Feathers & Flowers at the New Nest

Whew! We are finally moved into our new-to-us Florida home, since Thurs.Three days of unpacking, cleaning, and shopping trips later, I have tamed the kitchen -- figuring out what goes where is the hardest part; Yeesh! Or is it putting the blasted contact paper down?! Wouldn't you know, the very last sheet went psycho on me...But I do have lots of room to work with, including my very first PANTRY, oh Yay! It only took me four homes and 30 years to have one! We love this area; it has a forest-y feel with all of the pine trees surrounding the homes and area. Love it! The previous owner was a 70 y/o lady, and she left a multi-bird feeder and other yard gew-gaws, yeehaw! We're a bit overwhelmed by the large backyard but supposedly the sprinkler system (also our first) waters all the plants for us too. We have a large maple tree in back, and one in front, and much more...

Here's what I snapped yesterday outside at our new sanctuary.... 

Ah yes, we have No. cardinals! Mr. C is hard to miss....

The feeder has an anti-squirrel gizmo on the pole but

The squirrels have plenty to nibble on at ground level...

We have bright green anoles here, plus some brown ones too...

(We only saw brown ones at my BIL's house)....

This poor No. mockingbird is missing its tail!

Perhaps one of the 'hood cats tried to make a

Meal out of the poor fella...

Mourning doves are plentiful, like the mockingbirds...

This male red-bellied woodpecker is quite a messy eater....

I'll get all sunflower seeds for the other feeder...

Three guesses who's providing the squirrel feed down below...

This jovial toad-topped wind chime sits in the back

Of the back yard...for now....I'll move it closer

To the screened lanai some day so we can hear it...

The neighbors have a real tall magnolia tree...

They are planted all about town too...

At least, we think they're magnolias...

Oh lookie, we have a red bottlebrush tree....

If only it had blossoms...not sure why it doesn't

Unless the prev. owner trimmed it recently...

We have these around the lanai and 1-2 other spots,

Alliums or close to those....

We have the larger purple alliums out front....

Now this, growing wild in the Black Hills,

Is called Mt. blue-eyed grass...

Prev. owner called it something else...

Shirley left us a pedestal and globe...

I'll get a more colorful globe some day

And reposition the whole thing...

We even have two very small hydrangeas!

The other one is white...both appear to

Have been chopped down; I hope they'll grow

And fill out better...

Another shot of the woodpecker,

Having returned to the feeders

After my appearance scared it off...

We've got a couple of these funky split-leaf philodendrons...

They have real large, wavy leaves and "wavy" trunks...

I believe this is a salvia a.k.a. Mexican bush sage...

We even have a peach day lily!

We have a tall queen palm tree out front,

Which has streamer-type flowers....

There's one pine tree by our house,

on one side out front...

Many others all around though...

There's even an amaryllis on the side of the house...

(Below) Mrs. Cardinal is more shy than Mr. C but

I managed to snap her from the guest room window.

Hope Springs & a New Title

Hubby and I continue to take our morning bicycle rides,

And a few days ago I was thrilled to discover

A Muscovy mama with six chicks!

So far she still has all six, too...

I just couldn't get them all in one photo.

They were not shy and kept coming at me,

No doubt looking for handouts...

Snappy but Unsnapped (today): Two cormorants; tri-colored heron.

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Sideline: I've gone ahead and changed my Blog's title even though I'm not living in Flagler Co. quite yet...too anxious to wait! We close escrow sooner than we'd first been told, on the 23rd, but will be out of town for an important family matter, so won't be moving until the 26th. Still, a few days earlier! After six months of living w/ a relative and "out of a box" as hubby says, it's going to be uber-super to have our own home again!! Hopefully I'll be able to visit 1-2 birding spots before we leave for our 3-month job in Hawaii. And who knows what will show up in our cozy, private back yard?! Soon, no more life in limbo! 

Spring Things

Yes there is a spring season in Florida...

Not only is it warming up,

But some plant life has bloomed...

Red bottlebrush is everywhere...

The yellow trumpet tree blossoms are short-lived, 

Already wilting and falling...

Mama Muscovy and her two ducklings...

I hate to say it but this is a sad story...

Mama had four chicks when we first saw her

At a nearby park, but she went down to two

And then one...

Today, I saw no chicks but not sure I saw her..

I doubt at the fast rate they were disappearing

That the last one survived.  :o(

I did see another Mama Muscovy

Yesterday in a mall parking lot,

She had five chicks.

I hope at least one survives!

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On a personal note...Ru and I have found THE house in NE Florida,
Not far from the beach! We'll be moving in, in three weeks,
Will be in the new house for about three weeks, and then...

We're going to Hawaii for three months! We've secured a
Seasonal job June - Aug., How crazy cool is that?!
Of course, the camera goes with!