Inside (Studio Office continues) and Outside (Bird News!)...

Inside things are pretty much the same...

 I still have a long way to go with the office. I lined up a lot of my religious decor to see the colors. I want to pick a rug that goes with the the pieces I'm planning to use on the walls.

(photo altered with film grain filter)

 Today I cut a lot of stringy tendrils from the Wandering Jew plant I got at the Woodstock, NY yard sale last fall. I stuck them in a vase of water. With any luck they'll root and I can start another plant.

I put some of the smaller cuttings in this hanging rooter that I've had for nearly 20 years.

And of course I perched a few of my 'weighted' parakeets on the rooter as well.

In addition to the 'vintage Catholic' decor I'll be using in my studio office, I'm beginning to see another theme emerge! You might remember this antique parakeet lamp I shared with you in a previous post. Claudia (Mockingbird Hill Cottage), knowing how much I loved her parakeet lamp, was instrumental in helping me get this sweet lamp from New York to Massachusetts!

My Nana LOVED her Pete the Parakeets, and memories of being at her beautiful home in the 50's are so vivid. It's no wonder I want to create vignettes and such that remind me of her.
Here are just a few 1950's photos of my beautiful Nana with her Pete's and my sister and I. 

No. 1 is Nana and me with Pete overhead; 

No. 2 is Nana with Pete (cage door wide open & a big bowl of water in front for Pete to bathe in; 

No. 3 is my sister and I with Pete (I'm the big sister on the right), and...

No. 4 is my Nana holding up my sister when she was very young to see Pet close up. 

(Oh how I wish I had that bird cage and the table it stood on in some of the photos!)

Since I don't, I did the next best thing and got a vintage cage of my own to set in the family room, right next to an almost identical table that once belonged to my Mom (with the small table covering).

And, of course, the cage is complete with a (faux) parakeet and a canary!

Now speaking of birds, there is a lot going on outside.

The bluebirds have most definitely claimed the birdhouse as their own.

Mama and Papa spent quite a bit of time making their nest.

... and it appears that Mama is now in the box almost constantly, which makes me think she has laid her eggs. And Papa is never far away.

Quite exciting indeed!

On another note, when I looked out the window this morning...

... I spied a burst of brilliant orange...

... which can only mean one thing...

The Baltimore Orioles have arrived after a long winter's absence.

Of course our little robin friends also have brilliant red/orange breasts, but these boys have been around since February/March and are much more common than the Baltimore Orioles.

And last, but certainly not least, we've had our first hummingbirds arrive! A female was at the feeders last night and a male was at them today. They were not on the feeders when I took these photos, but take a look at the sweet mourning doves in the background. One is on the bench in front of the window and the other is on the large flat rock on the ground in front of the bench.

Spring arriving has been such a blessing after the long hard winter.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

I'm joining Brenda at Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday
and Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday.

Donna

The Butterfly Bush and Lucifer Crocosmia...

... are both in bloom right now.

I love the combination of purple and red.

Our butterfly bushes don't get nearly as thick and full as others I've seen (probably due to our "on the shady side" back yard); but nevertheless, what we do get is oh-so-beautiful!

(colored pencil filter)

There's also a white butterfly bush that sits behind the birdhouse. It's in an even shadier spot which is probably why it normally takes longer to start blooming.

The blooms on the butterfly bush are a beautiful purple with orange-red centers.

Hopefully I'll have the camera ready when the butterflies visit. This photo was taken last week before the lucifer crocosmia (to the left of the butterfly bush) came into bloom.

But they are in full bloom now, much to the hummingbirds' delight! I'm definitely going to try to get some photos/movies of my little friends at the crocosmia before their short bloom time comes to an end!

I hope you're all enjoying this fast-moving summer. I can't believe it's already the middle of July!

Have a great week, everyone!

Donna

The cardinal climber vine loves our homemade tree branch obelisk!

 The cardinal climber is now in bloom!

What a beautiful burst of (much needed) color to our little backyard garden!

Last year I planted cardinal climber from seed. Sadly, the few vining tendrils that did take off didn't even bloom until late September, long after my hummers were gone.

 

(watercolor filter)

So this year, I purchased plants that had already been started. And yippee! They took off like a shot, quickly climbing the branches of the rustic obelisk we built last year.

Less than a week ago, the vines were covered with buds...

... but only an occasional bloom or two.

The bright red trumpet shaped flowers...

... are supposed to be very appealing to hummingbirds!

(I say supposed to be because I've not seen a single hummer at the vine yet!)

But now that more and more flowers are blooming, I'm sure my little friends will take notice.

These should bloom until the first frost...

... long after my hummer friends are gone.

A photo from last week, before the vines started blooming. 

Here the focus is on the cardinal climber in the background...

...and here, the focus shifts to the purple flowers in the foreground (on the deck).

And if the hummers do get tired of hovering at the blooms once they've discovered them, they can always take a rest on one of the feeders. Right now, this feeder hangs from our deck...

This one from the cherry tree...

This one from the mulberry tree...

And lastly, this feeder hangs from the swing set deck.

Last week I switched the various feeders around a bit. I had just finished hanging this feeder from the swing set deck when a hungry male ruby-throat zeroed in on it. Luckily I had camera in hand!

He shifted positions a few times, looking right at me in this photo, before going back to sipping the sugar water. I so enjoy these little visitors!!

We are in the middle of a heat wave here in the Northeast so I'm filling all of my bird baths twice a day. Hopefully the muggy weather and high temps will take leave soon!

I hope you're all having a wonderful week!

This week I'm joining Claudia, Mockingbird Hill Cottage for A Favorite Thing Saturday,
Brenda, Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday,

Tracie, Fishtail Cottage for Cottage Garden Party

and Cindy, My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday

Donna

A Fuchsia Sunset...

The last few hours before the sun sets are my absolute favorite.

This is the view when I'm sitting on the patio down in the backyard...

I usually sit on the settee in the center because it's easy to see both of my hummingbird feeders from there, and the hours before sunset are the most active for these little jeweled birds!

I can see the feeder that hangs from the mulberry tree...

(being visited by the female hummer here)...

.. and the one that hangs from the swingset deck sitting area next to the honeysuckle vine

(being visited by the male hummer here).

The patio becomes an almost magical place to sit and unwind as the sun starts to set...

The fuchsia plants that hang from the tent over the patio are brilliant as the sun streams through the blossoms.

I'm always amazed that the hummingbirds pay little attention to the fuchsias. They occasionally visit them, but definitely seem to prefer the feeders and the honeysuckle vine.

I tried planting cardinal climber from seed last year, but they hadn't even flowered by the time the hummingbirds left in September...

... so this year I bought well-established plants to climb the small twig obelisk we made last year. I certainly hope these flower long before the hummers leave in September!

My beautiful irises put on a spectacular show this year.

These photos were taken at the very end of May, when they were at their peak.

Their bloom time has now come to an end. I desperately need to plant more perennials that bloom later in the season. Other than some annuals and my honeysuckle vine that give summer-long color, it seems that most of the perennials I've planted are early bloomers. But all in good time...

After all, it was only 5 to 6 years ago that the backyard looked like this. We were left with a large crater after taking down our old above ground pool.

So rather than focus on how much still needs to be done, I think I'd rather reflect on how much we've accomplished over the past several years, transforming the "Roswell crater" into a little garden oasis that attracts a wide variety of birds and little critters (my beloved "Sammy" Squirrels and "Chip"munks!). The fact that they all make their homes in our garden and/or visit us on a regular basis makes me oh-so-happy!

Wishing you all a beautiful week...

I'm joining Claudia, Mockingbird Hill Cottage for A Favorite Thing Saturday,

Brenda, Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday.

Tracie, Fishtail Cottage for Cottage Garden Party
and Cindy, My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday.

Donna