Thursday, March 23, 2017

A Second Look--March 23, 2017

Here are few things I saw recently 
during my Second Look.

We've had snow twice recently. About a week ago,  it was several inches thick and I got a day off from work. Sunday we woke up to a surprise snow that you see in this picture. It was also windy and cold and this mocking bird was fluffing up its feathers to stay warm.



We've had some warm weather and many things started to bloom. Unfortunately, we then had some hard freezes, that killed most of the things that had come out. I don't know if this forsythia will try again to bloom or not.



You can see the tops of these day lily leaves have been damaged by the cold weather. However, they should recover just fine.


Although there have been daffodils blooming in abundance around the area, these are the only ones that have bloomed in my yard. The cold and the wind made it hard for them to hold their heads up.


The blooming daffodils are growing under this massive pine tree. I don't think I've see a trunk like this on a pine tree before. Maybe that's what happens when you don't trim the lower branches. Whatever the reason, I like the massiveness of it.



Not sure what this is but it is one of many shrubs and trees in the yard that have been bitten by the cold. I hope the fruit trees recover and give it another go.


The periwinkle managed to survive the weather and is providing bits of color here and there.


It looks like these lilac buds are okay, also.


We are slowly building diversity at our bird feeders. Starlings like this one are frequent visitors. 


Other birds are often intimidated by starlings, but the finches don't seem to mind them.




Unfortunately during one of the windy days, part of our fence blew down. Another chore for this weekend.





18 comments:

  1. I've never seen a pine with a trunk like that before. How unusual! I loved seeing the bits of your new yard. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. I hope to share more things as I discover them myself.

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  2. Oh no! Repairs before you even get settled in good!
    The bird pictures are lovely!

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    1. We still have several things to be repaired that were broken before we moved in. However, this is our first, new broken thing.

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  3. What fabulous pictures! I love the birds in my garden. I have a bird table I can watch from the kitchen - it makes all those kitchen chores almost bearable!

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    1. We're still figuring out the best place to put our feeders. Out the kitchen window is always a good place, but we haven't figured out how to do that placement yet. I'm sure you enjoy your view.

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  4. That first bird looks like a commuter waiting for the bus, trying to stay warm, LOL. So happy you're back to posting about Second Looks, I have missed those posts :) I'm so envious of your lilacs, it's too hot for those down here. I hope the fence repair is an easy one!

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    1. I have missed my Second Posts also because I like getting out and seeing what was going on in the yard.

      This is our first time for lilacs. We'll see how they do. All I know about lilacs is that they're purple and their leaves tend to get some kind of mold.

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    2. There are white lilacs too. We had white and purplish lilacs (and maybe even pinkish ones?) back in France.

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    3. So all kinds of mysteries to be discovered--what color are the lilacs going to be? :)

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  5. Nice shadow. ;)

    Love your tree. I am always fascinated by older trees with dense bases or exposed roots (we see a lot of exposed roots around here due to the sand dunes at the lake).

    For whatever it's worth, we treat our lilacs (both purple and white) with benign neglect and they seem to survive. Some years the blossoms are more lush than others.

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  6. I'm a new reader; thanks for sharing this tour! It's still snowing here but I look forward to my flowers finally sprouting soon :)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Willow. Hope you will see more flowers and less snow soon.

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  7. That's an impressive tree, almost like a shag haircut or dredlocks. I've worried about the part of my fence crossing the driveway a few times, in the wind, but so far, so good. Those flowers are sad looking, blooming too soon.

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    1. You always see things in such an interesting way. I never thought about the tree looking like a shag haircut, but by golly, it does. :)

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  8. I've been enjoying finches on my porch railing myself! Love all your bird pics. Birds give me joy all year 'round much like the new spring blooms... that periwinkle is such a gorgeous color too.

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    1. I second everything you said. Those are all things that bring me joy, also. :)

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