Spring Flowers and Birds

Spring arrived earlier this month, and it has been one of the loveliest springs I can remember! After a very long, cold winter the sunshine and warmth is truly a blessing. 

With the arrival of May my mom and I always look forward to the arrival of our favorite feathered friends. While we talk on the phone each day we give each other bird reports. : ) I saw my first Rose Breasted Grosbeak of the year at my mom's house. We were impressed to see three males at one time! About a week after seeing the Rose Breasted Grosbeak at my mom's house Jemimah yelled out "Mama, the Rose Breasted Grosbeak is here!". I came out to the kitchen and sure enough outside the kitchen window I saw the Rose Breasted Grosbeak eating from our feeder.

We have been super blessed by the variety of birds that have been visiting us regularly. One of my favorites has been the Baltimore Oriole. I would love to take a picture of the Baltimore Oriole, but he tends to hear me if I try to open the door or window. Usually we may see a Baltimore Oriole once or twice in the month of May, but this year he has visited our suet feeder every day in the morning and evening. 

We also have both of our bird houses inhabited. In the picture above in a tree swallow. Despite Adam's efforts to dump their nests and move them along, they have persevered! The boxes we have purchased are special for bluebirds and we try to keep them available specifically for bluebirds. However we were delighted to discover a sweet little bluebird family nesting in the other box.

The crab apple tree was exceptionally gorgeous this year! I was amazed at the fullness of the blossoms and how they remained on the tree about a week. In past years the wind has blown the blossoms off within a day or two.

 I made a bouquet of crab apple blossoms and lilacs for Mother's Day. I thought it was one the prettiest combinations I had seen.

You may have noticed in the picture of the crab apple tree that there was work being done across the road from our house. Last fall a Mennonite family purchased the land across the road from us and the field next to our property. They have worked hard to remove all of the overgrowth and old buildings that stood deteriorating across the road from us. It has been wonderful to gain more sunlight in the evening due to the removal of all of the trees. Another treat has been the addition of cows! They built a large fence and a couple of weeks ago brought in several Angus cows as well as a few other breeds of beef cows. I love to hear the cows mooing when I wake up in the morning. : )

The lilacs are in full bloom now. They smell so beautiful!

I have added a few new flowers to my garden this year. The Columbine in the picture above was called "songbird bluebird".

My grandma always had a bleeding heart in her garden. Adam bought this plant for me as a Mother's Day gift. It makes me think of my grandma and her love of God's creation.

 I have also been blessed to see so many wild flowers growing in our yard. The little violet in the picture above is one of many I have discovered. Jemimah has such fun looking for flowers. Every morning she comes in from playing outside with a little bouquet of flowers.

The flower above became one of my favorites last year. I discovered it growing along side the road in front of our house. I was puzzled. Growing up in the country I had seen many wild flowers and knew most by name. I had never seen a flower like this before. I went on-line and searched to try and discover the name, but couldn't seem to find the same flower. A day or so later I was reading a blog post about flowers, the post did not include pictures, just names of favorite flowers. When I read the name "Star of Bethlehem", something inside me just knew that was the name of this flower, and it was. This year we have Star of Bethlehem growing all along the edge of our front yard.

 To close this post, a picture of "cat Winston", as Jemimah calls him. Thankfully he has been doing all of his bird watching from inside! I hope we can keep it that way.

I hope you all have a blessed and beautiful weekend!

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High:

To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,
 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.
 For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
 O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep." Psalm 92: 1-5