Around our Home -- Early Spring 2019

Our Home and some of our Flowers--April 6, 2019

Good Morning,  Family and Friends.   How is your April going so far????  We are finally getting some spring weather here --and it feels wonderful.  After a long winter ---feeling, smelling, enjoying Spring is good for the SOUL.

Today --let's just take a walk around our yard...  Hope you enjoy it!!!!!

Visitors in the backyard!!!!! "Stay away from our tulips,  Pretty Little Deer!!"

The Tulips on the lower front yard beds;  George is getting 'up close and personal' with the new tulips.  (4/6/19)

Here is an interesting Tulip in our yard.   This little beauty looks different from the others since he/she is a DOUBLE TULIP (with many more petals).   Pretty, huh?

PURPLE FINCHES at our feeders (We've had a few of these beautiful birds in past --but now,  we have a bunch of them.)

Such a pretty Tulip!!!!

Pretty Hot Pink Tulip

Same tulip as the one above --after it gets some sunshine and opens up!!!

Deer eating leaves off of one of the bushes on the empty lot next door!!!!  (By the way,  the deer managed to eat a bunch of the leaves on our Azaleas in the front yard sometime during winter.  First time they have ever done that!)

Gorgeous Yellow Tulips;   Yellow has always been a favorite Summer Color of mine.

Male and Female Purple Finches;  I didn't recognize the females at first --and had to search for the name.

Our front yard and home (4/6/19)....  Lots of green grass;  See one of our Red Buds in bloom on the right side of our home?  

Standing under one of our Red Buds and looking up!!!!!  I love the Red Bud blooms!

Red and Yellow Tulip

Who is looking at ME??????  Such beautiful animals --and they "LOOK" so innocent!!!!! ha

Orange and Yellow Tulip;   One way we are keeping the Deer away from our Tulips (SO FAR) is by surrounding the plants with Daffodils.  Deer do NOT touch or go near Daffodils... 

Purple Finches love the plate feeder!!!!  Look at the females.  They remind me of the female Grosbeaks with the big white eyebrow.  However,  they are much smaller than the Grosbeaks!!!!

One last picture of the Yellow Tulips --after they open up...  Love the red addition!!!!

One last picture of our home and yard --taken on April 6, 2019;   You'll notice that we still do NOT have any leaves on the big trees here yet.... SO--in some ways,  it still looks like winter!!!!!!   Even though our winter was warmer and much wetter than normal,  March turned out to be COLDER than February!!!!   We are just now finally getting some real Spring warm weather....  IF this continues,  we'll have leaves on the trees  fairly soon.

Hope you have enjoyed the walk in and around our yard today...  You actually got a little exercise!!!!!!! ha ha.....  Have a great week!!!!

Hugs,

Emoticons

Goldfinches and More!!!!

Since the Pine Siskins didn't visit us this winter and take over the feeders,  we have had more and more GOLDFINCHES.  I've enjoyed watching the males as their yellow colors are getting prettier and prettier.

Good Morning Friends and Family.   Happy APRIL to you!!!!!  April and May are always such exciting months for us here in Tennessee  since we get leaves on the big trees,  more and more flowering shrubs  and Trees  (Red Bud,  Azaleas, Dogwoods),   beautiful flowers (Irises, Roses,  Day Lilies,  Lilies,  etc.),  and GREEN GREEN GRASS.

As I write this on Sunday, 3/31,  we are expecting a HUGE FREEZE tonight.   Right now,  our Tulips and Daffodils are putting on a show in our yard...  I'm afraid that there will be damage to them after tonight, plus damage to some of the other new spring growth on our roses, etc.....  It's SO sad --but Mother Nature seems to do this to us almost every year the first of April...  Grrrrrrrr.

Today's post is not about the pretty flowers or the freeze --but is about some of our SPRING BIRDS... When the weather begins to warm up,   the male birds sing their Spring Mating Songs and put on their pretty colors in order to attract that special female...   Our Bluebirds started their mating season early --so they are busy busy busy right now going in and our of the nest box...

Many of you (who have followed me for years) know about my BIRD KITCHEN on our deck.  I have a variety of options for the many backyard birds in my area.  I have suet for the woodpeckers; black-sunflower seeds for most birds;  Nyjer/thistle seed for the finches,; fruit and nuts for the Cardinals and most all birds;  peanuts in the shell for the Blue Jays and Nuthatches;  and  mealworms for the Bluebirds...

My Bird Kitchen:  top left (Mealworms);  Suet Feeder (in middle);  Big Red Roofed House (sunflower seeds);  Plate (Fruit and Nuts, Peanuts, Sunflower seeds)- Bird's favorite feeder!;  Domed feeder above the plate--Fruit and Nuts;   Finch Feeder/Nyjer (on right);  and out of view top right is another feeder for sunflower seeds;

It is so much fun to sit inside and watch the birds as they go back and forth to and from the feeders.   Recently,  I was amused at one of my Blue Jays.  He came to the feeder to get a peanut...  WELL--I guess he is a 'picky' Jay --since he would pick one peanut up,  then drop it,  pick up another one, drop it, etc....  He finally chose just the PERFECT peanut and happily flew away with it....   ha ha... Oh the joys I have from feeding our little birds!!!!

BLUE JAY searching for that special Peanut!!!

He found it!!!!!

Such a pretty  Goldfinch 

Not a great picture --but this Pileated Woodpecker is enjoying some  Suet... Look how big he is!!!!!

Mama Bluebird taking a break from "nest-duty"

Purple Finch --getting his 'reds' (We don't have too many Purple Finches here --so it was exciting to see this one and capture a picture.)

Another Purple Finch below the one in the Plate --eating some Sunflower Seeds

Daddy Bluebird grabbed a nut in the plate!!!!  NOTE:  My Bluebirds are getting PICKY --like the Blue Jays!!!   Walmart ran out of the mealworms I usually buy --so I had to buy a combo package with mealworms and a couple of other things mixed...  Guess what?  The Bluebirds wouldn't touch the new mealworms.  I finally went to Amazon and ordered some...  The Blues are happy with my new purchase!!!!!

I had a hard time deciding what birds these two were...  With some help from friends,  I decided that they are Female Cowbirds... Since they look so much like Bluebirds with different colors,   I wonder if these are two Cowbirds which my Bluebirds raised last year.   Cowbirds are known to deposit their eggs in other birds' houses...Our Bluebirds are nice --in that they will help raise little Cowbirds... Just wondering!!!!!

One more picture of the Cowbirds ---enjoying their breakfast  (all over their faces)... ha

Oh How I LOVE LOVE LOVE our beautiful Eastern Bluebirds!!

I started with the pretty Goldfinch --so will end with them also!!!!   

Happy Birding my Friends!!!!  Have a great week and an awesome Spring!!!!

Hugs,

Emoticons