Azaleas are Spring!!!!

One of our Front Yard Azaleas --5/3/20

Dear Friends,   Hope this finds all of you healthy and happy!  I don't know about you --but I'm SO ready to get this Pandemic OVER and DONE....  I'm  tired of reading about it;  tired of hearing about it --over and over and over...   I'm sorry to say this,  since I TRY to stay positive  (and have until recently)...  I will continue to be careful and we'll make it through this....

What worries me more now than the Virus is the Economy....  We are in such a terrible mess ---and so many other things in life we count on,  such as our food supply (and I'm NOT talking about toilet paper),   will cause other problems over the next many months....When we made our weekly Walmart trip (wearing our masks) this past Friday,   we noticed so many shelves (of many ordinary things) fairly empty...  Farmers are having to throw out milk and eggs since the factories and packing plants have been closed.    Ordinary people are out of work --and need to work in order to feed their families....  All of this scares me MUCH more than the Virus does.... OKAY---I'll get off of my soap box!!!!  SORRY!!!

The biggest JOY lately for us has been taking time to enjoy all of the Spring flowers/plants/shrubs in our yard and neighborhood.   We cannot travel YET ---so sitting at home for days and days and months is not easy for us --but there's not a day that goes by that a new flower appears --smiling at us---and bringing us JOY...

Today, I'l share more of this JOY with you... We don't have many Azaleas,  and we miss going to Biltmore this time of year to see all of their gorgeous azaleas.  SO--instead of the huge Biltmore Azaleas this year,  we'll show you some from our yard.  We have two large ones in the front yard and about 6 smaller ones in the backyard... The large ones have been gorgeous, but even the smaller ones bloomed and were pretty this year.... All of the pictures were taken from 4/10/20 through 5/3/20.    Hope you enjoy seeing the colors!!!!

Okay---that's enough pretties for now!!!!!  As you can tell we have various colors of reds and pinks.... There are some white Azaleas across the street from us --but I've never had a White Azalea.... AND--I've never had a Purple Azalea.  How can that be--as much as I love purple!!!! ha ha

Hope I could put a smile on your face today....  Not only do the flowers make me smile,  but I got to see two of my sons yesterday  (first time in a LONG LONG time).   It was Mother's Day---and they took George and me on a picnic on the top of a mountain in the Cherokee National Forest.... How NEAT is that!!!!   It was one of the best Mother's Days I have ever had!!!!

Have an awesome week ---and 'keep on keeping on' and staying careful during these hard time...

Hope you had a Happy Mother's Day TOO!!!

Hugs,

Favorite Backyard Birds - April and early May, 2020

My favorite 'migrating' bird which visits us every Spring and late Fall;  This is a gorgeous ROSE BREASTED GROSBEAK.

Dear Friends,   WELL---we made it through APRIL....  I hope and pray that May will be better and better for all of us, and that the COVID-19 Virus will go away FOREVER!!!!!!

Since I've had more time the past couple of months,  I have REALLY enjoyed sitting and watching all of our Backyard Birds eating me out of house and home!!!!! ha..... Those little critters really love to eat  (just like I do)..... BUT--they are just so much fun to watch....  I often sit on the swing watching and taking pictures,  and while watching,  I wonder what they say to each other --and to ME!!!!!!

After having wood damage to our home  (partly caused by the birds pecking on it),  we finally decided that we did NOT need to keep the Bird Feeders on the deck anymore....  SO--after many years of enjoying the birds on the deck, we moved the feeders to the backyard.... It's harder to get good pictures ---but when I'm sitting on the swing,  it's GREAT!!!!!!

Today I'll share some of my Cutie Pies for you..  All of these pictures were taken between  April 19 and May 2,  2020.... Hope you enjoy the pictures!

I love watching the BLUE JAYS snatch the peanuts in the plate feeder.  The beautiful CARDINAL waits his turn!!!!!   

Our  fat MOURNING DOVES love to 'hog' the plate --so the little CATBIRD decided to go after the suet on another feeder!!!!!   (NOTE:  Have you ever heard a Catbird's Call????  He sounds just like big kitty cat!!!!!)

I love this picture!!!!  Mrs. CARDINAL is wondering why Mr. PILEATED WOODPECKER  is SO BIG..... ha ha...(See Daddy CARDINAL perched on top????)

I love this picture of the BLUE JAY.... Such pretty birds!!!  Some people don't like Blue Jays --but I DO....  They are SO much fun to watch.. Sometimes they put more than one peanut in their mouths at the same time ---or TRY to...  They must think they are a chipmunk!!!!!! ha

This is not a great picture,  but I wanted to show you another neat Woodpecker,   the RED BELLIED WOODPECKER.   Before I bought the new Suet feeder,  he was eating the suet from the ends of the red house feeder.   I'm sure he will like the new feeder much better!!!!  (See the CARDINAL in this picture???!!!)

GOLDFINCHES anyone?????   We have LOTS of them around here....  They have their own feeder (Nyjer)--but they still love the Plate Feeder!

The KING of our Yard year-round is the EASTERN BLUEBIRD...   He stands guard over the backyard!!!!!!  Our Bluebirds have their own feeder in the Bird Kitchen.  They love Mealworms --so that's what they get.  Below is a male CARDINAL....  All of our birds are like me!!!  They like "anything"  Peanut Butter.  I use Peanut Delight Suet --and most birds will eat it.

Another good picture of the male ROSE BREASTED GROSBEAK   (Haven't seen the female yet)

A NORTHERN FLICKER WOODPECKER;  I laughed at this one since he couldn't quite learn how to jump on the new Suet feeder yet... (This was the first day I had the new suet feeder up.)

NEW BIRD FOR ME:  A SUMMER TANAGER!!!!!   I saw this bird on 4/27 ---and you've never EVER seen me anymore excited --getting to see this Cutie!!!!  What a gorgeous little bird!!!!   I was so excited that not only did I post this on Facebook,  but I also told all of my kids--and I even put it on the Fairfield Glade Bird Site on Facebook....   SUCH JOY!!!!!

Here's a better view of my new Suet Feeder...  It is a double Suet-Cake one--and heavy enough so that it doesn't swing back and forth much.  The Woodpeckers love it.   Here is a picture of a HAIRY WOODPECKER at that new feeder.    AND--of course My BLUE JAY just had to be in the picture also!!!!!! ha

One more picture of my newest Bird,  a SUMMER TANAGER.   Isn't he adorable?

Beautiful MALE CARDINAL   (Wipe your mouth, Messy One!!!)

WELL---that is enough for today!!!! We always have a great variety of birds --so I'm sure I'll have MORE to share in future blog posts.....I'm waiting to get pictures of the female Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks before they leave.   I'm also waiting to get pictures of an Indigo Bunting  --and even though I've seen a beautiful Red-Headed Woodpecker,  I haven't gotten his picture yet......  SO---guess I'll keep enjoying myself while "Swangin" on the Swing!!!!!!!

Have a great week and stay HEALTHY and SAFE.

Hugs,