Lotsa Cloudy Days…

It continues to be a cool Spring here in the Upper Midwest… we've had lots of cloudy & rainy days… and though the Sun hasn't been out much, there's been enough to get things growing quickly…

A few pictures when the sun was shining…

One of my first Tulip blooms...

Violets in full bloom...

Hostas (foreground) & Violets (background)...

Now for some rainy day pics...

Creeping Phlox in full bloom...

Lilac blooms opening up nicely...

Tulip blooms, covered with droplets from the rain…

The rest of the garden is growing like crazy, only 1 small patch left to clean (a couple hour job) but it has to wait until the rain goes away… which could be a while!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away…

… but then again it could be snowing… so go ahead & Rain!!

I'm still 1 day away from finishing my Spring Cleanup.  When the weather's been nice I've been busy...  When I haven't been busy its been raining… yep, the usual…

Things keep growing despite my unfinished cleanup work… so here's the latest photos of interesting things in the yard…

Wouldn't you know, an Oriole was at the suet & I couldn't find my camera…

These pics of the Oriole are brought to you by my iPhone… not nearly as good at a distance but still better than not catching him at all… Oriole's are a rarity at my house - I'm too far from water...

This is a few days ago… the leaves are getting dense in the back woods...

Still my back woods… my path to my cutting piles…

My Creeping Phlox is starting to bloom...

I love her delicate little flowers...

The whole area is starting to really green-up…

Torrential Rain & Jeff Spotted something….

A zoomed in look...

A better angle...This squirrel had found a dry place during the torrent and was clinging to the tree until the hard rain had passed...

This pond formed during the rain storm...

This little Red Winged Blackbird (I believe by the markings its a juvenile male) must have been blown off course by the storm… I guess he decided our temporary pond was as good as any (teenagers!)...

It rained some more… and the pond kept filling...

And some of my mulch got pushed around because it was such a heavy downpour!!

That's an awful lot of water under the Oak trees….

My violets continue to bloom...

And my Lilac blooms are just starting to open… I'm so excited for this!!

That's all from my gardens… I hope to be out in them again once this rainy spell is past.

More New Blooms...

Yes, more proof that Spring finally got here to the upper-midwest…

Teensy blooms on my Red Current bush...

My Daffodils have started to bloom...

My Violets are starting to bloom… they're always one of the earliest bloomers...

And Yes!!  My Lilac is going to bloom again this year… and this year I'll be home (in country) to see them & enjoy their fragrance… ahhhh….

Signs of Life in Minnesota...

We went through the Winter from Hell this year, not all that particularly cold, not ever overwhelmed by a huge storm, but hellish because it just wouldn't end… and we had snow even into early May… UGH!!

But the good news is… it finally ended!!  We've had normal Spring weather the last (almost) 2 weeks, and even a particularly warm day on Tuesday (90s), and things are bursting with life!!

My young Maple Tree had these lovely lacy blooms… first blooms in my yard this year!

The Goldfinches have been regulars at the feeders…. oops, that's my neighbor's clippings in the background… but the birds are cute!!

During a much-needed break… but I've been hard at work…

After I quit for the day (yesterday)… one more section remains to be done, but the yard is shaping up nicely!!  60 bags down 10 to go (approximate mulch count)….

Can't wait for more to start blooming!!

Caught Him!!

This is a White Crowned Sparrow, only migratory in my area, and they typically move pretty fast… so it took me a while but I finally got a couple decent pictures of him… isn't he cute?

This picture is a little blurry, but it shows his distinctive stripes on his head...

I'm so glad I tied some millet sprays onto my Oak Tree…

Feathered Friends...

We had rain today… followed by snow… then more rain… then sleet… then rain again…

So all I saw of the garden was what I saw looking out  my windows (temps in the 30s)… but the birds were undeterred… here are some decent pics I took out my windows, there were more types than this but they just didn't want to hold still for the camera :)

Goldfinch… we had lots of these around today...

House Finch…

Nuthatch...

Pair of Cardinals...

Male Cardinal (better pic)…

We have been having the other usual customers - Chickadee, House Sparrow, Woodpecker, Robin, etc… plus one that's just migrating through, a White Crowned Sparrow, unfortunately he moves really quickly and I wasn't able to get a decent picture...