Wednesday, March 1, 2017

A Second Look--March 1, 2017

No doubt about it. I miss my old yard. While it was turning into more work than we wanted, I loved the natural aspects of it. I loved seeing all of the furry creatures as well as the feathered and scaled ones. I loved seeing the ever-changing trees as well as exploring the hidden plants that surprised me here and there. I also loved following the blooms of the various plants throughout the seasons as well as the insects that visited them. It was my own little nature park.

Now I find myself comparing my old yard to my new one and the new one doesn't seem to measure up. There aren't as many trees. I see power lines behind me instead of a farm, etc. These comparisons need to go away, so it's time for me to begin a real exploration of my new space. I think once I know my yard, it will be easier to appreciate all that it has to offer. And so it's time to do Second Looks again.

Here are a few things I saw this week 
during a Second Look.

There are several fruit trees around. I think this is a crabapple in the foreground and a pear in the background. It should make for a pretty spring with a lot of blooms. That is unless this unusually warm winter has confused them too much


Day Lilies are coming up in a couple of places. It will be interesting to see what colors they are.


Daffodils are coming up in a couple other places.


There are a lot of forsythia bushes around the yard that are budding.


Sometimes they look like they've been planted and sometimes they look like volunteers among other brush.


There is one large nandina bush on the side of the house. Interestingly enough these bright, red berries are poisonous to birds. However, birds are smart enough to know to not eat them.


Mint roots. I've always heard that mint plants can take over, so I've never planted mint except in a pot. However, I got to see first hand how happy a mint plant is to spread in one of my small beds around the house. I've been trying to clean it out, but I know that I will miss some.  When that comes up, I plan to transplant it into pots. (BTW, It's good to get back in the dirt again.) 


Mocking bird. Our bird feeders are now hanging above the deck where we get backlighting from the sky. Consequently, the birds often appear in silhouette. I'm gonna have to learn bird shapes and not depend on their colorings for identification.


We watched this bird for a couple of days convinced that it only had one leg. (Look at the picture above and you'll only see one leg.) However, we finally saw it on a railing and saw two legs. When it eats, it pulls one leg up so it is difficult to see.


18 comments:

  1. It's nice to see glimpses of your new place. I bet with the fruit trees that you'll have gorgeous spring blossoms each year. I'm sure that will help ease the missing of your old place.

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    1. The new place still feels like someone else's. When I get to know the new yard better, it will feel like mine. The fruit trees are pretty old and not in very good shape. However, I'm looking forward to their blooms.

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  2. Oh, soon you're going to have lots of nice flowers to photograph and it'll be easier for you to envision what you want your yard to look like in the future! I like the birdies in silhouette, they're so elegant. How funny that he was holding a leg up to eat. Maybe the birdie version of holding up his pinkie?

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    1. I like the imagine of a the bird holding up its pinkie while it's eating. That's what I'm going to think of when I see it and smile.

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  3. It is going to be great to see your new space when it is in full bloom!

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    1. I'm not sure what all of the trees are yet, but I know several of them are fruit trees. In the front yard, there are two dogwoods. That's my favorite spring tree and I'm looking forward to seeing what color they are.

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  4. A new yard takes a bit of getting used to, doesn't it? I hope your yard continues to delight you as you discover all the different plants and flowers that are already there. In time, you will transform it into your garden. Until then, thank you for allowing us to discover the yard with you.

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    1. Everything takes a while to get used to in new place. For example, I'm finally getting used to where to reach for a light switch--mostly. Where there's four in a row, I still have to look at the labels we put on. Some of the newness is hard and some of it's fun as I learn new things.

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  5. In the next couple of years, you will have the opportunity to make your new yard "yours"--looks like you have a good variety of plants to start with.

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    1. I'm looking forward to making the new yard "mine".

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  6. It will take some time to make it yours, but you'll do it :) I'm sure there will be a few things you like better than your old yard too. I'm afraid my maple trees were budding in the warm weather and then last night it dropped down to -8c. Hope they make it through ok!

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    1. There are already things I like better in the new yard like no huge maple tree roots to mow over. They lined both sides of our old yard.

      All of the trees have budded out here. If we have a bad cold snap, I'm not sure what will happen. And a big snow in March is not that a stretch at all for here. But for sure, spring will be here soon.

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  7. Really beautiful photos :)

    http://lucyandtherunaways.blogspot.com.au/

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    1. Thanks. I hope the photos will get even better when I get my camera fixed or get a new one. It's not always working like it's supposed to.

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  8. Love your photos as always, and I'm betting that once mowing season kicks in the virtues of the new yard will become much more apparent! :-)

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  9. I hope your yard grows on you ;o) (see what I did there?) Hehe. It can be tough moving. There's always those wistful moments it seems. Hopefully the "whew, so much better" and "booyeah!" moments outweigh those though :o)

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    1. We're slowly but surely making our new place our own and appreciating all it has to offer. After we get a few things fixed up and settle in, I think it will be better than ever.

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What do you think?