Meet TS and Come See the Rest of the Garden...

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Everything That's Right



Snow! 


We received about a foot of snow but several inches had melted by the time this picture was taken.

Neighbors who snow blow your driveway



A stack of books 


Seeds waiting to be sown


Tamara at Chickadee Gardens rescued this hummingbird after it was attacked by another bird.

Discovering an awesome new blog!

75 comments:

  1. I hope you don't lose too many things to the cold. Hopefully it won't last long enough to do much damage. By the time you have tackled some of these books, the snow should be all melted.

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    1. It will be summer before I get through that pile, but that's ok. :o) I only have a few plants that have been affected by our colder-than-normal snow, but that's ok, too. It gives me a chance to try hardier plants, instead.

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  2. Thank you for sharing Jimmy's story! We have resident Annas too and I'd be heartbroken to see one hurt like that. Ours squabble and chase one another away from the feeder but I think the garden has enough to offer to prevent any fights to the death.

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    1. I had no idea they were so fierce until I read her blog! I was amazed at how the hummer let her touch him. That was incredible!

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    1. I like snow, so I always look forward to a good storm. Plus, it gives me a few snow days to catch up on sleep and grade student papers at my leisure. :o)

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  4. Brrr! There's only one thing I like about winter, more time to read.
    What a beautiful bird.

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    1. I like that, too. I always have stacks of books around the house. To me, a book is such a precious thing. :o)

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  5. I hope you keep warm. Enjoy all your books

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  6. I'm envious of your stack of books. It is pouring rain here-the equivalent of a snow day.

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    1. I love rain, too, just not the mud that follows. My four dogs track it all over the house. :(

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  7. Oh, I love a hummingbird that got rescued! I have some of those same books! and so much fun to find new blogs! It has been such a crazy winter...two snow storms here this year...we got a stray dog right before the last storm. We've search for the owner everywhere but no one has claimed her. She is a super sweet dog so I think she is a keeper!

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    1. She was meant to be! I don't think strays arrive by accident. Yours just had an excellent guardian angel to bring her to you. :o)

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  8. Those are perfectly correct things to have along with some chocolate, brownie,fudge :-). I also want to hold a hummer -- what a beauty.

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    1. Yummm!! Chocolate! I want to hold a hummer, too. :o)

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  9. Just say no to snow....LOL.

    I know, good luck and all that.

    Jen

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    1. Our winters are so unpredictable that I get pretty excited about snow. It beats 4 months of brown dormant blah.

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  10. That's a nice list of things to be grateful for! I loved the story about the rescued hummingbird. And you have some nice books there waiting to be read. I have The Book Thief on my list of 'to read' books also! Stay warm!

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    1. Our temps are supposed to really jump this week. I've had Book Thief on my reading list for a really long time. I've already seen the movie but really want to read the book, too.

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  11. Look at all of your snow friend!!! Holy cow!!! And thank you for sharing this new blog with us...I am hopping on over to follow right now! Oh and I wanted to let you know that you won my giveaway!!!!! I will be sending off your bracelet this week so if you could email me your address I can ship this on down to you!!! I was so excited to see that it was you!! A wonderful weekend to you! Nicole xoxo

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    1. Yay!! I'm excited! I love snow. :o) My dogs were trying to chase squirrels while running through it and it was hysterical because they kept getting stuck.

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  12. Thanks for the blog link - fascinating. Over in the UK we have nothing but rain - rain - rain. Oh and some strong winds. The rivers are overflowing and lots of homes flooded. Thank goodness that global warming is just a wicked rumour put round by evil people who want to stop big corporations from making money!

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    1. Oh yes! Global warming is just another political conspiracy. While you're flooding, the American west is drying up into nothingness. Order up - a bit of balance, please!

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  13. I am lucky that a neighbor also does my driveway for me. The little Hummingbird is adorable.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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    1. My husband had gone out to shovel only to discover our neighbor had done it for us. Woo-hoo! I love my neighbors!

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  14. Lots of good things there to stave off the winter blues!

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    1. I get restless and cranky in the winter sometimes. Seeds and books help get me through. :o)

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  15. I wanted to run outdoors and build myself a snowman, and throw snowballs at innocent passers by...I do love a little snow!
    What a delighted stack of books, reminds me that I want to read The Book Thief...
    What a wonderful, heartwarming story about the little rescued hummingbird, lovely to think so many people care for our creatures all around the world, and delightful to hear little Jimmy went back to the bog wide world. A wonderful post....as always.xxx

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    1. Thanks! I was so amazed by the video on Tamara's blog. Hummingbirds are so tiny, I just couldn't imagine holding one or keeping one in my house. Very heart warming!

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  16. I envy your snow pictures, we had no snow until now. Your pile of books is so interesting for me and there are some I have too and what a pretty seedpackets, when you have sown the seed you should keep the empty packets so beautiful. Now I am going to Tamara's blog, want to know more about the little hummingbird.

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    1. Some winters we don't have any snow at all so I love every freezing flake. I love the artwork on those packets, too. They would be beautiful in frames. :o)

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  17. How I wish ours would melt that fast and welcome in an early spring...no such luck. Great to hear about this new blog...will check it out.

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    1. When I lived in Watertown, NY I knew spring was coming when the snowpack melted off the street and I could see the asphalt. Our winters went on forever. But I had the most incredible soil so I had to compromise. :o)

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  18. Hi--I got so much pleasure out of the new blog right here in Portland! Thank you for sharing that. It reminded me so much of our days during that week of the storm, bringing hummingbird feeders in to thaw and back out again--rotating, so nobody would be without food in the feeders. We noticed that our Annas also frequented the stream area much more too to find bugs. And of course I had to laugh like crazy, because for such a sweet beautiful bird, they can be one bad actor! They don't share. Here they all are in danger of freezing and they chase each other away from their territory. I don't know what I would have done if I found one pecking on a little one. What a marvelous story--I'll write to that blogger and follow. Also noticed that you keep your seeds in a box from the Hotel Sacher in Vienna, pretty classy. The Sacher Tortes are the best in the world as you must know! Anyway, sending empathy for this brutal snow storm--AGAIN.

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    1. Portland has so many bloggers! The PNW has a gardening culture severely lacking here. We have traffic and politics. Wanna trade? My husband brought the torte back from his last trip to Vienna. It was mighty tasty. I kept eating it for breakfast. :o) I loved the box and thought it was a handy spot to store my seeds. I liked our snow storm but I like all stormy weather. I sleep easy in howling winds and pounding rain. :o)

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  19. Seems like we got more snow than you did. That hummingbird is so cute. Your seed packets reminded me that I have got to start thinking about seeds I want to plant. I have only looked through one seed catalog.

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    1. We had about a foot. Once the sun came out the next day, it started to melt pretty quickly. Bakers Seeds, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Renee's Seeds, and Botanical Interests are all excellent sources of organic seed.

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  20. Books, seeds, no doubt a warm fire and a cup of tea! Sounds blissful ! We have had a Spring like today - mild and sunny... so probably snow tomorrow for us too ...

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    1. We're supposed to have a taste of spring later this week and as much as I love snow, I can hardly wait! Of course, it will also be a muddy mess!

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  21. That is a beautiful and perfect list of things! Last week I planted seeds in my Mexican garden the day before I got on a flight home to Canada to enjoy my family and all of the snow. Now for the books!

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    1. From Mexico to Canada is quite a change! Your dogs will be so glad to see you return. You might even find seedlings waiting for you.

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  22. The books look perfect with the snow so thick outside, although I like to gather unread books together best before I go on holiday and I know I have lots of uninterrupted reading ahead! The Hummingbird looks beautiful. I'm so pleased to hear it was saved.

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    1. I love knowing I always have unread books waiting for me. I don't use any types of electronic readers. I like the feel and heft of a real book. It feels more authentic and personal.

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  23. Looks like you have a perfect stack of books to take you through both this bout of snow and possibly the next one. I hope you won’t be having this cold weather for too long, it’s only 12 days until we officially have spring, at least here in London :-)

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    1. Spring starts for us March 21. Does London have a different calendar? :o) As snowy as it is now, I highly doubt it will look like this in a month. There is a bit of green hiding under all that snow. We're supposed to have warm temps later in the week that will turn our snow into a mud pile!

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    2. In Britain we have the meteorological seasons and the astronomical seasons (where spring starts 21st March), for most of England, the metrological version which use 3 whole calendar months for each season and define spring as 1st March to end of May is what fits best with what we see outside.
      In my garden, spring started a long time ago though :-)

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    3. I much prefer your calendar! But only as long as Mother Nature plays along. She been in a bit of a nasty mood lately.

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  24. Lovely story about the humming bird.
    I see you have Miriam Ostler in your book pile. A Gentle Plea For Chaos is a wonderful book. She is not terribly knowledgeable about plants but she writes so beautifully. A great read.

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    1. A Gentle Plea for Chaos has been a delicious read because the author understands the wild nature of a garden. She and I are very similar in our appreciation of the less manicured, exuberant gardens. It's been a book to savor.

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  25. Great post! I just returned from a week's visit to my home in Michigan and the word of the day is SNOW SNOW SNOW! I love your stack of books. I am always looking to expand my reading selection! I love the picture of the hummingbird! I was lucky enough once to hold one of those tiny, gorgeous creatures in my hand. It flew into my window and was stunned for a minute or so. I picked it up and just watched it til it shook the cobwebs out of its head and flew off. One of my favorite moments. Love your blog...and your attitude about life in general :)

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    1. You held a hummingbird?? Wowzers! I would love to do that. Such an incredible thing to even think about. Life is a choice so I choose happy. :o)

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  26. WOW! How neat is your street after snow!!! Where's the slush?
    And that hummingbird....WOW! Again :-)

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    1. We have snowplows that come through every six hours or so to clear it all away so people can get to work. When I saw the hummingbird video on Tamara's blog, I was stunned. So amazing!

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  27. A stack of books on a snowy day is a great thing. A little rescued bird is even better! Thanks for introducing a wonderful new blog!

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    1. You're welcome! The book Reaching is by a fellow blogger, Gardening with Grace.

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  28. Here, here for all of the above except for snow. We just got another six inches, bringing our total to almost 75. That's more than enough of a good thing.

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    1. Good grief! That's too much! But your garden is well watered. :o)

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  29. Or is that hear, hear?

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  30. Awww, I will check out that new blog! It seems everyone was snowbound during the weekend--so many people posted, and I was out of town for a family event. So I need to catch up on my blog visits -- another thing that is "right"!!! Glad your snow is melting fast!

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    1. We're supposed to get 2 more inches tonight and then tomorrow is going to be 50. Mother Nature is moody, to say the least, but I'm looking forward to the warmth. :o)

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  31. Oh my, to be situated with such amazing books and authors... very humbling. I'm so appreciative, Tami. Thank you soooo much. Please let me know what you think. As for this crazy weather it seems we're all getting dumped on this year, aren't we? We had 2 feet of snow and now we're getting all the rain that didn't happen in October and November. Don't you love having seeds? I've got a bunch too and can't wait for it to warm up. I saw Tamara's hummingbird fly away. So cool. I'm glad you'll be warming up soon.

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    1. Your book is next on my list. I am so sorry it has taken me so long. I started my winter sowing today and can hardly wait for those seeds to pop. I have a bunch of seeds under lights in my basement, too. Weather in the 50's this week. Wahoo!

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  32. Because I can't work outside or garden in the snow - I should have a lot of time to read - but I seem to never have time! I'll make time to be outside in the spring though!

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    1. I like to read before I go to bed, but sometimes I'm so tired I just collapse and it takes forever to finish a book.

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  33. I headed over to Chicadee Gardens (a lovely blog) like you suggested and got caught up reading and then realised I hadn't left a comment here. Loved the hummingbird story.
    You have nice neighbours....treasure them.
    Enjoy your reading......those are good authors and well-written books.

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    1. I have truly incredible neighbors! But I've had crazy ones in the past so I'm grateful for how lucky I am now.

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  34. What an amazing hummingbird story! I loved it. Thanks for passing it on. We made it to DC and back unscathed, but you sure have more snow than we do. Plus it was freezing! Thank goodness for your nice neighbors, and for that big stack of books. It looks as if you might need them for a little while longer.

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    1. You could probably read an entire book while stuck in our traffic. Glad the trip went well. :o) The hummingbird story is so heartwarming. I just love it. :o)

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  35. We had yet another snow storm last night and the huge piles of it on either side of the driveway speak to the fact that there is no novelty in it here! There are some interesting titles in that stack of books. I love the illustrations on your seed packages. Where did your order them from?

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    1. The seeds are from Botanical Interests, a wonderful company. :o) Their packages are like little pieces of art.

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  36. What lovely, polite snow you have! How very orderly! ;-) All is right in your world (and hooray for your lovely neighbors). By the way, I loved "Her Fearful Symmetry." Read it on a dark day before the snow melts.

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