birds — Page 22

Trees

May 17, 2021 at 7:40 am by Claudia

I heard a bird chirping this morning; I could tell the sound was coming from the porch. It was still somewhat dark out, but I could see a tiny little thing perched on the railing. As I watched, he flew up to the trailer nest in the maple and went inside. Then he flew back out, and then back in, and so on. Babies? Feeding the female? I’m not sure, but I was greatly heartened to see some activity!

I’m waking up way too early lately and it’s frustrating. I have decided to try to go with the flow (what choice do I have really?) and know that I will eventually get back to my usual patterns. I end up taking a nap during the day, which then throws me off that night. I don’t like to nap, though I used to love it, because I wake up feeling groggy and irritable. So I’m going to try to avoid napping today and see what happens.

Today I’m going to pull some weeds and mulch. And water. In addition to the seeds I’ve planted, we also have grass seed to attend to. It rained a bit yesterday but it looks like we won’t have rain for a couple of weeks, which means I have to water all that grass seed every day, in addition to everything else I water around here. Ah well.

The catalpas have begun to leaf out. I look forward to seeing those big heart-shaped leaves again. Meanwhile, it’s absolutely gorgeous out there! Spring at its finest.

We sat on the glider yesterday, watching a storm roll in. Huge dark clouds, rumbles of thunder, all the while rocking back and forth on the glider.

That’s the stuff of spring and summer.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Blooming

May 15, 2021 at 9:26 am by Claudia

An early morning shot of the bridal veil spirea. It’s in shadow, so I’ll try to take one later in the day after we’ve finished mowing. But, as you can see, it’s laden with blooms this year. Sometimes there are less flowers, but it sure is spectacular this year! Same with the lilacs. I just looked up (via search on this blog) when I planted the lilac bush: May 2008. So it’s taken 13 years for it to get to this point. In gardening, patience is a virtue.

I take no credit for the spirea. It was here when we moved in and I suspect it’s been there for a long time, just as the peonies have. The peonies and the spirea live right at the edge of the culvert down by the road.

Today we mow. We’re so silly – both of us woke up excited at the prospect of mowing. It’s highly satisfying and it’s also good exercise.

The seeds have been sown, all the pots have been filled. The only thing I have yet to do is mulch and I’ll do that on Monday and Tuesday. We’re due for rain tomorrow.

In the meantime, I watched one of the robins fly back and forth to the nest this morning. I haven’t seen the wrens at all lately, so I am, of course, worried that something happened to them, or their babies – if they had them. The female sits on the eggs for 10 – 16 days, so maybe she’s in there? Don’t know. If only I had a camera in that little trailer!

Don is making some eggs to, and I quote, “fortify us for mowing.” Okay! I’m lucky, and I know it, that he likes to cook. Both Meredith and I married guys who do most of the cooking.

Okay my friends, have to go. As soon as we go get the lawn mower from the shed, that robin will go nuts.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

The First Attempt

May 12, 2021 at 9:45 am by Claudia

Yesterday afternoon, I decided to jump in and give oil painting a try. I printed out several photos from my photo library – landscapes I thought might work – set up my little studio on the kitchen table, and jumped in.

It ain’t easy and I have much to learn.

But I’m fairly pleased with the result, considering that I have never painted in this form. Furniture for the dollhouse? Yes. Furniture for my real house? Yes. But that’s it.

I’m forcing myself share this process as I explore this entirely new world. I posted this on IG as well.

This is a scene in the English countryside, from a photo taken when Don and I were on the train heading to Edinburgh.

Don, who is my biggest supporter, was raving about it. I think he had no idea what I might or might not come up with! He thinks I can do anything, God bless him.

I didn’t know it, but he was sneaking around taking photos of me while I was painting.

I am aware that my palette is messy. Other painters seem to be much more organized than I was this first time out! I changed some elements of the photo, and not necessarily on purpose. I was simply allowing myself to be and discover.

The studio annex – in the kitchen. The kitchen gets the best light in the house. Our studio upstairs doesn’t really get any good light until late in the afternoon. Luckily, Don loves seeing creative works-in-progress in the kitchen. I don’t know if you remember, but my very first dollhouse rehab took place entirely in this kitchen.

I stashed some of my supplies in the old soda crate. If this new endeavor sticks, I’ll buy a tabletop easel, but for now, this little box/easel seems to work fine.

And, at the end of the day as we were doing the dinner dishes, who should appear but Alan, our UPS driver, with a big box containing my dad’s paintbox! It’s musty smelling and one of the compartments has a bottle of linseed oil that leaked decades ago and is now a permanent part of the box. I’m thrilled it’s here. I’ll take some photos of it today. It was too dark last night.

Okay. I have to add some top soil, sow some seeds, water the indoor plants, and do some weeding. That involves going to the shed, which is right next to the robin’s nest, and the protective dad keeps yelling at us and chases us all the way back to the house.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Trees

Blooming

The First Attempt

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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