Sunday, April 22, 2012

Sunday Safari

The birds were singing this morning.

I sat with them while they had their grapes.
I am waiting for the Orioles to return.
They should be here tomorrow or Tuesday.
A cold front came in this afternoon. Maybe the cooler temperatures will help to slow down Spring.
The peonies are very early.
I shall dry some for winter tea.

 We went to a Kite festival yesterday.
A Variegated Fritillary was nectaring on dandelions
when I stepped out of the car.
 I knew I was going to have a great time.
The wind was calm but everyone
 seemed to be having fun.

Lots of the big kites laid on the ground.

I took photographs for our kite club.

We are planning to attend a kite festival in May

We are kiters.


Kiters are fun people to be with.


A couple from Michigan set up an ocean.
They had a few schools of fish.

We bought Hedcote Lavender for our hedge.
We are adding sand to our soil to improve the drainage.
We will mulch the lavenders with
white sand and white marble rock.
Hedcote is the best variety for my zone 6 gardens.
It will tolerate my humidity as long as it has good drainage.

I bought 8 white dahlias for the fig garden.
A bit of delight just for me.

The roses are blooming.
I use them for my rose water.

I watched a Question Mark butterfly lay eggs in the hops.
We will have the next generation soon.


It is Earth Day.
May we all find joy in being outside with the birds
and bugs and blooms.
Happy Sunday Safari.

12 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Those kites are exciting to see. I can just imagine how they look up in the sky. Too bad the rally wasn't Sunday. It was so windy here, cold too. I will have to get out and see if my white rose is blooming today. There were buds. It got so cold I imagine everything is a little slower.

ShySongbird said...

I am so sorry to have missed commenting on some of your recent posts Sherry but I have enjoyed reading all of them and of course seeing your beautiful photos. I am very pleased the butterflies are visiting you again, they are always so welcome after the Winter. The 'kite ocean' made me smile with its cheery fish :-) and all your bird photos are always so beautiful!

Lovely to see all your blooms too and I was particularly interested in your mention of Lavender and that you have chosen to plant 'Hidcote'. I don't know if you know
that it gets it's name from Hidcote Manor in the English Cotswolds.The beautiful gardens which are universally
acclaimed a masterpiece are not far from me and I have
visited many times. They were created (and the
Lavender introduced there) by Lawrence Johnston a
wealthy plant finder and son of the American owner who bought the manor in 1907. It was eventually given to the National Trust in 1948.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the next kite festival Sherry and continue to enjoy Spring :-)

Cheryl said...

What a lovely post. So full of love and life. Kites are such fun, I love to watch the kite flyers on the beach at Camber Sands.

The bees will love Dahlias too :)

Your peonie and rose blooms are exquisite........beautiful white, with a tiny touch of pink.

Cheryl said...

Woops, almost forgot.....just love the idea of the lavender hedge, cannot wait to see work in progress.

kirstallcreatures said...

I escpecially like the second photo of the bird eating grapes, lovely picture.

Dawn Fine said...

Thanks for the fun Sunday Safari~always a pleasure!

Anonymous said...

Hi Sherry,
As usual, your photographs are beautiful and amazing - I especially love seeing the close-ups of the birds and butterflies.

I am planting a row of lavender myself this year in my zone 5 garden - thanks for the tips on what amendments you will be using. I have been undecided on whether to try Hidcote or Munstead, but I like the darker color of Hidcote. I hope it stays compact, as it will edge my herb garden.

I have a row of cotoneaster shrubs in the front of my house, and it has been covered with red admirals, easily 50 at a time. They must love the flowers and the warm sun. I had my first tiger swallowtail today, too, and had a question mark over the weekend. Thanks for your photos and education about the butterflies. It's so fun to stand right next to them; you can hear their fluttering wings as they fly, and I feel like I am in a butterfly tent at the zoo! I am making sure that my three children take notice of them. They may not seem to care too much now, but maybe they will appreciate them when they are older (as I have - I was the same way!).

I have never been able to attract orioles to my yard, but my brother tells me that once they find your feeder/oranges/jelly, they will come back to it. I will keep trying!

Have a good week - I loved the Nemo kite!

Laura in Naperville, IL

Naturegirl said...

Sigh..Sherry..it is always so wonderful to stop by and view your birds and blooms! Roses and peonies..how I wish I had some to admire. Woodland gardening is a whole new experience for me..no roses I'm sad to say.
Spring has come and gone from what my neigbors tell me since I've arrived back home from Arizona. It is so CoLD here..42F..Brrrr..my tulips and daffs are closed shut..too cold for their faces to show.
Happy Earth week to you!

sunset said...

I am glad to have found your site and beautiful photos. Thanks for the joy of seeing a part of the world that I would be missing that I get to see through your eyes and lens.

Rose said...

Your photos are such a beautiful way to celebrate Earth Day, Sherry! I'm a little late to the party, but then every day should be Earth Day anyway. Love those big kites, especially the dragon!

Deb said...

What a wonderful way to celebrate Earth Day & how lucky is your Kite club to have you as their photographer ♥

Wendy said...

Peonies and roses in April? That does seem early, but then we've all had an early spring this year.

Your kites look fun and I can see lots of imagination and planning went into the making of those.

Dahlias -David loved those and I always bought lots for him. They are annuals here as the only way to overwinter is to keep the corms. I've done that with the giant variety, but not the smaller ones.
Happy Earth Day