So much for an early spring . . .

So, most years, those of us who are blessed to live in northern Georgia consider ourselves lucky if we have one measurable snow per year.  This year has been an exception to the rule!  We are now in the middle of our fourth (yes, that's 4th) measurable snow of this season.  If my memory serves (and it may not - just so you know) we've had between 9 and 12 inches total snow this year.  And to be honest, it's still winter here folks!!!

And yes, I am ready for spring, but not nearly as ready as these guys . . .

A pair of house finches - Mrs. on the left and Mr. on the right

A recent addition to the flock - a 'yellow rumped warbler'.  Do you see the yellow on his 'rump'???

Mrs. (l) and Mr. (r) Cardinal.  I love how she's looking at me!  Like "what you doin?"

And yes,  this is 'Woody' the lone wood thrush.  He/she is still here, overseeing things on the deck.  Somehow his presence is comforting, although I still haven't figured out why he's here all alone and out of season!

And here is Ethel, and best I can figure after perusing my Birds of Georgia book, she is a female (of course) red wing blackbird!  I've never seen one at the feeder, and it was obvious she wasn't sure how it worked, but she got the hang of it eventually and had a nice meal.

The influx of birds to our feeders convinces me that since we've had so much very cold and snowy weather, they are just plain hungry.  Another indication of that is our almost empty safflower seed bag!  In just under two months, we have feed them about fifty pounds of seeds!!!  I have two large, and two medium feeders for the safflower seed, two suet cake feeders, and two thistle feeders for the goldfinches.

Here's a list of all the birds I've seen so far today:

• goldfinches
• house finches (lots and lots of these guys!)
• titmice
• white breasted nuthatches
• brown headed nuthatches
• red bellied woodpeckers
• downy woodpeckers
• Carolina chickadees
• Carolina wrens
• cardinals
• song sparrows
• white throated sparrows
• Woody the lone wood thrush
• Ethel the lone female red winged black bird
• yellow rumped warbler
• dark eyed juncos
• eastern towhees
• doves

And yes, best I can count that is 18 different varieties of birds either eating from our feeder or the seed I throw on the ground for the ground feeders.  Amazing!  And so much fun to watch!  Anyway, it is still snowing pretty steadily, and tonight it's supposed to get down to the upper 20's, so whatever is here will still be here in the morning in the form of ice.  Fun.

So, as I head to the kitchen to check out my pizza dough, I'll leave you with a few pictures from our yard.  I hope you, wherever you are, are having a sunny and warm day!  Blessings, Becky

A New Friend Of The Feathered Kind!

I have a new visitor to my back deck/bird feeding station.  He/she isn't eating from the feeders, either safflower or suet, but is eating off the table or floor where I put seed for the ground feeders.  I've named him/her Spot because of the pretty spots all over it's chest.  Hubby and I first noticed Spot this past Sunday when we were sitting at the computer looking for somewhere to spend our spring vacation. (Grayton Beach St. Park, FL - fyi!)   I had never seen this bird out there before, and couldn't figure out what 'it' was.  Finally, a couple of days later I found Spot in my book.

Pic courtesy All About Birds

He's a wood thrush.  Smaller and with a shorter tail than it's cousin the brown thrush (our GA bird, btw), and usually not found in this part of the world until mid to late March!  His primary diet is insects and fruit - not seeds.  He hops around my deck all the time, and appears hungry.  The only seed I have right now is safflower and thistle, and there aren't many insects around right now.  So I cut an apple in half, then cut 1/2 in thirds and put the pieces on the deck.  He never once looked at them, but the squirrels apparently LOVE apples - who knew!

Pic courtesy Nature Sound

But he eats a few of the safflower seeds, and is an almost constant visitor to the deck.  He sits on the rails, looking out toward the woods out back.  He has a beautiful song, which I hear from time to time, but he just seems lonely.

Pic courtesy Wikipedia

So, what is he doing here a full 6 weeks before he is due, and why is he alone?  I wish I could ask him (or her) and find out where he's been this winter, if he has been in the area and just found my deck by accident, or if he just decided to head back to GA on his own.  Or did he lose his mate last summer and couldn't bear leaving the area alone.  Inquiring minds want to know, you know! 

Have a great weekend friends!  Becky

A Tale of Twelve Feathers

Those of you who have read my blog for any amount of time know that I love 'my' birds!  I have several feeders, three of which are hanging on hooks on the deck, just a couple of feet outside my office/studio window.  Right now I see a downy woodpecker eating off of the suet feeder, a dark eyed junco sitting on the deck rail, a Carolina wren eating dropped seeds off the deck, and several titmice, nuthatches and chickadees eating off the other feeders.  I LOVE my birds!

And one of my favorite things to do is 'rescue' birds who have gone astray.  You see, we have a very tiny screened porch right off the breakfast room and dining room.  It is probably less than 6' wide and maybe 9 feet long.  We long ago took the screen door off the hinges because it was too much trouble opening and closing two doors to let the girls out.  So, from time to time birds get into the screened porch and can't find their way out.  That makes my dogs go crazy, and thus calls for a rescue operation!  I have held goldfinches, a dove, a cardinal, titmice, a dark eyed junco, and I can't remember what else, but you get my point.  For me to be able to hold these gorgeous things in my hands is such a joy!  Holding a cardinal was a precious gift, because they are so scary and don't normally let humans get close enough to them to be caught.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago the girls started barking and I knew that bark.  I looked out the door, and sure enough there was a female cardinal on the screened porch and she couldn't find her way to the door.  I made the girls move back and I quietly went outside.  I started talking to her, and she just lost it, fluttering back and forth, up and down, trying to fnd the exit.  I inched my way closer to her, talking calmly, telling her she didn't need to be afraid of me, I'd done this before and I hadn't hurt anyone yet.  Yet!  She went down on the floor and tried to get out a small hole in the screen,  (Insert note here, the bottom half of the porch has screen on the inside and lattice on the outside.) but it wasn't big enough and she apparently was stuck.

I reached down to get her, and barely grasped her tail feathers, and she bolted!  Out of my hand, and out of the door, leaving all 12 of her tailfeathers in my hand.  I almost cried!  What was I going to do.  Shoot!  What was SHE going to do!  I brought the feathers into the office and got on the internet.  No problem, they will grow back in about 6 weeks.  They lose them regularly anyway, just not all at one time!

So, I tied up the twelve tail feathers with a ribbon and keep them on my work table.  I don't know what they are supposed to remind me of, except maybe the one that got away!   Or maybe that sometimes it's okay to lose something you think is vitally important in order to let something better grow back in it's place.

But the very next day I was sitting here at my desk and looked out and a gorgeous male cardinal was sitting on the frame underneath our deck table.  It was raining (of course!) and he was staying dry, but just a few feet away, there she was, with her little stub of a tail, eating away, and being watched carefully by her man.  And I do mean carefully, because he sat there until she was full and they both flew away.  So even though she looked different, her man still loved her very much.

And yes, next time there's a bird that needs rescuing, I'll be there to do it.  I just won't grab the tail feathers again!  Have a great weekend friends!  Blessings, Becky

My Day of Sensory Delights!

It has been a lovely day! Here is how I spent it, here at Camellia Cottage . . .

Sitting on the front porch in my wicker rocker . . .

listening to the flutter of birds wings as they visited the feeders . . .



turning well worn pages as I re-read a book I love! It's a fun read - a bit risque' but that's fun on occasion, right? ;o) . . .


smelling the tangy scent of a burning citronella candle . . .

hearing AND feeling the purr of hummingbirds wings as they visited the feeders over my head . . .

listening to the patter of occasional raindrops on the garden around me . . .

smelling the rich, musty smell of rain on dry soil . . .

enjoying the tasty flavors of a nice lunch (it was made of leftover steak, potatoes, onions, cheese and tomatoes, I'll share the recipe soon!) . . .

and hand sewing the last of a project I've been working on for a while . .

It's been an incredible day!

Oh, and that handmade project, well, come back tomorrow to find out more about it, and a few other goodies that I just may be giv . . . . .

Enough of that! It's a secret! You'll have to come back tomorrow to find out more! Blessings friends! Becky

Floral Friday - I got good news, and I got bad news . . .

. . . so which do you want to hear first? Oh, let's start with the bad news - after all, there's just a little bit of that, and lots of good news!


The bad news? Well, my pretty sunflowers that were up to about 3 feet or so tall . . . they are now only about six inches tall.





A couple of days ago I caught a squirrel trying to climb one of them, so I'm thinking they had a little 'sunflower climbing party'!





I had two, and both are totally broken and dying. So I guess there won't be any beautiful yellow sunflowers, and no seeds for the birdies (OR the squirrels) this fall. I'm either going to get a trap . . . or a gun. Any suggestions???


Oh well, on to the good news! The goldfinches are back. I don't know where they've been, if they've been nesting or just took a vacation, but I'm so glad they came back where they belong!





All my feathered friends are enjoying the bird bath - even a cardinal and a dove bathing in harmony!





And this pretty fellow watches everything that goes on!





The chocolate mint is growing like gangbusters!




The day lilies are brightening up their corner of the yard.

So are the 'Emerald Mist' roses.

The foxgloves are sending up their buds,

and some are even blooming.

This little beauty is what we (in my family) call 'Mama's Rose' because it's been handed down from my grandmother - my mother's mother. Even my aunt on my dad's side has one, and is so proud of her Mama's Rose, too! The blooms are small and short lived, but are a pretty pale, pale, almost white, pink, and have a sweet scent.

The pink peony is blooming now.

Although the rain hasn't done the blooms any favors - they are a bit washed out.

The clematis that ate the chrysanthemums is doing swimmingly.

And the zinnias that came up volunteer, apparently from seeds from last year's blooms, are really up and at'em!

And before long they will be blooming in their bright colors, attracting more butterflies and bees. And in late summer, the goldfinches just LOVE to eat the zinnia seeds.

The betony is gorgeous in their frilly pinky-purple blooms. The bees and butterflies love them, too.

And the lavender . . . . . ahhhhhhh, the lavender!!!

Do you smell that????? Heavenly!

And for today, this is my pride and joy! The obelisk is the framework for a moonflower, a hyacinth bean, and a heavenly blue morning glory. I have planted the morning glories every year for the last 5-6 years. The first few years, they took over, and bloomed from August until frost in October. The last two years, because of the drought I suppose, they didn't bloom. And they've never bloomed this early. This plant is just full of blooms, and I look forward to a summer of this beautiful blue color in my yard!

Isn't that just gorgeous???

So, while there was some bad news, and I really hate that my sunflowers are gone, I can deal with it and move on, looking forward to a summer of other beautiful bloomers in our yard, here at Camellia Cottage. Blessings, Friends! Becky

Just a quick note . . .

It's not even 10 am yet, and it's already been a wonderful day! I was out in the yard, planting and staking well before 8 o'clock, and about 6 feet from where I was working, a pair of Carolina wrens brought their newly fledged babies to the Red Pixie lilac bush for their first field trip! The mama and daddy's singing, and the babies peeping and tweeting just brought joy to my heart and soul!

The tiny picture above is from the internet, as I couldn't get a picture of the ones visiting me today. Carolina wrens are perky and always busy. One of my favorites!

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, I hope you are finding something to fill YOUR heart and soul with joy! Blessings, Becky

Just One Of God's Little Blessings!

I had an amazing gift this afternoon! It started when I kept hearing a bird tweet-tweeting very loudly and sounded to be in distress, so I looked out my front door, and saw this little darling!

It's a baby cardinal, and he was trying his best to get his daddy to give him something to eat! Daddy was obliging, sitting on the feeder, eating a while, then going back down to feed his little one.

I know these aren't the clearest pictures, but considering I was taking them behind a curtained window with just the lens of my camera sticking out, up against the glass, then cropped and zoomed quite a bit, they are pretty good!

Daddy about to feed baby; baby bowing so daddy can get down to him.

"More, daddy, more!"

"Okay, baby, here's some more!"

I love this picture! There is almost a sense of reverence and respect between the father and child. I have enjoyed watching them this afternoon so very much. There was another baby, but I only saw them together once, and couldn't get a picture.

Isn't it amazing when we slow down a minute and watch these little gifts God sends us from time to time?!?