Spring Has Arrived...I'm Pooped!!!

Well, it has been quite some time these past weeks! Getting ready for Spring, clearing out the Flower Beds that I haven't been able to work on, and just enjoying some time out there amongst the Flowering Trees, Bulbs, and just the General Greening of the Season! Ahhh...the sounds of renewal and freshness! The great entertainment of the birds and squirrels! Enjoying the Buffet of seeds and grains my DH provides for them weekly, or as in these past few weeks, daily! We have such a "flock" of birds from simple blackbirds all the way up to the more colorful Goldfinches, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Chicadees, etc! Name it, I think we have it!!! And every bird in the Neighborhood brags about the Boo-fey they get to eat everyday!

I'm sick of Weeding....did I mention that yet? I turn around and they pop up again...almost comical in the fact that they are covered in about 4 inches of mulch, but they manage to struggle out of their deathbed and say, "HA! Fooled you, silly woman!" I can almost hear them snickering at me as I put the tools back in their "box"...by the way...I picked up an old brass mailbox several years ago...this is mounted to the frontside of the porch, and I store my simple tools in there, along with pantyhose for tying up tomato plants and candles for the lamps we use in the yard at night and so on...got the idea from years ago, and from where, who knows...I just know the idea sounded good, and now we have TWO of them...the old grungy brass one on the front porch and DH has a "rural" one on a post in the teeny veggie garden that he uses for his tools...btw, he "decorates" this mailbox with sleeves that are held on with magnets, and we are starting a "collection" of seasonal type ones...LOL! Not a SOUL can see the mailbox, but it sure is PURTY!!! Men...they can be strange, but fun!

So our Pixie pupper is doing great...she finally got over her cold and has developed a "new" personality...and is ever so adorable and "demanding"...She has learned that it is just Great to go outside and sniff everything, eat everything, and carry my weeds all over the yard...She LOVES Violas, Pansies and will shred them STRAIGHT from the plant whenever given a chance!!! If there is a twig or branch on the ground, I guarantee she can "move" it, chew it, and then leave it for me or DH to pick up....Oh!!! Fresh dirt....great place to POOP! Now, I can deal with her learning all about the great outdoors, but trying to teach her that the Flower Beds are Off Limit....well, it Taint Workin!!! Don't know what it is going to take to get it thru her head, but of course I am at a loss for the talents this must require...and I hope to soon learn, for both our sakes, cuz until I learn HOW to teach her this, the sooner she can learn, and I can start fertilizing the beds and using weedkiller to kill the stuff instead of me digging it out!!!

Anyhoo...we have a yard sale in the community this weekend, and I am trying to get ready for that, too...there is a chance of "showers"...of course on my side of this mountain, it won't happen when you WANT it to happen, but you just watch...because I don't WANT rain, it will rain in ALL it's Glory!!! Let's hope for a difference of opinion here, and wish me luck!!

Anyhooo.....here is a Pixie Pic...LOL!! She was so cute last nite...I couldn't resist this picture moment, and I sooooooo wanted to crawl in a box, myself...this Motherhood thing is hard on an old soul like me! But ohhhhhh! How can one resist such a cutie, such as this!?!

Well, she KNOWS I can't resist her...although the Cat, Addie, still sits and wonders, as she watches this tyrant tear thru the house, and acting like a nut, "What IS that thing?!" LOL! The cat is a big ol' Mother Hen, tho...always "checking" on the baby, especially when she is sleeping, and has to "inspect" her when she comes back inside from her trips outside...as if she may be contaminated, or worse, bring "something" in with her...LOL!

Animals are something else, Pets are even more dear, aren't they???

Well, I am soooooo pleased with how things are looking around here...I have a lot of work to do...but when I see the pics of the yard, the trees, the plants and so on...well, I am just tickled with how everything comes together!

So...take a lookie and see the new stuff!!! For now...I gotta go rest!!!

This is our Corkscrew Willow....in the front yard. I was looking up through it and thought wow, in just DAYS, this tree has put out all these leaves, and it was just interesting to be able to look up thru it, as the tree was only about 4 foot tall when we planted it....we have estimated it to be about 15 feet tall now and probably about 10-12 feet wide! Gorgeous!

Here is another cute Pixie Pic....she was being VERY attentive to the chatter of all the birds and the goings-on around the feeders...not to mention the beautiful day had brought out the children in the neighborhood and all the hub-bub of kids in their laughter, screaming, riding bikes, etc!

She just observes it all!!!

She is showing you her "pixie ears" that I got to see when I first saw her....couldn't resist them! Now I can't resist HER!!!

The front of our home has a great deal of perennials in it, and I am amazed at how quickly they are filling in this year...this was only a few days ago, and if I were to go take a pic right now, you would NOT believe the extent of how much bigger they are at this moment! Can't wait till the peonies bloom, and I sure hope that the Pink Rose Climber in the middle doesn't give me a hassle this year with it's usual problems....I have threatened to yank it's bottom out of there if it does, so it looks to be doing better, but time will tell...looks great HERE for now...but it may be a goner in a few weeks if I see it get the amount of Aphids and such that it has had for the past three years!!! It has been enough to drive me nuts...and the roses are just GORGEOUS, so I would hate to have to yank it out, but it's gonna happen if I find I am spending entirely too much time on "fixing" it!!!

I had to do that with the Azalea that was originally there...it was nothing but a Pain In ....well, you get the drift...it was HUGE and when it DID bloom, it was a mound of white, but the plant was old...never cared for properly from the git-go, so I eventually moved it to the "Pogie Bed" and then it just was even MORE of a pain, so OUT it came!

Well, I think I gotta get out there and do some more picture taking, cuz I haven't gotten one of the Redbud in all it's glory right now...absolutely stunning to look at! But here is one about a week ago...

It was JUST STARTING To put out a bloom or two, and between the rain and the warm weather...well, as I look out my window from here in the Puter/Craft room, it is a sight to behold!!! Me??? I am thrilled by it!!!

All up and down I-81, the redbuds are in bloom, and it is just a sight to see all that purple in it's neon state! Then the heart shaped leaves are also starting to come out....and that is what I like about the tree....And now there is a Purple-leaf variety out there...my Bestest Friend, Steph had gotten one, but I have not had the pleasure to see it....don't even know if it survived!!! Note...ask Steph how the Redbud is!!!

The last of the hyacinths came in with me before the rain the other day...smelled up the house pretty darn nice, and I also cut some of my new tulips and some Bleeding Hearts to bring in with the hyacinth...

Okay....that's about all I can stand to type for now....hope this catches you up on my world...