Thyme To Think Birds, The Garden, & Losing February

Northern Cardinal - Female

Northern Cardinal - Male

When it's cold outside and one is safely tucked in the warmth of 
home, hopefully you have bird feeders hanging close enough to 
watch the the many different birds and their escapades. I've been
watching my cardinal friends. I like to think they are a two-some,
a couple, love-birds if you will. For when I see one of them, I see
the other somewhere close. Papa Red as I now call him generally
hangs out on the ground, or in this boxwood bush, while Mama
Red will be at the feeder or high up in the trees. Interesting, note
she is fully aware of where he is (see top Pic). Sweet.

Easter Gray Squirrel

Now the squirrel, the bane of gardeners everywhere. On this 
wintery day about 5 of them were romping about the trees. Up 
and down the trees they went, and finally this little fellow
decided to sit and rest a spell. Up came the large tail, lying
along his back. See the fringe of his tail above his face? They
love shelled peanuts and dried corn.

Oh the garden, how we can almost taste it, the joy comes back
to us so easily. Can you feel the dirt, smell the mulch, and
visualize all the beautiful blooms that await us? I'm now ready
to peruse the garden catalogues, look at my collection of seed
packets and think GARDEN!!! How about you? We'll have
so much to discuss in March. See PLANTING SEEDS on
your right to visit garden sites, (just click on the name).      

I just had to bring the topiaries back in after their afternoon in 
the sun; and fix myself a cup of Mandarin Orange Spice Herbal
Tea. MMM, hits the spot. Do you need a break friends, i'll wait.
Ok I will digress for a moment and share this story…..
When my son Ben was in grade school, he had a Nun for one
of his teachers. She was short, big voice, and mighty…and she 
knew of wince her power be. Anyway, all she had to do to get
attention from her students was stand in front of them, arms 
crossed, eyes glaring, and simply say…" I'LL WAIT". And 
according to Ben, it worked!! 
Isn't it funny how things come back to you?
Ok back to plants. I hope you all have some houseplants.  
They through a process of photosynthesis add oxygen to our 
environment. Add more O2 and suddenly you have a lot of
healthy benefits, I won't expound on that here, you can Google
for some great info. Here are some suggestions for plants:
Snake Plant, Golden Pothos, Peace Lily, Bamboo Palm, and 
Philodendron. All tolerate low light, low moisture in winter.
So clean out the toxins in your home, reduce your stress and
make your rooms warm and inviting. 

Yes, indeed we all want to lose this month, bye-bye, the big 
sayonara, and welcome the new month with hope of some 
warmer weather. March will bring daylight saving time,
and the first day of Spring (20th). Hang in there.

The Moon and the planet Venus

This month has been spectacular for visualizing 5 planets with
the naked eye. Venus and Mars could be seen early evening,
Jupiter could be seen brightly shining from dusk until dawn,
and Saturn was visual before dawn, and Mercury right before
sunrise. Ron and I saw Mars by driving around to find just 
the right spot. Fun, interesting. I used my iPhone camera but
it just wouldn't show clear enough via picture to share. But 
a few days later, on a very clear night, the picture above was   
taken in our driveway. Can you see Venus. Maybe this will 
help. If you think of a clock with the Moon as center, think 
25 after the hour and you should see it. Very tiny white dot. 
Zoom out with your computer, phone, or Ipad. Wish we 
had a telescope. 




excerpt from poem THE MOON IS UP by Alfred Noyes

The moon is up, 
the stars are bright
the wind is fresh and free!
We're out to seek the gold tonight
across the silver sea!……

                                                     
next up: March and more garden talk