Spring JOYS In Full Swing...

 The garden is all in... 

and now we tend to it...and wait patiently...

The days are full.

Dreams are planted and 

work steady.

 Joy is being  found in so many  little things.

Like playing in an outdoor kitchen

and trying new recipes for  mudpies with 

beautiful botanical garnishes.  

It's been collecting little pans for little hands.

and it's tea... for two.  

 It's been found in  the pitterpatter and panting of 2 old corgis-

  

 It's in  the color of the jays.... 

and  this nest of  baby bleu's.  

... And was this nest of a Cardinal family right outside the door.

 It was also found in a mockingbird nest.  

.. It was   discovered in this nest of baby roadrunners

 in the heart of an old  cedar tree-

a first for me.  

It was in the first Orioles seen here.  

And their four jars of grape jelly 

and bags of oranges.  

It was our  short but sweet watching it all  from a covered porch. 

 It was  in the blooms of  peonies.  

 In droplets of rain.  

And leaving a few on Momma's grave.  

 It was in the second pull of an olde tiller,

and the footsteps left behind.  

 ... In pink grootendorst...

 and especially... here.

This "flowa" handed to me 

so sweetly.  

... It's saved in this old book... 

And in the pressing and  keeping safe. 

... and a few more... 

here.  

It was in his out of the blue

 "Hey Momma... listen to this song."  

And the speaker he brought me later 

coz he knows I like to crank it up while washing dishes

and gardening.  

It 's in her hugs and how she really listens. 

And in the very wise  friend who 

always says just the right thing

at the right time.

It's in baby bun buns.

All 7.

 And  in the scent of wild roses

growing tall as the trees.  

 And in the he loves me... he loves me not...

... right down to the last ...He loves me.  

It was in his eyes... as he tried so hard

to pull and save this calf.

And the thoughts of  his Grampa 

who surely smiled down on him. 

It's in every moment really... 

and every breath.   

... so many little things. 

And it's true.... they really are the big things.

September 2017 Day 10 Gift Under The Pine

When I go walking,  my eyes are always on a  treasure hunt.  

I look for things to photograph- like interesting clouds, colorful sunsets, 

wildflowers, insects, deer, squirrels, woodpeckers, wrens,

owls; anything... and everything I can soak in.  

And I also look for things to add to my collections:

Feathers, heart rocks, bark, driftwood, pretty grasses, leaves, ...

nests,.. you get the idea.  

I hardly ever find nests but once in awhile one will have blown out of a tree

and this one had done just that.  

Spotted it mowing today.  

Made sure I got off the mower and set it up against a tree trunk for safe keeping

so I wouldn't accidentally run over it.  See all the donkey hair collected and woven inside?

One little piece of confetti like plastic too.   

To me it's a sweet little treasure that tells a story.

 It's now behind the antique glass of this nature cabinet.

Along with grasses, dried flowers, herbs, lots of feathers, antlers,

drift wood, shells, wasp nests, pine cones, and rocks.  

As you can see I have some antique bottles on the bottom right too.  

They don't really fit in too well but I like really old glass too.  

Mostly aqua, amber and purple.  

 Anyways; here are a few more  I've collected over  years.

Some of the eggs are real.

Many are broken on the backsides.

 I usually find around 3 every year just out in the grass.

Some have washed out of the  gutters of  our shop as well. 

That seems to happen every Spring. So I just save them!

It's my share of the day- The little things.  

What are little things you look for? 

Because You Never Know What You'll See.......

 On my way to the garden yesterday; I met a terrapin on a morning stroll.

Picking him up; I carried him into the shed and let him just crawl around on the floor awhile. 
What a friendly fellow.  "You weren't in our strawberries were you?"  I believe he nodded a guilty yes. 

 I've been leaving the door open after the dragonfly came in. 
A hummingbird came inside one afternoon; then darted out...
and on this morning came this butterfly.  She only stayed a minute or two. 

I sat here for a spell and finished an email and journaled a bit. 
It's been a sheer delight watching the birds.  We're visited by sparrows, cardinals, woodpeckers, blue jays and orioles too now. 

This Squirrel

Is getting rather plump, and the surprise was

that another came as well.  They put on quite a show and honestly did not seem very friendly with one another at all.  Kind of a love hate relationship; 

leaning more toward hate maybe. 

Looking up from behind the desk.... what a surprise to see

Wylie Coyote had come right up to our back yard.  

See him behind the picnic table?

My music was playing rather loud and it didn't seem to bother him at all.

He must have been very hungry because he watched those squirrels and ...

I think would have come to this side of the fence if it weren't for me sitting in here watching him.

He stared me down for a little bit.  But when the squirrels carried on... 

you could just tell he wanted one so badly!

 This squirrel went right up to the picnic table and was so close to Wylie...
He watched for awhile... and actually stayed right here for about ten minutes.  I took pictures the whole time.  After awhile he got up and scampered away but laid down again a little further back and kept watch.  I'll not be turning any chickens out that's for sure. 

In our last storm, the bluebird house; post and all came crashing down.  It broke off right at the base of the post.  Myguy helped me hang it on this railroad tie right in the garden.  By the end of the day I watched a sparrow start making a nest in it.  I don't mind.  I like sparrows too.

With all this activity, I carried the binoculars out here to have on  hand for the next visitor.
I can hardly wait to see what's next. 
:)