That's where I have been spending time these last few days. We had TWO days in a row without rain!
When the rain finally stops and we get sun everything grows so quickly, including the weeds.
Last year this hydrangea had one blossom on it. I believe I counted 12 this year.
This is a circular garden we made this Spring. A overgrown smoke bush was here. It wasn't in very good shape and I wanted another spot for perennials. We put in a trailing lilac and then hosta's around it. I put some begonias and impatience around the edges too.
Busy as usual at the feeders.
We seem to have two sets of young squirrels. A couple grey ones and three black ones. They chase each other on the deck and stand at the sliding door staring in looking for peanuts.
All the critters can clean out the feeders in the matter of an hour or so.
Terribly blurry but this is Smokey drinking his morning (lactose free) milk. He is rather a messy guy!
Yesterday the male and female Cardinal were around for a few minutes. I was able to quite a few decent shots. I haven't seen any young ones as of yet.
We have managed to get our early (5:30) morning walks in without getting rained on. I could see the red sunrise from our bedroom window this morning so brought the camera when we went out. This was taken just down the street. It started to rain an hour or so later.
Wishing everyone a lovely day!
Robin
"Red sun in the morning, sailors take warning" :-)
ReplyDeleteLovely flowers...
He has to have lactose free milk! Interesting.
Mmmmm, you certainly have to be careful, not to let those squirrels in the back door!!! Eeeek!
We have been actually cool, down here. And cold at night. Interesting weather. But I'll take any, which isn't hot/humid.
Gentle hugs,
Luna Crone
Hi Luna, It was a lovely red sky this morning. We did end up getting some rain but right now it is sunny and cool.
DeleteLactose Free milk is better for cats. We have it anyway as Chuck is lactose intolerant so we share it with the kitties!
No squirrels will be coming in this house, they ran away as soon as I open the door.
Have a good week!
I've noticed that the clouds and sky have been incredibly beautiful and photogenic recently! Not just dark clouds or blue skies, but white, grey and purpley clouds, and movement and texture. Wish I could paint...
ReplyDeleteYou and me both! My grandmother was a wonderful artist but that gene did not get passed down to me. I like to think my gardening is an art form. ; )
DeleteBe well!
What lovely photos and beautiful garden indeed. I love cardinals for some reason, thanks for sharing and warm greetings!
ReplyDeleteThank you, how kind!
DeleteHard for me to pick a favourite bird, I tend to love them all! Well, maybe not Grackles.
Have a good rest of the week.
Such a wonderful post, Robin! My goodness, Smokey is frothing at the mouth, literally! :-D
ReplyDeleteLove all the pics as usual, the flowers (can't wait to see the gardens in person), the critters and the sky. The best place to be during our short summers is outside, for sure.
Hi Kim, Smokey is a very messy eater. I have learned to give him very LARGE bowls to contain the food or milk.
DeleteI am looking forward to you seeing the gardens too. It is wonderful how lush they have gotten. By the way Merv gave me so more plants today!
Tomorrow is supposed to be decent so I plan on hoeing all the gardens.
Take care and see you soon!
Gorgeous flowers, Robin. And love that capture of the sunrise. Great series of photos.
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you Rose! I don't tend to take my camera on our morning walks because we only have a set amount of time and any doddling will make us late but today I couldn't pass up the beautiful sunrise.
DeleteHope you and Roger are keeping well.
My kind of post that includes all the things I love, cats, flowers, birds, wild life. thankyou.
ReplyDeleteBriony
x
Hi Briony, glad you enjoyed the post. They are all the things I love too!
DeleteHope your kitty is feeling better!
Take care.
That's a pretty sunrise. I like your new garden area. It must be fun to watch the birds and squirrels. I love the Cardinal photos and of course, Smokey!
ReplyDeleteMildred, it was gorgeous! It lasted for about 1/2 an hour.
DeleteAs I have said before I spend probably too much time watching all the critters but I can't help it!
Smokey is handsome but he has the most terrible (not a word I like to use describing a cat) meow. It drives the neighbours nuts. I shush him up the best I can and he has gotten better. It is a gravelly hollering that goes right through you.
Hope all is well with you and John.
I love daisies and all flowers that are yellow. these are so pretty and I tried to pet the squirrel bcause he looks so real. great shot. thanks for the lovely comment today
ReplyDeleteHi Sandra, thanks for taking the time to stop by. I imagine you are very busy.
DeleteI am glad you enjoyed the photos.
You and Bob are in my thoughts and prayers.
Love the picture of the cardinals!!
ReplyDeleteI was so lucky the cardinals stayed around for a few minutes eating. I was able to get 5 or 6 decent photos.
DeleteNice to hear from you again!
You're up nice and early for walking!!
ReplyDeleteNice to see picture of your garden and your critters.
How often to you fill the feeders if they clear them out in an hour?
Hi Karen, I am a morning person but am not 100% thrilled getting up at 5:00. We do it from about April until October. It is just too hot (usually) when Chuck gets home at 4:00 from work to walk then.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed the garden photos!
I fill the bird feeders once a day in the morning. Then usually in the afternoon I will sprinkle out peanuts, shelled sunflower seeds and occasionally dried cranberries. It all is cleaned up pretty quick.
Hope you and Ken have a wonderful evening!
I guess that old poem is true ---- red sky in morning, sailors take warning.
ReplyDeleteLove the photo of Smokey and his milky chin! LOL
Hi Dee, the old poem was definitely right today!
DeleteSmokey just dives right into his milk bowl. He has been criticized Ming around twice a day for the last couple months. I haven't petted him amd he only has sniffed my hands a couple times. I don't know that I will ever be able to touch him but that's o.k.whayever he is comfortable with.
Snuggle Giroux for me please!
We've had rain and thunder showers fir the past couple of days. In between I've been outside, perfect time to pull those weeds and roots out. Lovely photos.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, the weather has been crazy! And the weather forecasters sure can't seem to get it right. We had another weather advisory for yesterday afternoon that said heavy rain and hail. We got 17 drops of rain.
DeleteSunny, sunny today so I am going out shortly to pull weeds.
Have a good day!
What a glorious series of captures, Robin! You have made my day! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, so glad you enjoyed the photos! Your videos and quotes always make me smile.
DeleteHave a wonderful day in Montreal!
That sunrise is gorgeous! You're so lucky to have so much rain. We're dry as a bone here, but monsoon season is coming, so I'll be complaining about too much of it soon lol
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos as usual, my friend :)
xo,
rue
Hi Rue, I don't know that we are lucky to have all this rain but it definitely is better than last Summer when we were in a severe drought.
DeleteHope you receive some rain soon. But not too much!
Thanks and take care.
Such a lovely sunrise photo!! Your flowers are pretty and the Hydrangea should be showing colour soon. Will it be blue, I wonder?
ReplyDeleteHi Granny Marigold, glad you enjoyed the sunrise photo. I have no idea what colour the hydrangea will be. Merv, the giver of all plants probably told me but I am on information overload as he has given me so much. I don't remember half the names of the plants!
DeleteHave a great Wednesday!
Beautiful photos (as usual). Smokey should be renamed Slurpy (or Sloppy)!
ReplyDeleteHi Mitchell, yes, Smokey should be called Slurpy! He is such a messy eater. I have seen him yawn and he appears to have all of his teeth. I guess he has probably been a stray his whole life and when he gets food he just inhales it. Oh well, he is still welcome messy or not.
DeleteHave a wonderful day!
Love seeing your garden! It does look like things are growing quite beautifully. Glad you got some sunshine. We had a few days of it too, but now back to dreary gray days again. Enjoy the sun while you can!
ReplyDeleteHi Robin, glad you enjoyed the photos! Things are growing out of control. After a sunny day yesterday we are to receive quite a bit of rain over the next few days and be rather warm.
DeleteI did enjoy the sun. I had a couple loads of wash out and did some gardening.
Hope you see the sun again soon!
Wow, you do flowers as well as you do birds! I missed commenting on your last post, but I absolutely love the first pic of the doves! They could well be done in bronze which I would love having! It's really a good thing that we are still getting rain. I have only had to water what is growing in pots. Enjoy the summer...
ReplyDeleteThanks Chip Butter. Most of the flower photos were taken with my iPad. It does take lovely photos!
DeleteThe dove photo in the last post turned out well. I never thought about how it would look done in bronze.
We are the same here, only watering the pots. I have a friend coming for a visit next week so I am hoping for sunny weather.
Take care!
I think you must have sent your rain over here, it's done nothing but rain all day yesterday and today. You have some beautiful flowers growing, I hope you get some more sunshine soon xx
ReplyDeleteHi Cheryl, I heard the U.K. was getting rain and I guess it continues today according to Ilona at "Life After Money". Your gardens and pond look wonderful too.
DeleteHave a good weekend!
there's a nest in a bush very close to the window by the copy room here at work, well camouflaged; we noticed it maybe; 5 days ago.... only because dad's coloring drew our attention to it { cardinal } mom and dad have been feeding ever since; never did get a head count on the young ones in the "maternity ward" !! the flowers are awesome ~~~~~~~ waves to smokey !!!! ☺☺♥♥
ReplyDeleteOh wow, lucky you! A close up view of baby Cardinals!
DeleteGlad you enjoyed the flower photos. I will pass along your waves to Smokey.
Have a good day!
Send some sunshine our way, please.
ReplyDeleteOh Jono, we feel like we are growing moss. Chuck has to work a lot of the day outside and he is so darn tired of being wet. Our sunshine was very short lived. After a sunny Wednesday we are in for a few rainy days.
DeleteTake care!
We have been in that rainy cycle too. Try to squeeze in walks and garden work between the rain, but sometimes I have to just sit down in the mud and harvest something or pull some weeds. Love your photos, as always, and especially appreciate that beautiful sunrise sky!
ReplyDeleteHi Marcie, yes, I guess sometimes we just have to ignore the rain and get on with it! On the plus side, all the rain makes it easier to weed.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed the photos. I wasn't going to miss getting that sunrise photo!
Have a good day!
Love all your pics from in the garden! Very pretty flowers!
ReplyDeleteOne thing the rain is doing is making the gardens so lush! Glad you enjoyed the photos Pam.
DeleteTake care.
Just had to stop by from Eileen's blog to say what a great post.
ReplyDeleteLovely to see all of your photo's here.
All the best Jan
Hi Jan, thanks for visiting again! Glad you enjoyed the post. Sometimes it is hard to choose which photos to put in. I know what I like to see and just hope others enjoy it too.
DeleteHave a good weekend.
Hello, beautiful flowers. I love to walk around the garden looking at the flowers and birds.. You have a nice variety of yardbirds. The cardinals are beautiful. Happy Friday, enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteHi Eileen, I am guilty of spending probably too much time wandering around taking photos of the gardens and birds. I put out a variety of bird food in hopes of attracting all different birds.
DeleteHope you have a wonderful weekend too.
What a feast for the eyes! Those flowers are so colourful (I suppose rain has it's advantages.) Those cardinals hardly look real they're so bright.
ReplyDeleteI love Smokey's milk beard, cats have no shame, do they? Frank, our adopted white and black stray, thinks nothing of going out with gravy dripping from his whiskers. xxx
Hi Vix, thanks for dropping by.
DeleteYes, the rain certainly has been good for the flowers. This time last year we were in a s severe drought so I appreciate how each Summer can be so different.
We are fortunate the Cardinals seem to be nesting somewhere close by so are frequent visitors to the feeders.
Smokey has no shame whatsoever. Like your Frank he often walks around with cat food all over his face.
Enjoy the weekend!