SIP

Song - Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones

I know we are Sheltering In Place right now but Mr. B and I had a doggie to deliver to our son & his girlfriend who just returned home from St. Thomas.  We were very careful to not come in contact with anyone. We dropped Chewy's supplies off in the front yard and called from our car to let them know we were there. I dropped Chewy's leash and he dashed into his home without giving us a backward glance. I have to say it did me a world of good to get out of the house and watch the clouds, rain, newly planted crops, bright yellow mustard, many hawks and even a dusting of snow on some of the higher mountain tops. Nature gives me hope.....

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

Thoughts for a Monday Morning......

Song - You Can't Always Get What You Want by The Rolling Stones

Because of the drought, we have decided to let our big side lawn die.....difficult decision for me because I get so much enjoyment from the garden.  But our boys are all grown.  No more baseball practice on the side lawn, croquet, badminton, golf, wrestling, volleyball and only an occasional game of horseshoes and you don't need grass for that!

I sit on the bench under a large Oak tree and watch it slowly turn brown.

But the positive side is that we will continue to keep the flowers, shrubs and trees alive.

Golden Celebration - Mr. B's favorite!

There is so much to be thankful for!

Mika can cool off on those really hot days!

"Between stimulus and response, there is space.  In that space is our power to choose our response.  In our response lies our growth and our freedom." - Viktor E. Frankl