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

DIY Screen Feeder - Flower Box

 Since I had a couple of questions, I thought I'd clarify some information regarding yesterday's post, where I showed how I use our bird seed screenfeeder as a 'window box' in the summertime. I purchased our screen feeder on-line (I don't remember where, but if you do a Google Shopping search for "screen feeder tray," you are bound to find some! I'm sure a local bird store would carry them, and perhaps even larger nursery or garden centers.)

As I mentioned, I just plunk the flowers down in their original (lightweight) containers, right on the screen feeder, as I don't think the screen feeder would stand up to the weight of flowers that have been transplanted into pots (due to the weight of the pots and all the extra soil).

I decided to experiment with lavender this year because I love the scent.

I'm not sure how the lavender will do because a) this window is not an extremely sunny spot, and b) I've never used these biodegradable pots before, just sitting out on their own without being planted in the ground or a bigger container. They may end up needing more watering than the plastic 6-pack pots I've used in the past. I"ll keep you posted.

I may not be sure how the lavender will perform, but I do know from years past that impatiens lend themselves to this method so I used them around the lavender pots. I was able to use complete 6-packs in front of the lavender...

...but there wasn't enough room for a complete 6-pack on each side of the lavender so I just used my scissors to cut one of the plastic 6-pack pots in half so they'd fit on each side.

Here's a sample of last year's 6 packs at the beginning of June, shortly after I'd plunked them down on the screen feeder. I also stuck a vinca vine pot into the front corners. As you can see, the vinca vine isn't very long and the black plastic 6-pack pots are still visible.

But just 5 weeks later, by July 5th when this picture was taken, the Vinca Vine was almost down to the ground and the flowers had cascaded over the sides of their little black 6-pack pots.

I use the same "planting method" with these old vintage planters that I have on our Swingset Deck. I just plop 6-packs of impatiens down in the planters and rearrange them until I like the color arrangement...

... and voila! This photo was taken on July 8th, 5 weeks after they were first plopped down. They absolutely thrive in just their original little 6-pack pots!

The most important thing is to make sure they're watered every single day. I sometimes even water twice during our horrendous heatwaves here in New England. I've toyed with the idea of using Spanish moss or Sphagnum moss underneath the 6 packs on both the screen feeder and in these planters, but I've never gotten around to actually trying it. That might keep the bottoms more moist, but that's just a guess on my part.

So good luck to anyone who tries this! I'd love to know what other types of flowers work well with this method. I know I can vouch for impatiens!

(Sammy Squirrel giving thanks for the bounty he is about to receive. Amen.)

And I know I am going to get out and enjoy our little backyard this summer because all too soon the screen feeder will be filled with seed, cracked corn, and suet rather than flowers (brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!)

Happy gardening!!

Donna

Winter Valances...

As much as I have had it with winter, I have to admit that I'm smitten with the beautiful snowscapes we see through our windows. I've always loved to "bring the outside in," so most of our windows have simple decorative valances rather than full window treatments.
(click to enlarge any photos)

Baby had been perched on the windowsill, looking out at the snow falling. Of course by the time I got back with my camera, she had moved to the chair. We purchased the valances in this room back in 1989, which is when the family room was added.


No valance on the slider, but another beautiful view of the snow from this angle. These tab top panels match the valance in the previous photo (they're also 22 years old!).

I love the battenburg lace trim on our dining room valance. It looks like intricate snowflakes to me. I think I got this valance about 8 years ago. I recently purchased a couple of more just like it for an upcoming project that I'll share soon!

This lace valance has been hanging in our living room so long that I don't even remember when I purchased it. It's probably been there at least 12 to 15 years because I purchased it during my primitive decor phase. It transitioned beautifully to the cottage decor we now have.

Nature has also been busy hanging valances on practically every house in New England it seems!

Everywhere you look, icicle valances are hanging from rooftops.

I pray that when they start melting, people aren't affected by roof leaks, but I'm afraid many will be.

We've knocked down the ones we can reach, and the ones on the side of the house where Mr. J goes in and out. We sure wouldn't want one falling on him!

But some are just too difficult to reach right now, like these outside our bedroom window.

Finally! The sun is out today after 2 back-to-back snowstorms. But they are predicting another snowstorm for Saturday that might give us at least 6" more...

I don't know how much more we can take! As you can see, the snow is already up to the flowerboxes on our backyard shed! (Sammy, in the foreground, was happily muching on birdseed in the screen feeder when I snapped this photo this morning.)

I'm sorry I haven't visited many of you in the past week but I will visit soon. Dad had a bad reaction to a routine surgery and we have been very busy this past week. On the plus side, it looks like things are slowly getting back to normal, and for that we are very grateful.

I'm linking to Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, so be sure to stop by and add your own post and/or visit all the other participating bloggers!

Stay WARM everyone!!!

Donna

Whiteout conditions. Counting the days....

...until this view...

(click to enlarge photos)

... through our dining room window...


...is once again this view... green. warm. inviting. And I'm not the only one dreaming of spring's arrival...


This is Sammy, about an hour ago, munching on the peanuts that were thrown his way.

Of course after a meal of peanuts, a long sip of water hits the spot.

Poor little Sammy, all covered in snow. We are in the middle of yet another snowstorm today. By nightfall tomorrow, we will have an additonal 20" on top of what we already have.

This photo was taken last week (excuse the bunched up window runner, courtesy of Baby). Sammy was eating at the window box (you can see his bushy tail) while the mourning doves enjoyed the birdbath.

The doves treat it as a steambath...

Yes, they do drink from it (as a matter of fact, it needs to be filled right now)...

But mostly it's the social gathering spot (along the same lines as the office water cooler), and a very warm place to gather on cold winter days...

I snapped these photos this morning, while running errands.

The lady standing in the road up ahead was having trouble getting her pickup truck up this slight incline.

If I could, I wouldn't venture out again until April. New England + snow + driving = no fun.

So be careful, everyone. And, "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy ride!" (to borrow a slightly altered line from Bette Davis in All About Eve!)

I'm linking up to the gorgeous Faded Charm for this week's White Wednesday. Pop over and see the gorgeous old mirror she transformed, and to find a list of all the other bloggers participating in White Wednesday!

Donna