274 - MY CAR IS BACK!!!!

Went to pick my car up today. They didn't do the oil change even though I told them to, so they did it for free and it was done in under 20 mins, probably because they didn't have to let anything cool down. So that's cool. As I understand it, everything is back in camber, front and back and I didn't have to pay a thing (well, technically I paid years of insurance premiums and I bought a tire warranty...). It's so nice to have Scout back... the a/c is so much better, the floormats are different, the seat is up higher, I have a GPS again... To celebrate I removed my front license plate and scraped off my inspection and registration stickers because they don't matter here... I swear my windshield is bigger...

I wish we had dogwoods this pretty in our yard... ours have a few blooms here and there and feel more airy. But someday we'll get there. I'm working on it.

Bo versus moo-cow. He's very curious about them. They don't seem to share the sentiment.

The hummingbird

The cardinal visits pretty much every day now. He's soooooooooo pretty.

And entertaining.

The Bo-Bo's had the squirty butts last night, so he slept a lot. I gave him Immodium and it seemed to help, but it was pretty bad. To his credit he whined and stood by the door and held it until he got outside, so when he whine and stood by the door I got up and took him out quickly because I knew it was serious.

I took pics along the way to pick my car up. I call this the Perfect Road... nobody on it but me!

Cool old cabin in the woods

Ghost Towny building

Beautiful creek by Kemp Farms. I can't get the picture I want because there is no place to pull over... and the cows weren't in the water today so it wouldn't have mattered. I love this place it is gorgeous...

Carthage

My to-do list... I planted the lavender and the rose bush this afternoon, but I picked the rockiest spot yet to plant the rose... After the rainstorm we had a couple of days ago the soil was fairly moist, you just can't get much out at one time because you have to dig around the rocks. Found a few earthworms... that's a good sign.

Our baby Japanese Red Maple. It's going to be a stunner.

Where the blacktop ends.

More barn porn.

Our baby fig tree. It's not very big but there is a bud at the top, so it's determined to grow bigger.

Gerber Daisy.

Walter wondering why he's an outside kitty...

Bootsie taking a walk with us. Walter did too. Funny that the cats will walk with me and don't need a leash to stay close, but Bo does...

This is one of our dogwoods. It's pretty, but I wish it was a mass of blooms. And in the front yard.

Roses before they went into the ground. So I have a hydrangea, two boxwoods and the fruit vines... three or four of them... those are the deepest holes I have left to dig, the flower don't take as much effort.

The cardinal again. :)

And I shot a little video of Cardinal Richelieu (yes, I named him). It's adorable and entertaining and about a minute and a half long.

273 - Untitled

Spring has arrived, despite the one last freeze we had immediately after my sycamore went into the ground...

My little hummingbird has been perched atop the bird pole off and on all day. I didn't think they sat still for long, and he doesn't, but for five or ten minutes at a time he sits and looks around, king of the world.

The cardinal came back but he's camera shy and keeps getting on the other side of the feeder. I guess I'm like bird paparazzi. And my little falcony bird.

My little falcon-y bird has a girlfriend. I love this camera.

And back to the hummingbird who peeked in the window for a bit.

The dogwoods are blooming. We have white and pink ones. Wish there was one in the front yard, and there will be at some point, but for now there are a few behind the house to look at.

272 - Pretty Bird

He finally got close enough for me to get a really good picture...

271 - Part B

Stop this thing, I wanna get off!!!

I couldn't stop... I got the idea to create a flowerbed around the bushes. The rocks are free, got 'em out of the ditch.

I was going to stop there.

But there is a thunderstorm tonight, and since I didn't remove the sod (started to but it was too much work) I decided to put down newspaper to kill the grass and just put dirt over the newspaper. The water from the storm will help increase the density of the newspaper, and then over time it will smother the grass but the newspaper will eventually break down.

So I finished it to that point. Maybe next weekend or so I'll toss some flower seeds in there and see what grows. The point is not to have to dig...

It didn't cost me anything since I've had the plants and dirt since before winter, the rocks were free, and the shrub in the middle? I dug it out of the ditch.

I still have two more to plant, I think those will go in front of the house, and the berry vines I got at Walmart (half price!) are in pots temporarily, so they'll have to be put into the ground. Also, I noticed my hydrangeas are coming back - I'm so glad I didn't throw them away because I honestly thought they were dead. They'll go in front of the house, too.

This guy is a bird I haven't seen before. He looks like a miniature horned owl cross with a hawk. I don't know what he is, but he's cute.

Getting the layout right...

Ta-da

Tonight's moon

I should sleep pretty well tonight...

271 - Kick Rocks

Planted my sycamore today. It's gorgeous out and I think it's a good time since the really cold temps appear to have passed.

My initial plan was to sprinkle Gracie's ashes in the yard by the magnolia where the birds like to land, but Bo also likes to poop there sometimes and that was offputting... then it was cold and rainy so I hesitated. Until now I basically left her in a box in the bathroom (which is a place she used to love to come, so it seemed a fair compromise until spring). With all that time to think, I decided instead, to put her ashes in the ground with the sycamore tree so she can become a part of something living where birds will come to rest.

The ground here is very rocky and mostly clay so it isn't easy to dig, not even a little bit... this landscaping business is going to be slow going but I did manage to get the sycamore and two shrubs in so far. After another break I may plant the berry bushes since they won't need such deep holes.

And my hummingbird is back. A different one unless it's darkened up over the winter. If you recall, yesterday I was reprimanded for having let the sugar water run out. In my defense I had put some out but it either leaked out or evaporated because I put it out too early. So had the hummingbird called ahead to let me know, I would have been prepared...

Last night's moon

Getting ready to transplant. I'm so happy it liked the bucket and held on until I could get it into the ground. I've been hardening it off for the past few days, putting it on the deck during the day and bringing it in at night. Last night it stayed overnight because it was warm enough.

Six more inches to dig...

Nice dirt around the roots with some of the native ground on top. After I watered it I added some humus to help keep the moisture in.

Rocks I dug up. Free landscaping materials...

You can't see it very well but there's a frilly purple tree in the woods.

Shrubbery. Ni!

Hello Mr. Hummingbird! He's hungry, he's been to the feeder three times so far today (that I've seen).

Bo supervising.