Finishing the Week.....

I know he is eating seed, but it projects the feeling of dislike for the snow. During the present snowfall the juncos are having fun darting in and out to get seed.

The roof of of the feeder has drifts again and the bird is trying to decid which feeder that it should fly to for seed.

A bad photo with the face covered by the feeder's board. The two squirrels seem to be really hungry as they both are challenging each other for access.

The neighbors tree are being dusted with snow and the backgrounds look red barked in this photo. They will have lots of spring blooms in three months.

February can be our worst month for winter weather.  It was nice to have a break from it. This new light stuff is just a gentile reminder that it is not over yet.  I will have two sidewalks to clear again.

I received a photo of a cemetery marker from my older brother yesterday. The marker was for my ex sister-in-laws' grave. The grave there in Mesa, Arizona is one of my brother's cremains, his ex-wife's cremains, and their two year old boy who died from cancer back in 1976. My brother Dwight died back in 2008.  The whole thing is such a sad story as their child they wanted so badly died and within a few years later their marriage was gone. Both of them lived difficult lives the next four plus decades.  Ellen was still my sister-in-law and she followed the boys' lives through face book. She was married to a wonderful guy at the end with them living in New York in the country and spent the winters in their Arizona home.  Ellen loved dogs. She was my age.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Thursday's a Sunny One.....

The sun is now shining and it looks good out there. It is still cold, bone chilling cold, but it will get a little better.

The sun lights up the deck with most of the snow gone from the area. You can still see the snow on the ground in the backyard. Some neighbors in the area piled their snow high so one can see mountains of snow still today.  On a good evening, I would be willing to go out there and grill a steak in spite of the cold.

It melted enough a couple of days to let me see the location of the garden. The tomato garden also is in sight again since it was completely covered with snow.

My last trimming on this bonsai did not ruin it. It is growing back with gusto. It has some places that will probably not look right but I will take my time removing leaves no.  I am thinking it is a cotton easter shrub but still not certain.

My concern with the commercial product is that I don't know what is under all the rock covering. I usually like to know the soil amount to understand how much to water it.  I appreciate that they did get the whole shape somewhat correct but I could easily kill it with my watering processes. I don't really want to tear the base that it is planted in and yet I may have to to repot it.

I feel like I am back in the sixties, 1960s, when I put this together. It was promoted back then as a way to create your own garden environment. I remember seeing them being overwatered and the glass was all fogged over with moisture. I have seen people use African violets in them.

I did find the receipt for the succulent and I see I paid two bucks for it.

Thanks for checking in today. Stay safe out there.

Gloom but no Doom.....

We are going to have a gray day. I was surprise to see any sun at all. I guess it will be a wait and see. We are sitting at 21 degree F. and it seems really cold with the wind.

The melting around the corner of the house shows the green creeping around the hill.  The positions of the houses causes snow drifts at both ends of the house as the winds blow through the spaces. We are too cold to melt anything today.

It will be a couple of months before this all goes away but it has melted enough to see the boards and plants again.

My two doves are giving me a show daily. Sometimes they come and just sit on the deck as if they are resting. They have learned how to walk that metal rail.  Early morning and late in the afternoon seems to be their favorite times to visit.

I finally got a clear shot of my mini-succulent. It was two bucks.  I will try to use the handles to help get that plant down into the soil of the terrarium.

Thanks for stopping by today. I see Iowa is still counting votes yet today. 

Late Tallies from Me......

I invested in some seed today. I usually wait until March to start them but with a sun room I could do it a little earlier. It has been three years since I started my own plants.

I found a small plant to put in my terrarium. It is such a small little pot with a small start. I didn't find the cost of it but it will be fun to stick into the glass container.  I took the shot with a paint brush to show how small the pot is in size.

The doves are always great ones to give me good poses. It has learned how to stand up on the crooked rail.

We were cold today all day. It was fun to get outside today.  We went for printer ink and to get some groceries at Wally Mart. They are starting to put out  barbecue things out for sale. We really are a long ways away from spring.

I also want you to know that I had nothing to do with the primary in Iowa. My party takes a vote, writes it down and calls it in to headquarters. My party doesn't go around and try to convince people to change their minds and then take a second vote to influence the final result. We don't try to include people in the primary from those who are living in France or else where.  I know Iowans look bad but it really was the administrators of the party that screwed up.  Maybe the last 30% of the tally will be turned in by tomorrow.   Thanks for stopping by today.

Monday....

 

Melting snow gives us a little bit of a break from winter's cold. Today we are back to being cold again.  We lost a lot of our snow but we still have much more in piles.  It melted yesterday and it was nice to see water running down the street gutters. 

An older photo shows the snow that is now gone. The steps are cleared and the deck is all dry. The birds slow down at the feeders when it warms up like yesterday. They don't hover in my blue spruce to keep shelter when it warms up like yesterday.

The amaryllis is shooting up now with its bud getting ready to open.  You will have to look carefully to see that tall stem.  The day is bright but there is not sun showing. We did drop down to below freezing last night.

I have this old terrarium jar in the shape of a mushroom. That shapes says 1970s for sure. I didn't have a great plant for it so I just stuck a sansevieria in it for now.

Monday is like a start over day and I plan on taking it pretty easy.  I hope everyone is well.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Sunday, Afternoon, at Five.....

A Sunday morning view. The sun is coming up today and a lot of snow will be melting. It has been a long time for this to happen.

Saturday evening, looking southeast the sky was reflecting pinks from the setting sun.

Saturday evening seemed pleasant as the sunset was more like a summer sunset.  I removed a part of the photo of two boys sliding down their short hill from one property to another one.  It was still cold out there though.

We stayed above freezing all night so this stairs from yesterday is now completely thawed and gone. It was 48 degrees F. when I last checked this Sunday evening. Thanks for stopping by today.

Saturday's a Go......

Today we are melting. There is a lot of snow so it won't be so noticeable. The deck will be dry clear wood by evening.

It is giving the birds and squirrels a break from the cold weather. The snow melts away in places to help it be a better place to be. I went to the old place today to take off the last layer of snow from my sidewalk. It was only about a couple of inches of ice and snow.  I couldn't get below it all but it is cleared and safe to walk on.  Our mayor is having a battle with his citizens and he plans on fining people seventy bucks if they don't clear their walks.  The public is not happy with him as everyone has different sizes, lengths of sidewalk and some people have large sections of not walk. One person was threatening litigation if he gets tagged to fight the new law.  Anyway, I have mine down to looking like it has been shoveled.

After working on my sidewalks at the old place we headed south to the Jordan Creek Mall. Bookstore time with a hot mocha latta. We did hit Hobby Lobby before the bookstore so we had quit an adventure.

Melting today and it will be warmer tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by today.