Beauty in the Woods

Walking in the woods at this time of the year you will see dotted throughout the woodland the magnificent Trillium, Trillium grandiflorum.  This spring beauty is native to rich woods, thickets in Ontario, Quebec, wester Maine and New Hampshire as far south as Georgia.  This plant is protected here in Ontario as it is against the law to pick them.  It is also our Provincial emblem.

This one is the Purple Trillium, Trillium erectum.  If you wish to grow Trillium make sure you purchase it at a reputable nursery.  Mine grow under our front bay window where it is shady and cool.

April Moon

This is a photo of the moon that my husband took recently.  Can you see any green cheese?  For more great shots of the sky visit Skywatch.

Dreaming of Summer

This raft is looking lonely and needs some swimmers. It was taken last fall at Jokers Hill in York Region. For more watery photos check out Watery Wednesday and enjoy

A Mosiac of Pulsitillas

I just had to make a mosiac this week out of all the Pulsitilla or Pasque flower pictures I have taken.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  Find more spring mosiacs on Mosiac Monday with host Mary at Dear Little RedHouse.  It will put you in a good mood.  Happy Gardening week.

I love the vibrant purple colour of grape hyacinths at this time of the year.  They make a great contrast in the garden with crocus and tulips.  Visit Murrieta365 for more Straight Out of the Camera Sunday.

Boris is a Skinnypig

Boris the Skinnypig.  Isn't he cute?

Our youngest son's girlfriend is a soft touch for animals.  She has a year old boxer mix puppy named Rex and this latest new addition is Boris the Skinnypig.  He is 6 months old.   Raised  originally for laboratory testing these hairless guinea pigs are a wonderful pet.   His favourite foods are romaine lettuce, carrots and timothy hay.  These little fellows usually have a difficiency of Vitamin C and the the timothy hay helps with that.

Seen here with his pet owner Karen, Boris is very entertaining and lovable. Skinnypigs are very warm to the touch. He likes to hide in his blanket or when in his cage he has a little house he hides in.  When he is hungry, and skinnypigs are big eaters, he gets your attention by whistling loudly until he gets his food.

Please ignore the video. I could not figure out how to delete it and it did not load.  Another lesson to learn.

For more lovable critters visit Camera Critters to share in the fun.  Have a great weekend.

The Pasque Flower - Spring Beauty

One of my favourite spring flowers is the Anemone patens, Pasque Flower or Pulsatilla.  This interesting plant is a native to North America making it a natural in my garden.  The bloom is quite large for the size of the plant at 1 1/2-2 inches or  3.8 to 5 cm on a rather short stalk. The leaves are rather hairy but are soft and silky.  This plant is a natural is an alpine garden along side of rocks or scree.

Even with rain drops on it the bud looks spectacular.  The Pasque flower grows really well in my sandy soil as it likes a well draining soil.  It will suffer root rot if the soil becomes waterlogged.   It likes the full sun to do well.

This is the white variety. Bees in Europe are attracted to this plant for its nectar and collection of pollen. I have seen bumble bees here busy down in the stamens.

Even when the flower head is finished the seed head is still attractive.  I hope that you will look around your garden centre and try one of these beauties in your garden.  Happy Gardening.

Fascination in the Flowerbed

Every Sunday I gather what photos I have to share for Mosiac Monday with our host Mary.  The last few weeks with warm temperatures that are a little unusual for this area the garden has been abloom.  I am not complaining by any means.  It just seems like it is in a rush.  Winter is so long here you like to savour every last drop of spring while you can.   This weeks mosiac is what is in bloom this week.  This morning I saw the grape hyacinth in the back garden, the white christmas cactus with blooms for the third time this year, the pulminaria with its little flowers that are pink and blue, one of my favourites in the spring garden is the pasque flower, I was happy to find the native single bloodroot blooming in a place I don't remember planting it and finally a little perennial violet.   I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  Visit Mary who will link you to other Mosiac Monday photos.   Have a great garden week.

Crazy or Smart Goose: You be the Judge

My husband took these photos today for Camera Critters.  On one of his job sites in a tree about 20ft up, is a Canada Goose who decided for what ever her reasons to place her nest.  She may have thought nobody could bother her up there.  My question is how is she going to get her babies down?  Canada Geese are really not fussy where they put their nest.  My friend and I saw one at the Mall yesterday that had her nest just off the sidewalk where people walk by her all the time.   When I had a school bus route I would come across mommy goose and her goslings trying to cross the road.  In order not to have someone run her over I ran out the stop sign and put on my flashing lights until she crossed the road. 

It will be interesting to see how she gets on.  Will keep you posted.   Enjoy your weekend.

Blooms for Bloggers Bloom Day

It is Bloggers Bloom Day...the day that garden bloggers get to show off what is growing in their gardens.  I went out early this morning to get a photo of my red tulips before they were open for the day.

The Helliborus Niger is just beginning to change colour from a white bloom to a pink as it nears the end of its bloom time this year.  I think it looks nice this way too.

The purple and white crocus are a lovely sight in the garden now.   Stop by and visit more blooms by visiting May Dreams Gardens    Happy Gardening.

Something New Everyday

The red tulips that grow up against the foundation finally bloomed today. Now, that is not earth shattering but they are the first tulips to bloom here in the Sandbox. The tulip bulbs were a gift from my Mother in Law when we moved here. She has been gone since 1992. I rembember her when I see them bloom.

The Colchicum or Autumn Crocus had popped up under the Spruce tree. These crocus type flowers are in the family of Iris. The put up green leaves in the spring and then die back to come again in the fall as lovely mauve flowers.

The last little surprise for today was the emergence of the Double Bloodroot that I received from a friend who has a lovely garden and takes great pride in her plants. I would have been very ashamed of myself if this did not come up as my garden is less lush than hers. I hope it has a nice bloom. I will take a picture when it does. All for today.

New Beginnings

My mosiac for this week's addition of Mosiac Monday was based on what is new in the outdoors. There are so many new surprises each day now as I mosey around in the garden.  For more Mosiac Monday fun visit Mary at DearLittleRedHouse and see what others are finding new.

Some of you have commented that the mosiac could not be enlarged by clicking on it.  I have edited it and I think it works now.  Thanks.  V

Mr. Robin Redbreast

Mr. Robin was sitting on the arbor last night just surveying his kingdom.  More great photos can be found on Murrieta365 for Straight Out of the Camera Sunday.  Take a look.

Red-wing Blackbird and Relatives

My husband found a  rusty old vent cover, found on the ground by an abandoned barn, on one of his job sites. It looks like a witch's hat.   He thought it might make an interesting roof for a bird feeder.  He worked on it last weekend and I painted it blue because I wanted it to stand out.   The first visitors were a pair of house finches.  Around supper time last night this group of red-wing blackbirds along with their kin the brown headed cowbirds showed up.  I grabbed the camera and this is what I got.  Nice group shot I thought.  Go and visit Camera Critters today and tomorrow to see other kinds of critters caught by a camera.

Come on Spring

Oh Mother Nature is fickle this week.  We went from having almost summery warm weather where everyone was pulling out the shorts and the tee shirts and the men were polishing up the lawnmowers for the season to today.  Today is just at the freezing mark and I did see the odd snowflake in the air.  I ran out to take a photo of these poor white crocus that came out a couple of days ago and have not opened yet because we had two days of rain and not it's too darn cold.

The tulips up against the foundation on the south side are pushing ahead and look like they might be a nice picture in a few days.

There is no stopping the rhubarb coming up in the vegetable garden.   I look forward to that.  I love rhubarb. I have a good recipe for a rhubarb cake that someone pased on to me a couple of years ago.  It is is hit where ever I take it.  I will post it one day when I bake one.

Just this morning despite it being so cold I saw these two trillim leaves in the front flower bed.  So, I guess spring is coming this way just at a few steps forward and a few back.  I was in the city (Toronto) yesterday and the forsythia was just amazing.  The trees all had little leaves on them.  They are way ahead of us north of the city. 

Signs of Spring

We had a lovely day again today.  Weather has been so wonderful.  The family was here for dinner.  I ate too much even though I said I would just take just a small portion.   I hope you had a wonderful day too.  For more springy mosiacs visit Mary at DearLittleRed House.  See you there.

Butterfly in the Pansies

I purchased a pot of pansies today at Costco.  So lazy...I did not have to pot them up.  Just plopped the container into the urn at the front door.  They smelled so devine.  A cabbage butterfly thought so too.  Happy Easter to you and your family.   More Straight out of the Camera photos can be found here Murrieta365