Spring is coming!

This is what I'm looking forward to seeing -- my garden filled with beautiful, colorful plants. Last year was the first time I've ever had a garden -- in my whole life! So I was really thrilled with the success I had. Now, let me be clear -- Hubby did all the hard work -- the digging, preparing the beds, etc., so I really shouldn't claim credit. All I did was pick out the plants, arrange them, and observe them for the rest of the season. I did some of the watering/fertilizing, and a little weeding, but he really did the hard parts. This year I'm looking forward to planting more of the really successful things, and adding some new stuff to the mix.

Mainly, I'd like to plant things to attract butterflies and hummingbirds to our front yard. We have 3 hummingbird feeders out front, and they stayed busy with visitors all summer long. I think we need to put the feeders out this week, as I believe we had hummers coming around not long after the first of March, which was yesterday (duh!).

Though I really love fall and winter, I have learned to anticipate spring here with much delight. I'd never lived in a place that has such definite seasons, until I moved here in December of 2003, after I married dear Hubby. We met online -- I lived in Memphis, he lived in Nashville. After six very romantic months of courtship, we married in Gatlinburg, TN, at a beautiful Methodist Church, and after a brief honeymoon, we began our life together here. I had a lot to learn about Middle Tennessee, and it was tough at first, but one thing I never had a problem with was the climate. It's quite mild -- even summers are not too long, especially the hottest part of the summers. Springs are long, falls can be long and variable, with plenty of "Indian Summer" days to tease you.

Winter can be very cold, and contain a lot of groovy precip, but they have not been brutal. The snows we've had this year haven't caused much trouble in terms of school closings or roadway problems. I truly love the look of our neighborhood when it's snow covered.








Dear Hubby keeps 6 bird feeders (2 suet cages, 2 thistle feeders, 1 for sunflower seed, and 1 mixed seed feeder) filled for our feathered friends in the winter, who grace our deck daily. In the warmer weather, there are 2 additional hummingbird feeders. During the snowy times, he puts out a "bird party", which consists of scattering seed along our deck rails, so we can see more birds up close. They seem to love, and I know we do.

This is the view of the left side of our deck. As you can see, we have woods surrounding us, which makes for a lot more privacy. In the summer, it's a green curtain in all shades and shapes, providing plenty of safe places for birds and other critters to exist. We've identified over 40 different species of birds visiting our feeders, along with some turkeys and flying squirrels.

This is the right side, which includes the bird bath. Unfortunately, it's not heated, but we do try to make sure there's fresh water every day, even when we have to chip the ice out of it to do so.




















I think I'm going to go out and check on my little daffodils that have been trying to burst out lately. I'm afraid a late snow got a lot of them, but I still see some buttery yellow over there, so maybe, just maybe, there'll be enough for a vase-full. Wish me luck, and get outside to enjoy some fresh air and sunshine!

Peace,
WIP