ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL .....

Just popping in for a little garden update. Wow, things have been busy around here. The veggie patch is doing SO well. My tomato plants are all heavy with fruit. The green pepper bush has about 8 peppers on it, in varying stages of development. The mint and basil are growing faster than I can harvest it ....... Yes, another batch of 100% homegrown, homemade mint jelly is on my "To Do" list for this week.  The potato barrels are growing faster than I can mound them. I mounded them again today, and we're about 14 inches from the lip of the barrel now. My lettuce and spring onions seeds have poked through the soil, so hopefully in the not to distant future, I wont be needing to buy either of those items from the grocery store. Enough chitter chatter though, let me share some pictures with you ....

There is only about 6 weeks difference (at the most) between these 2 photos. My lobelia has grown so well (the poor gnomes are now completely engulfed by those pretty, purple flowers), and the begonias are obviously very happy there.

My hibiscus bushes are heavy with these beautiful blooms. I absolutely love this color.

At last, my first wild flower. I have nursed the 4 pots I put seeds into, and now it's paying off. My wildflower bed (although lagging a little behind), is also looking promising :-)

We seem to have also attracted a large variety of birds and animals to our home this year ..... Hubby has nick named it "Disneyland", what with all of the animals that we have hanging around. I noticed about 3 weeks ago, that we had a woodpecker pecking at our willow tree. He hung around for a couple of days, and was then joined by a female woodpecker. Over a period of about a week and a half, he excavated this hole, working away sunup to sundown. Then  ........ look what happened next ...

Mama woodpecker took up residence. We estimate that she has been on her eggs for about a week now. According to everything we've researched, her eggs should be hatching in about another week or so. It will still be another 20 or so days before we have the privilege of hopefully meeting her babies as we watch them fledge.

These two mallards have taken up residence on our front lawn. We don't think they have a nest in our yard, but they're very comfortable around us.

There have been a number of these little guys hanging around .... so much so, that we've put a chicken wire fence around my lettuce !!!! We love having them around though ..... rather our house, than our neighbors, as they trap them, and call Animal Control to come and get them :-(
Today, I think we may have discovered why they've been so prolific ..... While mowing the lawn this morning, I noticed a piece of ground under a tree in our front yard, moving. At first I thought it may be a big spider or lizard. Next minute there were these darting all over the place ........

 Baby bunnies !!!! They ran toward the road, which was why we had to catch them ..... so cute !!!! We eventually managed to get them to go  back down their hole into their nest. We've kept an eye on them all day, and they're nicely tucked up, fast asleep.

You can see a baby bunny butt and ear sticking out of the grass in this picture - when I saw the ground move at first, there was nothing sticking out. Who would have guessed there was a nest of at least 5 babies there.

This little baby was very curious ..... there's always one who thinks the outside world is far more fun, than the safety of its nest. They're old enough to almost leave the nest ...... they're furry, fast and their eyes are wide open. We'll watch and wait tonight, to see mama bunny return to her babies.

Here's hoping your Springtime has been as exciting and full of new life as ours has.
Until next time ...... Take Care.