

This is a better picture....found on the web.

 He will become the Giant Leopard Moth

 Average wing span about three inches.

2/9/17

So this tree is in our neighbors yard....Neighbor on Gainor Street. This is most likely a Tulip Magnolia Tree. There isn't a leaf on it yet....all blossoms...thousands upon thousands of blossoms that are just about to explode into color. I'm hoping some of them drop on my lawn:)

See the birds nest?

2/9/17

This bush has had orange berries on it since the fall but they are getting larger now....drying out or something...

I should know the name of this tree/bush....but, I don't. It has new growth...see below....but it looks like small leaves and not a blossom. That is the chicken netting...

2/9/17

Another bush about to burst into blossom. I don't know the name of this one either. Those buds were covered in a layer of ice at one point in the winter....amazing how they make it through. 

You can see the bush is covered with them

2/9/17

This is my bird nesting house~there is wool, string, cotton (the real thing) Baki's hair (I wonder how birds feel about cat hair:) coco fiber....but, not dryer lint...rumor has it that falls apart in a nest. 

House by Andrew

February 9th, 2016~Sunny and in the sixties but very windy, so chilly.

 I am not sure what these are yet but there are about a half dozen of them around the yard. They are all just starting to bloom.

February 8th 2017

 Baki does his best to escape into the yard that is not enclosed:( Here he is spotting the Calico Kitty....

Yes, that is a special cut he is sporting...

Beetle

There are these big black hard shelled beetles, about an inch long, in the tree stump I am slowly breaking apart on the side yard. Anyone know what they are? 

February 8th, 2017

It's sunny and seventy degrees in the shade.

 I have a plethora of stones in the backyard. So I made a flower bed outside the enclosed backyard. It will look better when the flowers come up.

February 2, 2017

So here is some foolishness....This is a four foot long cement block that is supposed to be covering the access to under the house. I was clearing the bushes away from the house and found it opened. The last one under the house was a plumber....Imagine what might like to live under there... Cat's....skunks....raccoons....rattlesnakes....cottonmouths....alligators...homeless folks....And what if I close it and something/one is in there?

:(

February 2, 2017

I think the chickens are enjoying the milder winter here. 

February 2, 2017

 The recovery continues....

AND...

Another treasure found! Though he doesn't look happy in this picture I know he is delighted to be back above ground. I found him half under the roots and dirt of the low lying bushes above....see him on the left in that picture? He's big. 

February 2, 2017

Our Stray Kitty....I think she might be pregnant....Though I feed her twice a day she still doesn't trust me and will barely tolerate being pet...