It Might Be Spring!

 The flowers are blooming.

 My Pigeon Peas are flowering.

 I love how delicate these tiny flowers are!

My parsley is growing secondary leaves. It's also 86 degrees outside and yesterday we had a thunderstorm. It just might be Spring!

Easter 2013

Spring is here! Happy Easter to everyone!

Hope you can all go outside and get some sunshine.

Pillow Pet?

Our Desi is a pillow pet of a different variety! This is her newest sleeping spot, inside the pillowcase on my son's bed. Not sure why I even give him pillows, he never uses them. Just more linens to wash.

It's been a rough couple of months around our house. Between five weeks of bouncing "the plague" back and forth between us and me hobbling around for two weeks after a cat attack to my ankle, there's been a whole lot healing going on.

With any luck the grey clouds are clearing and it's all sunshine and smiles from now on. Happy Spring to you all!

Happy Easter 2012!

Wishing everyone a very Hoppy Easter!

Happy Spring 2012

Oh the humble periwinkle, how I love thee! I know to some you are just a weed, but here you are the brightest spot in my garden and the only one who survives, in spite of my "less than green" thumb. Thank you for sprinkling your lovely colors around my home.

Felt Flower Fun!

I'm working on some new felt and vintage fabric brooches for Spring. This one is a cheery pink tulip, trimmed in vintage Lilly Pulitzer fabric and white beads.

I think it would make a sweet Mother's Day gift as well. You can find other pins and brooches handmade by me in my Etsy shop.
  Thanks for visiting!

Spring is Coming Soon

With Spring comes Easter!

So I've started my spring crafting early with these pretty little Easter Egg ornaments. They came out so cheery and sweet, I think I'm going to make some more in different colors. You can see more ornaments and crafts for sale in my Etsy shop.

The Rabbits Run Free!

With a heavy heart but a happy mind, our orphans wild rabbits

have been released.

Only one looked back at us for a second, but then he and his siblings were gone in a flash.

Happy trails, little ones!

New Bunny Photos!

Our orphans at three weeks old.

I warned you they were cute!

It's Not Easter Yet but...

We have been busy raising orphaned baby rabbits (dog incident). This photo is about two weeks old now, but I didn't want to write about them in case they didn't make it. Sometimes mother rabbits make a bad choice in where they make a nest. In this case, it was inside the fenced yard of a very avid hunting dog.

Orphaned wild rabbits are very difficult to raise, most don't survive. The dog who destroyed the nest, did kill one but the other three are still doing well here with us. Even though they are past the critical stage, they could still have problems but I'm hoping they continue to grow.

They are now eating greens and have their eyes open. I will raise them until they are ready to be released back into the wild ( in the preserve nearby, not my neighborhood ). Updated photos coming soon but be warned, they are so adorable now they might overload your "cute" meter!

Vernal Equinox 2011

Seen way off in the distance by our dog very early in the morning.

Sun is coming up. Dog has alerted the neighborhood.

Dog is now spinning in rabid circles,

occasionally making an amazing aerial attempt to catch it!

Welcome Spring!

Indoor Ant Hill

My son received an Ant Hillfor Christmas this year. It came with a coupon to order live ants to be shipped later. We had to wait for warmer weather to have them shipped so they did not freeze en route.

The Western Harvester Ants arrived this week and we quickly set up their new home. Within a few hours they already started several tunnels.

By day number two, they had really moved things around. It seems a few of them died over night but according to the instructions, that is normal.

We fed them a sunflower seed and a tiny piece of carrot. That much food is supposed to be enough for a few days, along with a drop of water now and then.

My son expected to see a queen ant but apparently it is illegal to ship the queens across state lines. The instructions said the ants will live for several weeks, but I'm skeptical.

They don't seem too perky today. I may end up taking pity on them and talking my son into releasing them. Mom's a real softy, even when it comes to ants.

Seed Germination

This week we started a new science project to study seed germination. We decided to use some birdseed (hoping to get sunflowers to plant) to compare how long it takes the different seeds to sprout. We placed them on some wet cotton in a tray and we have a clear plastic top to cover them with. Condensation will form to keep the cotton moist.

After they sprout, we will identify and chart the growth of each type of seed. You can find many great charts and diagrams to use at Enchanted Learning.com. They also have coloring pages and booklets to print out as well.

I also found this great image from The University of New Mexico, that I was able to laminate and put up on our bulletin board to study. It identifies the many parts of seeds and germinating plants. You will find a lot of other helpful and very detailed reading on their site.

After the sunflowers sprout, we will plant them in the yard and then continue to observe them to see how long it takes for the flowers to bloom and return to seed once again. The other seedlings we will scatter under the bird feeder for the rabbits to munch on.

This is an easy and complete life cycle to learn from, plus you might even get some fresh sunflowers seeds to eat yourself when you are finished!

Flowering Trumpet Trees

This is what we have blooming in our neighborhood right now and they are gorgeous!
This is a Golden Trumpet Tree. Also known as a Tabebuia, they come in other colors such as pink and white.

These tree branches have been completely bare for months and then suddenly, an explosion of color! It seems to happen overnight with the first spring rains. So nice to see a flowering tree on our walks. I do get tired of nothing but palm trees and pine cones.

Florida Snakes

While in the garden today we had an impromptu lesson on snakes when I spotted this guy poking his head out of a hole.

Though it's hard to tell with only this much of him showing, I believe this is an Eastern Rat Snake. He is a non-venomous snake and seems to have a burrow under the mulch.
If anyone knows for sure, please let me know.

We also came across a small Ring-necked Snake, who was kind of cute. Also harmless. I was not fast enough with the camera to get a photo of him, he was gone in a blink.

Of course we had to go to the computer and have a discussion of venomous snakes in Florida. Lucky for us, there are only six snakes in Florida that are harmful to people.

The only one I have ever come across, is the small but deadly Coral Snake. Unfortunately as a vet tech, I saw quite a few pet deaths due to this snake. Most pets will die, even with treatment.

Crawfish Escape

A little Friday photo fun.

This is a shot I took at a crawfish boil we went to last weekend.

A few of the live ones were trying to escape across the grass.

This guy was really angry about the whole event!

Can't say I blame him.

Building A Birdhouse

My son was given this birdhouse kit by a friend some time ago and we decided to build it last week. I wanted to wait until he could do most of it himself. I had to help with the screws but he managed the nails alone.

He was very proud of his color choices, but he didn't like that the Home Depot words still could be seen through the paint. So he put a bird sticker over it when it was dry (Sorry, Home Depot).

I thought that was a clever way to solve a design problem!

The birdhouse is made to hang on the outside of a window with suction cups. The back is plexiglas so you can see the bird as it's nesting. I told my son that I don't think that will work in our house. No normal bird will want to see this staring back at him while he's in his house!

They're All Legs!

I can't believe how fast they have grown! The Sandhill Crane babies have doubled in size since my March 23rd post. They are always very busy pecking away at the ground for food, and the ground seems to be getting farther and farther away.

They have changed color a bit too. Their feathers are not as golden brown as they were. More of a tan color now.

This is right next to a golf course and there were plenty of golfers and golf carts around, but the cranes hardly seem to notice. We don't even get out of my car for these photos because I don't want the babies to run. I just shoot from an open window.

We have gotten very close to the adults in the neighborhood but that was without babies around.

For now we will stay in the car just in case mama bird decides to protect her young and charge.

That beak looks like a lethal weapon to me.

When The Wind Blows

First time kite flying!

Happy Easter

Just wanted to hop in a wish everyone a Happy Easter!
We will be on the road quite a bit with pet sitting rounds.
Looks like there will be some beautiful South Florida spring weather this weekend, so that will be nice. It's no fun walking dogs in the rain!