April 28, 2012

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.

3 comments:

  1. We have the same birds to enjoy, Jann and a lot of the flowers, but the trees are a different story. Glad your move was accomplished....both granddaughters moved into new housing this weekend too. The youngest sent me a photo of her neatly arranged kitchen cabinet, that she was so pleased with! Enjoy your spacious pantry!☺

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  2. Thanks Wanda...we're here but we still need furniture and we're leaving for the 3 month job in Hawaii in just under 3 weeks, and there aren't any furniture stores in the immed. area! Have to drive 30+ miles but we'll see what we can do. Also need to paint inside...oh well we do love the house and the area.

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  3. Oh how happy you must be to finally have a home to settle into. Sounds and looks like you have a wonderful backyard filled with beautiful blooms and wildlife. Your stunning photographs were a joy to view!

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