MARCH

...

..........and lovely Spring weather.  We had a couple of inches of snow again yesterday although it is melting now. I am so ready for warm sunshine!  Must go buy some Daffodils to keep me content until mine can peek out from the snow again ( they actually were growing before this latest snow).

Thanks for popping by. 


             Granny Marigold

Amaryllis

Remember the Amaryllis that I bought marked down after Christmas?  All scrunched and dry in the box it didn't look like much.  This one called Red Lion has done so well. The first photo was taken at the beginning of this week and the others were taken today. DH doesn't normally pay too much attention to my plants/flowers, but he has remarked several times on this one.  It helps that his favourite colour in flowers is red!

I'm sharing these pics today especially for Ellabie who has any number of Amaryllis and is my go-to for advice on them.

Thanks for visiting today.




             Granny Marigold

Birdhouses

Karen was wondering if the metal  that surrounds the holes in my birdhouses would bother the birds. These two houses  in my front yard  are quite old but in spite of the decorations I've glued on they are used by Chickadees each summer.
The Hummingbirds and heart on the first one came from a small set of wind chimes .

                     This second piece of metal was meant as a  fancy front door back plate.

                 I'm glad these ideas can be helpful to others who have a squirrel problem.

              
                               Granny Marigold

Squirrels

I know many of you like squirrels but I am not fond of them. They dig out my bulbs and now they have been gnawing the holes in my birdhouses.  I forgot to take a 'before' picture but on this house the hole was a good 4 inches across necessitating a new front on the birdhouse. DH dealt with the gnawing problem by buying pocket door 'handles' and drilling a 1 1/8 inch hole in the middle.  They were 2 in a pack at Habitat ReStore for 2 dollars. Too bad there was only one pack left.

For this house he used a large  homemade washer  which doesn't look as nice but will do the trick.

Apparently the squirrels will use any larger sized birdhouse to raise their young in. They won't bother smaller houses. In any case, they won't be nesting in my back yard.


Thanks for visiting today.  If you leave a comment I'll know you came by.


Granny Marigold

Old Houses

        Whenever I go to Suffern along the Erie track.
        I never go by the empty house without stopping and looking back,
        Yet it hurts me to look at the crumbling roof and the shutters fallen apart,
         For I can't help thinking the poor old house
         Is a house with a broken heart.

                    Joyce Kilmer

Thanks for popping by today.



                 Granny Marigold

The Day After

I do like to get things when they're marked down as was the case this morning when I was at Walmart. The bouquets that were 12.98 yesterday were marked down to 3.25.   I don't mind getting my flowers a day late ( or paying for them myself).

                     Three Teddies wearing red and looking very Valentine-ish.

                    Remember this hole in my cupboards where the dishwasher was?

This is the new cupboard that DH built. For some reason it looks off-square but that's just my camera. Or the one who took the photo (me).  Pushed back on its casters it fits perfectly into the space.

It's a very rainy day here and hopefully the rain will wash the remaining snow away. In here it's warm and cozy. Hope it's cozy where you are too.


Thanks for visiting,


       Granny Marigold

Flowers

I've been on a search for a packet of Perennial Sweet Peas, preferably white only. I once had one plant that some bird must have 'gifted' me but one Spring it failed to come up. I have since planted mixed seeds of the perennial sort of Sweet Peas but pink dominated by far.  Hence the search starting early enough so I have a chance of finding some. I could order from a catalog but they all have a minimum shipping charge which I find steep.  Today's search took me to Home Depot where I failed to find the seeds I was looking for but I did find this lovely pot of Spring flowers marked down to half price. I couldn't resist. The Hyacinth fills the house with its wonderful fragrance.

As you can see, the sun is shining today and melting more snow and ice.

Oh yes, did you notice the packets of seeds on the table?  Zinnias. I wanted the shorter ones ( last year's grew to 4 feet tall) These will be perfect. Now if only I can resist sowing them too early. I seem to do that every year and then germination is so slow and patchy too.

I hope you're having a restful, peaceful Sunday.  Thanks for visiting.




                   Granny Marigold

Ice

I think this morning I need to post a picture of my dainty Daffodils before I tell you that we are currently experiencing freezing rain.  40,000 are without power in BC at this time and DH went to start our generator to make sure it is in working order in case we are next.

All this snow is now encased in a layer of ice.  My huge old Lilac as well as other shrubs are weighted down and I am hoping they won't break!
   Here, in a photo taken a few days ago,  my DIL and the little guy are stomping through the snow to visit the pigeon ( who is weathering the winter just fine in her cozy cage).

Enough about the weather. I have begun to decorate a bit for Valentine's Day. I got out my old Valentines and also tried my hand at making a tiny banner for the Teddy Bear corner.

That's it for today. I'm staying put... getting lots of reading done.



Thanks for poppping by,

            Granny Marigold

Andy Goldsworthy

The snow has kept me  somewhat housebound and I have spent some interesting time looking up things on the internet that I ordinarily don't take time to do. I found this amazing natural art made by a man called Andy Goldsworthy.  Just look at some of the things he has created and if it intrigues you like it did me you can google him and see many more of his creations. There are also some youtube videos to see. Let me know  what you think of this.

Thanks for visiting.


                 Granny Marigold

Snow

All day the snow has quietly fallen turning our world lovely and white. More is expected in the days to come so I think we'll just stay home and be cozy. Best to stay off the roads any way.

I have bread rising in the oven and it will be ready for our soup and bread supper.  I wonder what you're having tonight?

These photos are off the internet as I'm too lazy to go outside and take photos. 

              Granny Marigold