Happy Easter!

Spring Migration

It's my favorite sign of spring. The throaty trill heard high

in the sky. High above, barely visible due to their altitude, it's a flock

of sandhill cranes returning from the South, where they've been

living during the winter months. We saw hundreds of these massive beauties flying over today. . . what a treat! (Fall is also a great time

to see them, as they head south for the winter.)

 

The sandhill crane is akin to the heron, only larger. With a

7-foot wingspan, these beautiful birds reach a height of 31 to 47 inches.

Seeing the sandhill cranes flying in small groups, calling loudly,

growing closer and closer, circling the sky into larger groups for their flight north to breeding grounds in Canada is a surreal experience. I feel fortunate to live in a part of Indiana where we get to witness this migration each Spring and Fall from our own backyard. Most of the birds we see here are heading north for a stop over in the Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area in Medaryville, Indiana.

 

Check out this video produced by the Chicago Tribune.

 Be sure to turn on your sound.

 

 

And here is just a few pieces of my favorite sandhill crane art from Etsy.

 

Sandhill crane letterpress print by Just A Jar Press 

 

 Sandhill crane print by Madara Mason

 

Limited Edition GICLEE MINI Print / "Reed Preening" /
Watercolor Painting of a Sandhill Crane by Reyes Paintings

 

 

From the Garden

 

 

 

Our first big harvest of asparagus this spring, fresh from the garden.

We'll be enjoying this with a grilled steak for dinner tonight!

 

Are you planning a vegetable garden this year?

 

Waiting for Spring!

We've passed the first day of Spring and we've still had snow on the ground. Kind of unusual for us here in Indiana. This time last year we were already experiencing days of 80 degrees. And, it's putting a hold on my husband's ambitious plans for a new backyard koi pond.

 

He spent his free time over the winter planning and researching for his next big project. He has already ordered the pond liner and protective underlament. And the new pump for the filter system.

 

We put in a koi pond and water garden last Spring and truly enjoyed it. You can see the finished results here and here.

 

We have a space in our backyard where we have had a very large vegetable garden. We decided to give up some of that space for his wish of a bigger koi pond. The plan is for a 14 feet by 14 feet pond that will hold approximately 3000 gallons of water. We have lots of work to do. . .  digging a very large hole, collecting rocks for the edges and building a new filter system.

But for now we're just waiting for Spring!

 

Fresh Harvest

Growing asparagus requires patience, but our long standing asparagus bed is particularly prolific this year! After such a warm winter, the spears emerged from the ground earlier than usual and we will be able to enjoy the tender crisp vegetables for several months.

It's wonderful sauted or stir-fried, steamed and covered with a pat of butter, or my favorite - drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper and grilled with your favorite steak or fish.

Happy Easter!

Have a blessed Easter and enjoy a beautiful Spring Day full of Hope and Renewal!

Saturday Morning Field Trip

All winter, my husband has been working on his plans to install a koi pond in our backyard patio area. He has measured and calculated gallons of water. He's done a lot of online research, made lists of possible plants to include and sketches of the the pond to be.

Now we already have two small garden ponds full of water lillies and goldfish, but we want a larger, deeper pond just for koi. So for a little inspiration, this morning we took a drive to visit a water garden center - Aquatic Design and Supplies in Monrovia, Indiana.

Some of the beautiful koi in the large display pond.

This is a small, shallow pond with a pretty moss covered waterfall. It's smaller size would make it perfect for most backyards.

It was fun to watch the colorful koi as they followed us as we walked around the edge of the pond.

Such a beautiful variety of colors and patterns. I like the orange guy with the whiskers!

This is the large display pond at the garden center.
You can see the big waterfall at the far side.
 

Another view across the large pond. Such a pretty natural setting with the mature trees in the background and the smaller plantings closer to the pond edge.

This was great inspiration for our upcoming koi pond project in our own backyard!

I'll be sure to share our progress with you here.

Welcome Spring!

It's been so warm so early this Spring, flowering bulbs are blooming and trees are flowering several weeks earlier than usual. Even though it was a very mild winter here in Central Indiana, spring is a welcome sight!

My husband and I will be enjoying a few hours tomorrow, Saturday March 24, at a favorite garden center, Avon Gardens. As Randelli's Gourmet Pizza, we will be passing out pizza samples from 12 noon to 2 pm. to celebrate their Spring Opening.

We're hoping for dry weather and lots of potential new customers to try our pizza!

If you happen to be in Avon, Indiana tomorrow, please stop by! Otherwise I hope you get to enjoy a beautiful spring Saturday.

Saturday in the Park

It was sunny, cool and windy when I walked to the park this morning. . . a perfect day for kite flying! April is National Kite Flying Month and families were out to celebrate by having a Kite Fly-In in our little community park.

There were kite building kits for the kids.


And a few demonstrations of large kites by the Hoosier Kitefliers Society.


High flyin!

On down at the lake, these beautiful little sailboats were participating in a model boat regatta.

Powered by the wind, they are controlled remotely from shore and skillfully navigated the course set out on the lake.

It was a lovely Saturday in the park. I hope you are enjoying a wonderful weekend, too.

Floral Inspired Crafts

I've been in a floral sort of mood this week, as you can see by my Giveaway! I came across this link on the Martha Stewart website and thought I'd share this with you.

There are 57 different floral inspired crafts made with fresh and faux flowers in one form or another! There are beautiful ideas for fresh flower arrangements and gifts, ideas for crafting with dried flowers and ideas for making paper flowers. All just in time for Spring!

And don't forget to enter my FeltSewGood Spring Giveaway here! You have three chances to win and you can enter until midnight EST on Saturday, March 13. Good Luck!

Is it Spring Yet?!

Today is March 1st. Is it Spring yet?

The temperatures have started to rise and most of the snow has melted here in central Indiana. (Well, except for those big dirty piles of snow in the strip mall parking lots!) I know it's not officially spring until March 20, but the days are getting longer and I'm anxious to get outside and turn the soil, spread some mulch and enjoy the warmth of the sun!

And it's not too early to start planning the vegetable garden.

I've received a few seed and garden supply catalogs in the mail and I've already earmarked some favorites.

My husband bought some of his favorite seed varieties at the local garden center. It's still a little too early to plant seeds in the ground outside, but by the end of March we hope to get some radish and early lettuce seeds planted. It will be the begining of another beautiful, bountiful garden!

What will you plant this year?

After the Rain

We had lots of rain yesterday and thunderstorms overnight. And there were still a few clouds early this morning.

But as the day progressed, the sun came out for a beautiful Spring day. And we could almost watch the plants grow!

pink columbine

assorted hostas

Japanese iris

ivy on the side wall

clematis, Dr. Ruppel

Even the frog was watching!

A few houseplants were hung outside by the porch.

and there are still a few annuals to plant

I hope your garden is growing!

Let's Go Outside!

It was a weekend of unusally warm weather here in central Indiana. Fresh green foliage is unfolding everywhere and the sights and sounds of Spring beckon us outside!

The leaves are unfolding on all the trees.


The blooming trees are fragrant.


Bleeding heart, one of my favorite spring flowers.


This frog was enjoying the warm sunshine.

The hostas and ferns are lush and green once again.

Share Your Backyard Bounty

Plant a Row for the Hungry.
There are over 84 million households with a yard or garden in the U.S. If every gardener plants one extra row of vegetables and donates their surplus to local food agencies and soup kitchens, a significant impact can be made on reducing hunger.

Join the Garden Writers Association's grassroots campaign to fight hunger by cultivating an extra row of vegetqables for a local food bank or soup kitchen. To join a campaign and find out how to share your backyard bounty with more than your neighbors, go to gardenwriters.org. Just click on the make a donation link and find and find a donation site in your area. I was pleased to find two groups of Master Gardeners volunteer commitees in my county.

Design and Inspiration

I had planned to work on, and complete, and new design project today. The weather forecast was predicting mostly cloudy skies and a slight chance of rain. So I figured I'd stay inside and finish my project. (More on this project at another time!)

But by noon it had turned sunny and the temperate rose quickly to the 70 degree mark and I just had to get outside for some fresh air and a little exercise.

I took my camera and went for a walk in the park adjacent to my neighborhood. It's still too early for blooming flowers and leaves on the trees, but some early plants are starting to sprout!

The wild iris has come up in the swampy areas.

Some tiny wildflowers have made an appearance among the old brown leaves.

The Canadian geese are starting to pick their nesting sites.

And a few fishermen were trying their luck in the lake. I'm so glad I took a break, but now I must get back to work!

First Look at Spring

It's still a little too early to plant very much in the garden here in the Midwest. My husband has planted a few seeds. . . early lettuces, spinach and radishes. And we're just now seeing the first tips of asparagus sprout out of the dirt. But it's not to early to dream of warmer days to come and to enjoy what's already in the greenhouse at the local garden center. In honor of the first day of Spring, we made our first trip the the greenhouse!

The beautiful ferns and small perenial plants will grow more lush as the temperatures rise.

The bright colored annuals in these hanging baskets will soon grow and cover the green planters!

And these tiny seedling of tomatoes, peppers and onions will be ready to plant in the garden in about 6 weeks!

But, I'd better not get ahead of myself, I still have lots of trimming, raking and Spring yard clean-up to do.