Friday, March 18, 2016

Previews of Spring

It's been very warm the past couple of weeks. It's no wonder buds and flowers and green things are popping up and out, everywhere. As we spruced up around the yard last week, I was amazed at the previews of spring and........a new visitor, one that I have never seen before.

Sprucing up the front (lakeside) of the house...new flowers and ferns will soon be placed on the porch.

The screened porch will be next. I think I'll wait until the pollen stops falling, though.

 A new birdhouse just waiting for bird tenants to move in.

The plum tree.

A daffodil starting to bloom.

Hydrangea leaves.

I saw this Gerbera Daisy at Lowe's and couldn't resist putting it in my buggy.

Redbud tree...it reminds me of Japan.

A crab apple blossom about to burst open.

Peach blossoms.

Another crab apple blossom. It looks like a bridal bouquet.

And, last but not least....a new bird visitor. I've never seen or heard of one until last week. It is my pleasure to introduce you to the Brown-headed Cowbird. 

Hope your spring is starting to bloom,

Laurie

28 comments:

  1. Your Spring is WAY ahead of ours. Lovely to see some things blooming and such a nice introduction to Brown-Headed Cowbird. xo Diana

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    1. One thing's for sure....when it comes to birds, I'm constantly learning something new. And along with these pretty blooms comes pollen. I took my car to the car wash the other day and before I got back home, my white car was yellow.

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  2. Beautiful bits of spring! Love the blooms! Gorgeous!

    The Cow Bird! I know it well! They are birds without morals. haha. No, seriously! They lay their eggs in other birds nests so they don't have to care for and raise their young. Usually they lay them in sparrow's and finch's nests and the cow bird babies are bigger than the new parents. They exhaust the parents and require more food, taking away care of the other babies. Isn't that crazy? Boo!

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    1. What!?! Boo is right! I've never heard of them and now I learn they are lazy and have no morals. I'll have to keep my eyes open for that. Yep, those little bits of spring fill me with enthusiasm! Have a great weekend, Betsy!

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  3. Goodness, Laurie, but things are looking beautiful around your house already. I loved Betsy's description of the Cow Bird and how it operates. I suppose there are more humans who live like that than we would like to think, as well. I had a funny thought though, do you think they think they are bird surrogates and that they are doing those other little critters a big favor by just passing their offsprings along to some parents who might better care for them? Not very likely, is it? My girls have accused me of sometimes try to rationalize why some people do bad things. You know, thinking that a person does a certain despicable thing because of their upbringing or lack of it. They tell me that I need to understand that some people are just plain bad. Now, here I go trying to make sense of why a bird deserts its babies! Do you think there might be some saving grace in those sorry tailed birds(lol)?

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    1. LOL! You are just like mama, she always looks for the good in everyone. As far as those cowbirds.....if I see any nesting, I'll try to figure out if they are just plain neglecting their babies or what.

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  4. Oh so much prettiness happening it yours Laurie! It certainly does look like Spring - which is so strange to think of as we head into Autumn.

    Hope you're having a good weekend,
    Sarah x

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    1. Hi Sarah, it is getting very pretty here. But, I'm guessing your Autumn is just as pretty. Having a great weekend....hope you are, too.

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  5. Hard to pick a favorite here...but that gerber daisy catches my eye too.

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  6. Everything looks lovely - my favorite is the pic with the plum tree.

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    1. Reallly? It's amazing how different it looks today. Almost all the blooms are gone and it's leafing out very well.

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  7. I love all these pictures Laurie!
    What a beautiful Lake House you have!
    And.....such beautiful blossoms!
    Have a great weekend!
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

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    1. Thank you so much, Linda! Hope you are having a great weekend, too.

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  8. Lovely shots! Thanks for sharing. Yes, Spring has Sprung...finally, in spite of the snow warning for tonight! Aloha.

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    1. Oh goodness. Did you get snow? We dipped into the 30's. I had to cover the vegetables in the garden.

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  9. Isn't it great when a new bird visits the garden. Great photos.

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    1. Yes, there were 6 around the bird feeder this morning. They must have sent out a bird-o-gram to their friends telling them that the kitchen is open. HaHa!

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  10. It's so good to observe the flowers blooming at the beginning of spring. Your plum tree looks great and you do have a beautiful porch!

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    1. Thank you Sara. I can't wait to finish putting a few more flower touches to the porch.

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  11. Hello Laurie, oh, your yard is beautiful. Such pretty views of the lake and so many lovely spring blossoms. I've been working on making new covers for my front porch furniture, but since the fabric has a white background I don't want to put them out until the trees are through dropping all their junk, too. I wouldn't want to work that hard and then have them stained before we even get time to sit outside and enjoy.
    Happy Easter!
    Connie :)

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    1. Thank you so much Connie. I don't blame you, pollen is pretty plentiful around here this year, so I'm waiting to finish my spring cleanup until it finishes. I bet your new covers will look so pretty. Can't wait to see them.

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  12. Laurie, love that porch and screened porch! Looks like a little slice of heaven!

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    1. Thank you, Jean! We do love the porch and I can't wait to dress it up with flowers and ferns.

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