Bees were happily flying all about the andromeda shrub in front of my house. My daughter was afraid of the bees, but I told her they were much more interested in the flowers than in her.
Basil and Oregano have Germinated, May 2009
I look forward to making pesto with all the basil I have in my tray. I put in some oregano seeds, too; I do not know what I am going to do with this much oregano. I am working on converting all of my front yard into perennials (with some annuals each year, some shrubs already there) and doing away with trying to establish grass without weeds. Maybe I’ll plant some of the oregano there. Some of my neighbors have no grass at all in their front yards (and instead have ground cover and perennials); others dutifully maintain the green, bright strips of lawn.
I am going to challenge myself and hopefully you to take a look at nature. What is going on in your area? Is it spring in your part of the world or are you heading into cold weather. Take a little walk….. look at something you might never had paid attention to..a flower…a plant..an animal…What changes are taking place?..Is your garden starting to come to life again?..Step outside and close your eyes. What do you hear? …take a deep breath…What do you smell?
I’d really like to know how my blogger friends feel about what they observe in nature. Post a photo..a poem..artwork or a even few words about what you see and how it made you feel…
Robin Red Breast, photograph taken in May 2009A Sparrow Sings to Me, photograph taken May 2009House sparrow in the tree, photograph May 2009
I finally got a 75-300mm zoom lens for my camera, and I can photograph…BIRDS! I sent my “exotic” bird photos off to Michelle, and she told me I had captured a robin and a sparrow. Well, at least now I know what an American robin and a house sparrow look like. Thank you, Michelle, for your inspiration! And a local birder expert just informed me: “The house sparrows are both males. Females don’t have that black in front.”
I am going to challenge myself and hopefully you to take a look at nature. What is going on in your area? Is it spring in your part of the world or are you heading into cold weather. Take a little walk….. look at something you might never had paid attention to..a flower…a plant..an animal…What changes are taking place?..Is your garden starting to come to life again?..Step outside and close your eyes. What do you hear? …take a deep breath…What do you smell?
I’d really like to know how my blogger friends feel about what they observe in nature. Post a photo..a poem..artwork or a even few words about what you see and how it made you feel…
Focusing on trees that are changing in the spring, here’s a photo of a cherry blossom on my neighbor’s tree. I love the green, yellow and blue that I achieved in the background of this photo.
Another photo of a cherry blossom is presented.
My little bald cypress tree is growing and thriving. The leaves are now green, but last fall they had a bright orange brown hue (bald cypress is the tree in foreground):
You may recall that I initially thought this tree in Donaldson Park was a red bud tree, but in fact it was identified as a red maple. The photo above shows a red bud tree that is growing in front of my neighbor’s home.
The red bud tree looks so pretty in the spring; I think the red is of a purplish shade.
Some birds have built a nest in our air-conditioner. We don’t know why or how they fit in that tiny space, but we sometimes hear them tweeting in there during the day. My neighbor thinks they are sparrows.
I am going to challenge myself and hopefully you to take a look at nature. What is going on in your area? Is it spring in your part of the world or are you heading into cold weather. Take a little walk….. look at something you might never had paid attention to..a flower…a plant..an animal…What changes are taking place?..Is your garden starting to come to life again?..Step outside and close your eyes. What do you hear? …take a deep breath…What do you smell?
I’d really like to know how my blogger friends feel about what they observe in nature. Post a photo..a poem..artwork or a even few words about what you see and how it made you feel…
For my second nature note I decided to concentrate on buds:
Top row: red maple tree in Donaldson Park, parsley in my garden (not really a bud but “budding”), my daffodils on the first day of spring after a surprise snowfall
Bottom row: magnolia bud from N. 8th Avenue (avenue has a strip of trees down the middle), my neighbor’s tree (maple?), forsythia bud in my backyard
Please click each thumbnail to experience the photo fully. Thank you.
Michelle of Rambling Woods started a new meme called “Nature Notes.” I really like the idea. So I decided to divide “nature” into a few parts: flora, fauna, weather, and … everything else natural? water, dirt, air? I think her plan is for us to post on a Thursday. But I’m thinking about this now, so here goes:
Few flowers, other than crocus and snowdrops, have bloomed here yet.
But lots of green is popping its way out of the ground, such as my columbines and daffodils.
I saw a pretty red cardinal last week! I took a photo through the window, but it didn’t come out well, and I erased it.
I hope to visit the stream down the street from my home in the next few days to see how it looks.
It’s been alternately cold and warmish here. Today I wore my winter coat, and the sky was cloudy.
We often have a variety of birds visiting our backyard. A neighbor’s cat seems to like to lie in the corner near the fence.
I planted peas and radish on Sunday. The ground was easy to dig; I am optimistic about my spring garden.
I hope you will join in the Nature Notes meme. Even if you live in the city, there are still plants, animals and air! Right?
Today I was able to turn my compost for the first time since fall. During the winter the ground is frozen (and so is my compost) even when there is no blanket of snow covering the compost.
What can you identify in my compost? Why is that item good for the soil?
Thursday Challenge is a place for photographic fun and learning. This week’s theme is BROKEN: (Smashed, Worn Out, In Need of Repair, Ripped, Torn,…)
I consulted with my local tree expert, and she thinks these trees outside my office window are American Sycamores. There seem to be quite a few in Highland Park.
I was attracted to them because of the round seed balls.
The above is a photo of the seed ball, before we got white snow now gracing Highland Park.
The trunks have this distinct peeling bark. This particular tree is on Abbott Street.
A tree of red berries is around the corner from my home. I first noticed it for a Sky Watch post.
One of the members of our local Shade Tree Advisory Committee identified the tree for me as a hawthorn tree. She called me from the tree and said, “Leora, did you see the thorns on this tree?” I hadn’t, but in the above photo I circled in pale yellow where the thorns are, close to the tree and not obvious.
Another way she could tell it was a hawthorn was from the bark.
My neighbors had their house painted red recently, an appealing color next to the foliage in their backyard. The blue garage, white umbrella and deck belong to the neighbors further down.
The leaves of their dogwood tree, that I photographed last spring, looks so pretty with its red autumn hues.
Wednesday seems like a good day to put up a post for Ruby Tuesday!
Marigolds look pretty among the fallen leaves of autumn. These yellow and/or orange flowers grow in front and on the side of my house. I sprinkle the seeds in spots I want them to appear next spring.
Today’s Flowers is hosted by Luiz Santilli Jr. Thank you, Luiz, for this lovely meme.
