June...

And, to think, there was a time when I wanted no pink in my gardens!  Now, I can't seem to have enough!  I am really going to miss these beautiful foxgloves when they are gone, and I am sure the bees will too.

The hummingbird garden is delighting me, as well as the little hummers that visit it every day.  Bee Balm or Monarda is a favorite of mine and is just now starting to bloom.  The flowers, with quilled and ruffled petals,  remind me a great deal of  the Burpeeana Zinnia which will soon be blooming.  I do hope some of them will be red...and maybe even pink!

The hummingbirds are very active now at the feeders, and seem to be happy with their new backyard accommodations.  (You may remember that we moved them off the front porch because they were driving the husband crazy."  He said the noise they made was deafening!  Really?  And,  I could hardly hear them!)

We sometimes go inside the Shanty and watch the little birds through the window.  They can put on quite a show, you know.

We haven't done anything more inside the Shanty.  I am resisting doing anything more until we put panels on the walls.   Maybe when the hummingbirds leave this fall, we can throw open the door and go to work.

Take care, and thanks for stopping by!

Mary 

Rabbit Holes and Baby Zinnias...

 If only I had known, I would have closed the garden gate.  But, how could I know that there was a burrow underneath the tall verbena, and that in that burrow was a little family of baby rabbits?

I had left the old gate open, so Millie had followed me into the garden.  She's never far from me, so I thought nothing of it. I went about my work and she went about hers, which was to go sniffing here and there about the garden.  When I glanced up from whatever I was doing, it was just in time to see her pull two young rabbits from the hole ~  two perfectly adorable little rabbits with the biggest brightest eyes ever.  There was nothing I could do.  Millie ate them.  She is part dingo, and dingoes will be dingoes.  My son said I should thank her, but I was sad.  I did not scold her.  Why, that would be like scolding me for eating a BLT sandwich.

The Sunny Little Garden continues to be a work in progress.  I am pleased to see that the wooly mulleins which I brought in from around the place, are doing well.  I took three and left three in the wild to propagate freely.

Since this picture of the garden was taken, one hundred seven zinnias (Burpeeana Giants, the flowers of  which remind me a lot of those of Bee Balm)  have been added to the outside borders of the garden.  These are my babies that I have nurtured from seed purchased at a local farm supply store. I had dutifully carried them outside by day and back inside by night.  That is, until I got the idea to just leave them in the bed of the side-by-side.  It was simple ~ back it out into the sunshine by day, and pull it back inside at night.  It worked, and the little seedlings thrived.

By the time I had them all transplanted into the rich garden soil, by bending, squatting, and even crawling,  I was wishing I hadn't started so many.  Maybe next year I will just plant one flat.  :~)  But, a flat of foxgloves would be nice, wouldn't it?

If you look closely you might notice that a few of the little plants have been nibbled on.  Now, I wonder what could have done that?  :~/

Lately, I have also been working in the borders around the house.  I had been thinking that I needed something to bring a little life to the beds, something with more energy and movement. Having become somewhat obsessed with the Butterfly Bush, not only for its showy and fragrant flowers, but also because of its attraction to butterflies, I asked myself, "Why can't I have Butterfly Bushes all over the place?"

"At the side of the everlasting Why, is a yes, and a yes, and a yes."

~E.M. Forster

So, that's how I came to have eight more Butterfly Bushes, and I already had five.  I love the way the arching branches, with clusters of beautiful blue blossoms, blow in the wind.  (Nanho Blue Butterfly Bush).










We have been getting lots of rain here, which is a blessing, I know.  Haying has gotten off to a slow start, however, because of it, but the extra moisture will pay dividends later on, I am sure.  We did finally get one field in rolls, so haying season is officially here.

There are puddles of water all over the place,   This pair of mallards, undoubtedly on their way farther north, thought this puddle looked inviting.

Underneath this tree is our shady spot where Millie and I take refuge from the heat.  I can think of all sorts of things I would like to do here on a hot summer's day.

So, from my shady place to yours, I hope your lovely month of May has been good.  Take care.

Mary

Dances With Wolves...

Recently, we had a problem with our satellite receiver and television which left us with no service for several days.  We really kind of enjoyed the time without it.  Ahh, the quietness of it all...

But, once it was back up and running, and all systems were go, we settled back to watch something.   As luck would have it, my favorite movie, Dances With Wolves, was playing. I turned on "Closed Captioning" so I wouldn't miss a word, made some popcorn, and put up my feet.  Now, it's not a new movie for either of us, for we have watched it  a countless number of times before, but I never tire of it.

Gosh, there's a lot to love about this movie, which won a grand total of seven Academy Awards.  What a beautiful homage it pays to the old American West and to the last frontier.

"Thirteen years later, their homes destroyed, their buffalo gone, the last band of free Sioux submitted to white authority at Fort Robinson, Nebraska.  The great horse culture of the plains was gone and the American frontier was soon to pass into history."

 And, then, for those of us who know the love of a dog, there was Two Socks.  Just take a look at this  excerpt from the movie.  How can anyone not love Two Socks?  And, don't forget to turn up the sound, for the music, which was composed and conducted by John Barry, is just wonderful.

All of  the dolls pictured here are from my collection of Skookum "Bully Good Indians," the first of which were made by Mary McAboy (1876-1961) and later mass produced and sold as souvenirs across the American West in the early 20th century.

The Rubies are here...

The Rubies are here!  And, just like always, they are hungry.  Feeding these babies is a true passion of mine.  Not only do I have lots of feeders hanging around the place, I try to provide them with natural food by selecting plants for the gardens that attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees.

When I was visiting a local nursery recently, a hummingbird flew through the open door and into the greenhouse where I was.  I stood very still and watched.  Obviously, he had been dining there before for he seemed to know exactly where he was going and what he wanted ~ Dwarf Hummingbird Mint,  Autumn Sage in both violet and hot pink, and Cuphea Honeybells.  When I left the greenhouse, my purchases that day included some of these tried and true hummingbird favorites.

And, here the plants are filling an old wooden box that once served as a minerals and salt feeder for the cattle.  How about that green color that Mother Nature put on that old piece.

Some other proven favorites....

Carolina Buckeye.  We can always expect the hummingbirds to arrive when the buckeye blooms. 

Look at that tongue.

Another Cuphea which these little birds go crazy over.  

Why can't we have pretty ribbons in our hair?

Was it my imagination, or did I actually hear one of the girls ask, "Why can't we have pretty ribbons in our hair?"  Well, they have had those old muslin rags tied round their heads for such a  long time, it seems, so a pretty colored ribbon probably would be something these tired and weary girls would long for.

These two have been quite happy to have made it safely through the claying process and are anxious to get on with the next stage, which is getting a cloth covering over the clay.  One of the girls met with a bit of bad luck and had to have some major reconstruction, so she fell behind the others.  She is now almost caught up, though.

It is the hair that they should be most concerned with, I think, for I am.  Why, I am having so much trouble with my own hair that I wonder what I will be able to do with hair for these five young ladies.  With all of the beauty salons around here closed,  I have had to cut my own hair.  Talk about bad hair days!  

There are just so many lovely things going on outside at this time of year.  It's terribly hard to stay inside and chance missing out on something.  Why, just take a look at the little persimmon tree that lives on a little peninsula at the pond.  It is getting all decked out now in its new, but nothing-fancy, leaves.  (No doubt, she's the most photographed tree on the place. Why, I could do a complete album with nothing but pictures of her in every season and weather.  And, maybe I will one day."

There are colorful surprises to be discovered almost everywhere one wants to look...along the trails we walk,

and in yard and garden's every nook and cranny.

Until next time...  Take care.

Mary

Reflecting Back on a Thousand Days....

It is a big day here at Hill Top for Millie and me.  It really is... even though there was no big fanfare with flags waving and children cheering, as I had thought there might be. A Thousand Walks in A Thousand Days!   The children and grandchildren had planned to be here, but..... "The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray,"  as all of you so very well know.

It was not always an easy thing to go out in all kinds of weather, but I loved it all...(Well, except for the time we were caught in a thunder storm.)  It's my favorite place to be here on Hill Top where I can watch the seasons come and go.  I have seen the miracles of nature thousands of times in my lifetime, and as I always say, these miracles are best seen on foot...one step at a time...right in the midst of them all!

"The year's at the spring

And day's at the morn;

Morning's at seven;

The hill-side's dew-pearled;

The lark's on the wing;

The snail's on the thorn..."

~Robert Browning

The dogwoods are dotting the hillsides white now.   In celebration of our special day, Millie and I walked down to the old place awhile ago to see the bleeding hearts and to step along a petal-strewn old rock pathway.  Yes, the year is definitely at her spring, and how beautiful she is...

Now, reflecting back over the thousand days, there are so many memories.  I went through some of my photo files and pulled out a few of my favorites, but only a few for there are so many.  I learned right away that it is a good idea to always have my camera at hand for one never knows what surprise picture is waiting just around the bend.  I have included a few of those surprises here.

I had thought I might take a day off tomorrow, but no! We will go!   The calendar entry will read, 1001.  I know one day I will have to give all of this up and leave the trails behind for those who will follow.  In the years to come, if they should see a ghost walking these trails, they can be sure it is me.

Happy Trails to you!  Take care!

Mary