Friends in High Places

Song - Winter by The Rolling Stones

This morning I woke to some very happy birdsong.  Our Oak tree was full of Robins and Starlings and a bird that sounds like a rusty hinge, Flickers and Hawks!

But if you look closely at the photo above, you will notice someone else in the berry bushes......in the upper left corner is part of a Cedar Waxwing.  They left our garden last week when a Hawk flew at them and haven't been back until today!!

The Privet tree was full of them and they let me set my tripod up quite close.

As I walked around our garden, I noticed some other delights of Winter.....above is a patch of Hellebores which is blooming in our shade garden.

And a nest up in the Wisteria arbor - I never noticed it until all the leaves dropped off......

And a little hummer enjoying some sunshine.

 And not one but two different Flicker's enjoyed the Privet berries too!

The bird above doesn't have the typical red patch on his cheek.

 But in the late afternoon light I caught sight of a Northern Flicker in all his beauty.

 He wanted to make sure I photographed his "good side"!

"And from Humming-Bird to Eagle, 
the daily existence of every bird 
is a remote and bewitching mystery. "

~Thomas Wentworth Higginson, 
"The Life of Birds," Out-door Papers, 1868

Flowers From A Stranger

Song - Where Have All The Flowers Gone by The Kingston Trio

A large FedEx delivery van pulled into our driveway this morning and Mr. B was there to greet him.  He walked back into the kitchen with this massive box of flowers and a puzzled look on his face.

Mr. B said "these flowers are for you......but..........I.......didn't......buy........them............"



I should of played along for awhile but the look on his face was melting my heart.

We are having a 90th birthday party for my mom in a few weeks and I had bought them online a few days ago to see what kind of quality they were for $1 per stem. YES - $1 - the business is called Dollar Hydrangea and they are flown in from South America.  As you can see from the photo above they come a little squished in the box but just give them a gentle shake after you remove the packaging and they fluff right up!

 The stems are all tightly rubber banded with water sacks so all you need do is re-cut the stems and place them in tepid water. 

Then E...N...J...O...Y!

 The minimum you need to purchase is 40 stems and free shipping. 

I now have four and a half large arrangements that are beautiful.

Some friends on Instagram turned me on to this company. The company offers two types of white flowers, two of blue flowers or two of lime green flowers.

I got them all cut and placed in vases around the house, then I looked out my back door.

Zipper the squirrel is a gymnast now.....don't even get me started with this guy!

"When I walk with you

I feel as if I had a

flower in my buttonhole."

--William Makepeace Thackeray