Vintage Mary Garden Statuary and the Flowering Cherry Tree

I'm sharing mostly photos of our cherry tree today...

...because before long, the blossoms will be but a memory.

The yard is carpeted, as it is every year, with pink cherry blossoms.

Just a couple of days ago there wasn't a single blossom on the ground.

What a difference a day or two makes.

My beautiful vintage Mary garden statuary stands under the cherry tree, watching over our small backyard and all the creatures who visit; in this instance, the Sammy who is up on the deck and the male hummingbird on the feeder.

Some ground cover that we planted last year has come to life.

Spring is such a beautiful time of year.

Here's Sammy visiting the bird bath.

From the street leading up to our house, you can see the flowering cherry tree spreading out over the stockade fence.

The oak trees always take a bit longer to leaf out.

You can easily spot the cherry tree from the DR window when it's in bloom.

The pink is more striking than it shows in these photos.

This past winter, I wasn't sure if we'd ever see green again.

(photo altered using watercolor filter)

Welcome, beautiful Spring!

I'm joining Cindy at My Romantic Home this week for Show & Tell Friday.

Donna

One Lone Sammy Squirrel...

... braved yesterday's snowstorm...

... to find his way to the screen feeder mounted outside our dining room window.

In yesterday's post I mentioned how I hadn't seen a single Sammy all day long.

Well, I guess this little guy's tummy was growling a bit too much,
because late afternoon he showed up at the feeder....

...  where he knew he'd find a nice meal waiting for him.

I just love these little guys. I know many consider them pests and, yes, 

they can be a wee bit wild and crazy from time to time...

... but just look at those sweet whiskers and those big soulful eyes! They make me melt!

I know that you know that you are welcome here any time, little Sammy. 

I hope spring arrives soon for you and your many friends who grace our little backyard!

(As you can see, Sammy knew he had nothing to fear while I stood about one foot away from him on the other side of the window. I took these photos with my inexpensive point & shoot Canon Power Shot, with the camera pressed right against the window. Apparently Sammy's a lot like Baby - a little ham for the camera!)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Donna

Wild thing, you make my heart sing...

You make everything... 

  Groovy!! 

(talk about dating myself!!!)

You've all heard the phrase "you can't teach an old dog new tricks," 

but apparently you can teach a young squirrel some new ones!

At least with the help of my fearless Chip

(who has a bit of an alien "Take me to your leader" look going on in this photo!)

Chip is delighted to come and visit me (it's actually the peanut basket he enjoys visiting, but I pretend it's me). The birds and the squirrels? Not so much. They typically hold back a bit and wait for something to be tossed in their direction.

Needless to say, Chip gets a lot more peanuts than the other critters since he's not one bit shy about helping himself.

One evening a few weeks ago, I watched while Sammy Squirrel, over on the chair, studied Chip's comings and goings in and out of the peanut basket.

 He was clearly in awe of Chip's front row seat at the self-serve buffet.

The aroma of roasted peanuts was clearly seducing him.

And before long, Chip and I had company on the settee.

First one paw on the basket...

...and then the other. Sammy was a happy camper as he grabbed a couple of peanuts for the road.

Not wanting to miss out on this action, Mr. Blue Jay also swooped in for a peanut or two.

All in all, a great way to unwind after a hectic day, 

spending time with all the little critters who grace our backyard with their presence.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

For more posts about our sweet backyard Chip(s)
Click Here

This week I'm joining Claudia, Mockingbird Hill Cottage for A Favorite Thing Saturday,
and Cindy, My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday

COMMENT UPDATE:
No, the photos weren't take through a window. I was enjoying the backyard, sitting on the wicker settee right next to the peanut basket. That's the only way I could possibly get decent close-ups with my little point & shoot Canon Power Shot!

Donna

Sammy Squirrel meets Hurricane Sandy

My computer bit the dust today. Since Best Buy was open (despite Sandy), I headed there with my computer tower this morning. Bad news. The mother board is shot. I'm now on a Windows 7 computer and having a heck of a time with all my old software.

Anyhow, Amanda and I were watching the storm and our Sammy Squirrels and blue jays this afternoon. It was quite windy and the poor blue jays were being blown sideways while flying. I also took a few quick videos of one of our Sammy's braving the winds for a peanut snack. He darned near got blown off the deck. Hope everyone fared well today!

 

 

 

 

I'll hopefully be able to get photos off of my old computer so I can show you the damage in our yard from last year's freak October snowstorm!

 

Take care, everyone!

 

Donna

Hummingbirds and Photo Fun

I finally had my camera handy when one of our little friends visited the hummingbird feeder.

 The perfect subject for playing around with my photo editing software.

Here's the colored pencil version...

...and the watercolor version.

Coming in for a landing in color...

...and in Antique mode.
It kind of looks like Dorothy landing back in Kansas after being in Oz!

Being shy, with her back to the camera.

She sure doesn't look shy in this psychedelic negative version.

Moving so fast she's literally a blur!

Playing around with hue & saturation...

... is kind of like eating chips. You can't do just one!

Sammy was just a few feet away, chowing down on a peanut...

I think he'd approve of this watercolor version.

I love my old cement garden statue of Mary, but this photo isn't so hot. Clearly my inexpensive point & shoot camera just doesn't cut it for far off subjects...

... but I rather like the chalk version!

Ditto for the flower box - not a very impressive photo on its own.

... but much more appealing in a colored pencil  format...

... or a watercolor format!

 I hope you all have a colorful week!

This week I'm joining Mosaic Monday at Little Red House ,
 Tweak It Tuesday at Cozy Little House ,
and the Cottage Garden Party at Fishtail Cottage

Donna