The Home Nest

Our home is a haven for birds. We have only a few acres, but on that land we have over 100 fruit trees, many raspberry and currant bushes, a small creek surrounded by tall trees, and a very long hedgerow all of which provide food and shelter to bird life galore! So when I came out of our house this morning and spotted these two doves, I thought they were pretty sitting there on our old plough, but they were not an uncommon sight.

And we do get to see lots of birds nests, like the ones I blogged about here and there but usually it's only the common birds that we get to see in their nests, like sparrows and robins and doves.

So I was particularly happy to spot two different birds nesting this week - birds I see regularly flitting around our farm, but rarely have seen on their nest.

Can you see what's peeking out of this tree?

It may just look like a thorn, but it's really this flicker, peeking out to see if it's safe to leave her little ones.

Flickers are a type of woodpecker, which you can easily assume from the skillful manner in which they bore a perfect hole for their nest. Now that I know where they're nesting, I'll keep checking back, hoping to spot the little fledglings when they emerge to try out their wings.

And yesterday, I found this oriole nest, which was really exciting since the oriole builds such an elaborate hanging nest. You can just see the bright yellow female there in the leaves, about to bring her little ones some food.

We have a nest of our own, of course. Here's a picture of the front of our house with one of my favourite roses which is currently in bloom.

And a picture of my favourite garden sign that I found several years ago and hung on one of our arbours. It was just plain metal when I hung it, but now it has the most lovely patina of rust.

Every time I walk through that arbour to our side door, I am reminded of the sense of belonging and security that are associated with the word "Home." If birds could speak our language, I think they'd feel the same way about the word "Nest" - a safe place, a haven, a protected environment where all things, especially love, can grow.

Wordless Wednesday - My Peeps can Cheep

Wordless Wednesday:  but not without chirps, whistles, cheeps, and other assorted squawking noises since my "peeps" are of the avian variety.

Marvelous Monday - Expect the Unexpected!

It's Marvelous Monday once again -






and today I am thankful for unexpected treasures...

For wild roses, planted by the birds and tended by nature...

....for daisies that spread with wild abandon by the side of the road...

...and for dragonflies with fairy wings.

For unusual garden sculptures deliberately placed to catch your eye...

...and incidental farm sculpture oblivious to its own beauty.

For Sunday drives with stunning views...

...that lead to unexpected roadside stands...

and spontaneous strawberry socials!

And when we return home, for cold wet noses...

and waggly tails...

and cedar wax wings whistling in the Saskatoon Berry trees.

Marvelous Monday!

So, it's Marvelous Monday take two --- a tradition recently started which you can read about here if you are so inclined. Oh, I've had a WONDERFUL weekend so it's very easy to find lots of things for which I am thankful.

I am thankful for amazing Greek food...

eaten at one of our favourite beach side restaurants...

followed by a peaceful  lakeside walk with my husband.

I'm thankful for white sailboats against a blue sky...

that I can admire from afar while my feet are firmly planted on the shore, so there's no risk of me getting horribly seasick!

I'm thankful for my beautiful purple bearded iris that popped open this weekend...

and for our newly-planted garden and it's promise of delicious things to come.

I'm thankful for our first campfire...

and wiener roast of the season...

and for this male oriole who sang such a beautiful love song to his mate, providing us with the most incredible dinner music that no money can ever buy.

But mostly this long weekend, I'm thankful for this lady...

because even though I'm a complete anti-monarchist, I love having a long weekend in May. So Happy Birthday Queen Victoria! God save the queen. And God save the peasants from the queen. Because peasants rock and queens don't. The end.  :)

Marvelous Monday!

Don't you love that feeling of energy and "rightness" when you wake up one morning after being ill for a few days and finally feel like yourself?

(almost as much as you "love" ridiculous alliterative post titles?)

Oh, this morning was a wonderful morning!  My fever broke in the night and I woke feeling refreshed and renewed and basically like a million bucks!

So, in honour of this morning, and in the hopes that I won't take stuff (like my general good health) for granted in the future, I've decided to start a new tradition - "Marvelous Monday!" - in which I will commit to blogging every Monday about things for which I am thankful.  Usually I have a tendency to complain about Mondays and everything associated with them, so I might need you to keep me on track with this, but I do think I have a better chance of keeping this resolution than I do some of the others that ran through my deliriously-happy mind this morning.

(like that whole "I resolve to be a better housekeeper" thing which was pretty much doomed right from the get-go!)

So today I am feeling the marvelousness of this Monday and here is what I am thankful for today:  our vacant lot!  Yes, it is for sale, and yes, no one seems to be buying it BUT instead of complaining about this seeming inability of ours to turn this frozen asset into some cookin' hot cash, I am going to be thankful for it!  And seriously, I AM thankful for it because it is the most peaceful little spot you can imagine.

Every morning I walk my dogs over to our shop and visit our vacant lot that lies adjacent to our shop property.  It is surrounded with tall trees.  It has a shady little glen in the centre.

(that used to be the location of a broken-down street car inhabited by gypsies and other assorted alcoholic vagrants who accidentally burnt it down decades ago, but I digress.)  

It is beside our shop property on the east, and on the west and north it is embraced by a 40 acre stretch of nothingness (technically not nothingness, but rather a farm that is partially over-grown shrub land) with a gigantic pond in the centre of it, surrounded by more trees.  The point of all of this description is that I have discovered that our vacant lot is the ideal location for remarkable birds.  I think it's partially because of its close proximity to our neighbour's pond, and partially because of the beautiful trees, and partially because of the shrub land.  But probably, it is mostly because there are no residences near by.

This morning I discovered a cheerful little warbler there!  Here he is:

Well, he is there SOMEWHERE, sort of in a "Where's Waldo" kinda way!

Let's try again:

Oh wait, that's where he WAS -- two seconds before I snapped his photo! Cheeky little bird!

But seriously ....

There! Isn't he marvelous???  And I don't mean "mahvelous" in THIS SNL kind of way either!

Apparently he is a Blackburnian Warbler, and yes, I did have to haul out my Peterson's phone my Mum to identify him.

So on this inaugural "Marvelous Monday,"  I am thankful for our unsold vacant lot and for all the beautiful birds I spot there.  And for feeling 100% better now that I am finally over the flu!

Spring Twilight

Evening has always been my favourite time of day and there is something very special about a cool, peaceful evening in the Spring. Last evening was a perfect time to take a quiet walk by myself in the orchard.  

Yesterday my husband did all of the lawn cutting.

I love it when the orchard is newly mowed and looks like a park.

Walking through the orchard in the evening is a great time for assessing how the crops are coming along.  It's been an early Spring this year, but of course it's impossible to predict what will happen.

I can't believe how far along the cherries are.  Looks like an early crop this year.

The apricots already need to be thinned.

The birds were singing their hearts out to me - I felt like I was being personally serenaded!

This cardinal was singing a beautiful solo.

But I was especially glad to see our orioles are back!

Our garden is all worked-up and ready to plant.  We've had such a

lovely Spring, it has been hard to wait until Victoria Day weekend

to plant.  Next weekend:  garden planting!   

Rantings from my Fevered Brain

Yesterday was my Mum's birthday and today we planned a special full-day together. We were going to start by heading to Niagara-on-the-Lake for some boutique shopping, wander around the lovely gardens of that town, and have a special lunch at the Pillar and Post. Then we planned to drift back towards home, to a special Etsy craftshow being held at the downtown St. Catharines Farmer's Market this afternoon and evening, where a FRIEND of mine is one of the vendors selling her amazing products. We also thought we might stop by a nursery on the way home that specializes in beautiful flowering bushes and trees and has a lovely park-like setting.

The day started out okay. When I took my canines for their morning walk, I did notice that my body seemed to be especially achy, but I thought it was probably the weather change causing the problem. The last few days have been rainy and today's forecast is for a lovely sunny day (which in fact we are now experiencing). My Mum met me at our house and we started the drive. Thirty minutes later, as we were just rounding the Niagara Parkway into the village, I started to feel AWFUL! Like really horrible. Actually, it had been happening from the time we left my home, but had just now got the point where I really felt sick. I pulled over at a lovely scenic viewpoint over the Niagara River and proceeded to lose my breakfast. My body was wracked with nausea and my lower back ached so badly, I couldn't stand up straight. The dreaded FLU was obviously upon me!

So, obviously, we had to cancel our lovely day together, which I felt terrible about because we had both been looking forward to it. I know we can re-schedule, but I'm sad we couldn't at least fit it into my Mum's birthday week. But, you know what mothers are like - she was only worried about me. When I got home, I cranked the heat up in the house - I was so cold on the way home that my teeth were literally chattering, curled up under a pile of blankets and went to sleep.  I just woke up now and I'm feeling much better although I'm still running a fever.

Funny thing happened though, while we were stopped at that scenic look-out, I saw a beautiful blue heron fly up from the river. Only thing is, that it wasn't blue, it was PINK! It was kind of like the one in this picture, only a lovely deep rosy hue where the light grey is on its wings. I told my Mum. She smiled and looked at me in that way that clearly spoke, "Of course, dear, I'm sure it was pink." No doubt she was attributing the colour to my fever. And she may have been right because I've searched and searched and can't find any pink blue herons on the internet. I think maybe my fever is making colours look much more vivid or something because there was also an oriole that was the most vivid shade of neon orange I've ever seen.

Anyway, I'll keep you updated just in case I start seeing pink elephants or something. In the mean time, I think I'll go back to bed for another snooze! Hopefully by tomorrow this bug will be completely gone from my system. Gahh! I hate being ill!

Coming Home ...

The swallows are back!  I'm not sure why, but I always get rather excited when the swallows arrive back in Spring.  Part of my excitement is actually wonder ... wonder that these tiny little birds are able to make such a long journey all the way back home to Canada from their winter sojourn in South America.  Part of it is just the plain joy in knowing that these birds come back year-after-year to the exact same spot to nest!   In other words, they like our home, and by association I've decided that means they like us too. And I suppose if I'm being totally honest, another reason I get excited is that these birds eat tons of bugs, and anyone who helps get rid of mosquitoes and black flies from my yard is definitely a friend of mine!

When I see the first few swallows arrive, I often wonder if they get excited inside when they finally make it back home and find the same structures that have been here for generations, and the same family co-existing in their space.  Do they worry, while they're flying all those miles, wondering if the barn they've been nesting in for generations untold will suddenly be gone?  Do they wonder if new owners will have moved in who won't appreciate swallows making their messy nests in the eaves and cubbyholes of the barn?  Or do they just fly happily along, content that the building that has stood since 1876 on the particular plot of land I call home, and that has provided their ancestors with shelter for so many generations, will continue to do so for at least another couple of hundred years.

Right now when I come home, I am greeted by the most beautiful sight.

The crabapple trees that line are driveway are in full bloom and their rose-coloured petals are scattered across our driveway, welcoming me home like a bride whose path has been decorated by nature itself.

I always love coming home, because I have felt at home in our house from the moment we got married.  In fact, when I knew Ed was going to propose to me, I asked him to propose in our kitchen.  Why?  Well, I just wanted to start things off right from the first in our home - in the privacy of its embrace, in the sturdiness of this well-built brick farm house that has stood the test of time.  So it is here that he proposed, one room over from where I now sit with my laptop.  And yes, later that day, he did take me up for a surprise helicopter ride and surprised me with flowers.  But it was here in our house, that we started our journey together towards marriage.  When I come home, it is to this place of safety, of security, of love, and of endurance. And for a brief few weeks in Spring, it is a place that welcomes me with a pink petal-lined driveway, with the enveloping scent of our many lilacs, and the twittery sound of barn swallows crying with joy as they swoop through the air, happy to be home.

You Can't Always Get What You Want (and other wise old sayings from the Rolling Stones)

I have to admit, I have the perfect life.  After commuting for years to work, making barely enough to pay for a series of "below average" ugly apartments, I now get to work out of my own home.  Well, for the most part, that is.  My husband of 8 years is a mechanic and owns his own auto repair shop.  I do the books for the business, run errands, and generally make a great shop gofer.  And most of the time I am extremely grateful for my new-found freedom from a typical office environment.

Yesterday, however, I was annoyed.  I had a busy day with tons of stuff to get done but I carefully timed things in the afternoon so I could fit in a walk.   I've been trying to walk every day, yes, obviously for the physical activity, but also for the mental benefits too.  I love people, love talking to people, love to be around people (I am, after all, half Italian so this should not come as a surprise!), but I find myself restored by being totally by myself.   Perhaps this is a result of the rest of my genetic make-up which is British, but whatever, I just find that my soul is refreshed and renewed if I can have at least half an hour everyday, by myself, away from telephones, television, computers, cellphones, etc. and out in the fresh air and sunshine, thinking solitary thoughts and dreaming solitary dreams.  So I treasure my walk time and guard it quite jealously.  And then yesterday late in the afternoon, having finished almost everything on my to-do list, right when I was about to go for my lovely sunshiny walk, my husband phoned and needed me to go pick up a part for him.

So, I was annoyed.  I picked up the old part which I would be required to match up at the parts place, drove the half hour to the new Freightliner dealership in our area, couldn't find the gate I was supposed to enter in their ginormous new compound, finally found the correct gate, circled the parking lot trying desperately to find a slot for my SUV as they clearly haven't yet sorted out customer parking, eventually found a spot that was so far out in the lot that it could conceivably be considered part of the next township, hustled into the building in the hopes of getting in and out of there as fast as possible, and then stood there and waited and waited and waited.   Gahh!!   There were at least 100 cars in the parking lot, so clearly they have a ton of staff in this huge new facility, but apparently there was only 1 guy on parts and he was having problems with his computer and trying to help the person ahead of me in line.  Finally, another parts person showed up, got me my part, and I was on my way.

As I stormed huffily out of the building, mid way across the wide expanse of the parking lot, I was struck with an epiphany.  I was angry because I was having to walk so far to get to my vehicle when what I really wanted to be doing was ..... walking!  So here comes the first Rolling Stones tidbit ... "you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need" ... yeah, nuff said.

But then as I got into my car, because obviously I still hadn't yet reconciled my bad attitude with my new-found insight, I heaved a big sigh and said, "But God, this isn't what I had in mind for a walk!  I wanted something, you know, inspirational, where I would feel in touch with nature, and even find something lovely and photo-worthy!"  So I pulled out of the huge parking lot, turned on to the busy industrial street, and something caught my eye.   There in the very next parking lot was a family of geese, marching their way from a marshy ditch across the pavement to a grassy lawn in front of one of the neighbouring factories.   The mother goose was leading the little ones in a huddling line, the father goose was honking in circles around them, making sure nothing was going to come too close.  And since I do work for my own husband, I had the freedom to pull over, stop and get out of my SUV, camera-in-hand, and watch the little goose family for a few precious moments.

So I did get what I needed, and what I wanted, it just didn't come in the way in which I was expecting.

And now on to another Rolling Stones tidbit ... totally unrelated, and yet one I can really relate to:

"I always have an unmade bed, don't you?"  (Monkey Man)

But perhaps that's a topic for another day.  :)

Hatching Day!

Dove Eggs - April 13th

Robin Eggs - April 14th

Baby Robins - April 28th

Baby Doves - April 28th

I've been waiting for what seems like ages, but in fact is only 2 weeks, for these little fledglings to arrive. Can only imagine how their parents feel! :)