06.14.2025 Carolina Wren Nesting in Wreath

There is perhaps no one more grateful that the construction is done on the house than my boy Gunnarr, except for the Carolina wren. She has been at the house all winter and usually builds a nest in the Christmas wreath on our front door. We also found nests between the old gutters and the house. But because of the construction in the front, there was no Christmas wreath on the door and the gutters were removed as the roof line changed. 

But this Carolina wren does not miss an opportunity. Last week I hung my silk flowered Spring wreath on the door. And shortly thereafter, she started to build a nest! Interesting enough, she uses the door as part of the nest. But she has been quite busy adding one twig at a time until she has a little palace! So far, she has not been spending much time sitting there. On occasion I will see her fly out whenever I am in the atrium. I now rarely use the atrium door and will not use the front door so we don't disturb her! The nest is too deep for me to see if there are any eggs laid yet!

She is a curious bird. She frequently lands on the screen in my bedroom window early in the morning and sings to us - maybe to make sure we get up and at it!

The gardens are growing fast. We have one curious finding. For the last four or five years, there has been one pink rose in bloom next to the rhododendrons. Just one flower, no other buds. This year, the small plant has grown and it now has 10 roses in bloom and quite a few more buds!  How that rose bush landed in my garden I have no idea. But she is beautiful!  

She looks like an old fashioned rose and there is a bee feeding on the pollen. 

The boys are doing well. Gunnarr is now happier without all of the construction. But I suspect he will miss some of the attention from the workers even though he usually hid behind me when they were in the house.

Fionnegan is as friendly as it gets and he loved greeting the workmen. He got a lot of attention.

Shorty also loved the attention from the workmen. We were all lucky, none of the workers minded the morning greetings and always interacted with them. 

Yes, Fionnegan and Gunnarr had a spa date to groom them for the summer heat while Shorty and I enjoyed a walk in the woods.  The new dog park is not yet open but I am looking forward to letting Shorty in particular run without his leash. We'll see how that goes! We are only allowed two dogs at a time, so I will have to make separate trips to see how the new dog park works out for them. Fingers crossed!

And Fionnegan and Gunnarr are ready for the summer heat!

Happy Flag Day (June 14) and hope you are enjoying the end of Spring 2025!

Until next time, stay well.

06.01.2025 - Tis the season....

 .... for ticks. Yes, those pesky critters are out in full force.  I have had 2 on me yesterday - and it was only May! Found one on my leg and easily removed it. While driving the car, I felt an itch and movement on the back of my scalp. When I reached back I felt a mass and pulled it out. There it was - another tick. Out the window it went. How did I get one on my scalp? Did it jump off my boys? I had been in the woods once and in the garden. It must have fallen on me from a tree or bush I guess. So much for long sleeve shirts and pants!

The gardens are doing well. A lot of rain and the magic begins with beautiful flowers.

Soon to bloom - my favorite mountain laurels.

We had a bit of a quiet indoor day. Took advantage of the cool rainy weather to get a few chores done inside the house. Things are finally back in place after the renovations to the atrium and roof, and no one could be happier than me - except of course Gunnarr who had the hardest time with a change in his routine. For a relatively small project, it was incredibly disruptive.  See Shorty's blog (mydogShorty.blogspot,com or go to blogspot.com and search on Is that your dog or my dog Shorty for more details and pictures).

Guess who is getting a haircut next week? Yes, Gunnarr and Fionnegan have a spa date!

Gunnarr with that adorable head tilt. He hangs on my every word. But that doesn't mean he always listens!

Fionnegan is just as cute and lovable as always. He still loves to give puppy kisses to everyone.

Shorty and I will have a "Momma and me" day while Fionn and Gunnarr are at the groomers. Am hoping for good weather so I can take him on a nice walk. He'll enjoy that. And he still always wags his tail. He is definitely a senior dog but still enjoys walks and treats!

Hope you all are well and enjoying the end of Spring. Any plans for the summer? We will be home tending our gardens and going on some nice walks, I hope.

Until next time - stay well.

04.20.2025 Happy Easter!

 May each and every one of you enjoy a Blessed and Happy Easter Sunday.

 A new daffodil bloom from my garden.

Fionnegan, Gunnarr and Shorty send their best Easter wishes, too!

Until next time, have a pleasant day!

04.06.2025. Happy, Happy Spring!

 It has been a while since my last post. There has been so much happening. But, for those of you who follow Shorty's blog (blogspot.com, search for mydogShorty or Is that your dog?) you will see he has been very busy posting his busy life with Fionnegan and Gunnarr.

It is now Spring and they are still working on the front room of my house! We are in the six month of construction, and you would think they were building the Taj Mahal! It is just the front room of the house and one closet inside the main entry. They promise the inside will be done this week, complete with the inspection. But - we still have a roof to replace! And to think the first estimate they gave me was the end of January.  I am so tired of the dumpster in my driveway. I did insist they move it out for a while because it was just there causing havoc and ice dams. But it is back making it near impossible to get my car in the drive let alone any workmen. Go figure. And to make matters worse, I came home after a busy day at the office this week to find no internet connection and no cable. The electrician had to make some new cable connections and apparently lost all of the existing ones due to a technical problem. We live and die by our access and must say Comcast (my provider) did their best late at night to restore service but to no avail. Then the Comcast technician come out the next day and after a couple of hours everything was restored and I now have a new modem. Thankfully. For that I was very grateful.  There have been quite a few challenges with this project from day one when tarp broke after the demolition and the metal hook broke my French door window. Crash, boom, shatter. Woke us all up from a deep sleep. 

In the good news part of all of this is that the boys are becoming more and more socialized to various men. Now, that was never an issue for Fionnegan and Shorty, but Gunnarr always would hide behind me whenever anyone comes to the house. Now he gingerly approaches the workmen, with one eye on me.  I think he would like a nice head rub too. No sense the other two getting all of the attention. Yes, Gunnarr is never far from my legs and I am never out of his sightline. Fionnegan and Shorty go right up to new people and give them lots of kisses. As if they get no attention at home!

Here is my one and only daffodil in bloom. Guess who needs to get into the garden for some fall plantings. A couple of years ago I planted many bulbs, perhaps they were a feast for our squirrels and chipmunks.

Inspector Shorty at your service. Since we are almost done, the plants were put back into the atrium to get some much needed sunlight. Will move the furniture back once it is properly cleaned and inspected. 

Fionnegan and Gunnarr had a spa date today and Shorty and I did a few household chores. We couldn't go for a walk because it was raining. Neither of us likes to get wet. And all three of them were soaked. I let them out early and while I was doing some chores inside the house, there was a cloud burst and they were drenched in a matter of minutes. Needless to say, they were not happy standing in the rain waiting for me to let them inside the house. Of course, they got no further than the kitchen so I could towel dry each one. 

Before the spa date.

Shorty and me.

After the spa date. They also smell really good too. My little fluff muffins!

And now it is nap time after a busy day for everyone.

Hope you all are well and are enjoying our stories. 

Wishing you all a pleasant day........

03.17.2025 Happy Saint Patrick's Day.

 An Irish Blessing for all of you. 

And may you enjoy the fun and light heartedness that comes with this special holiday. 

I did put a green scarf on each of my pups. While they didn't mind that, they were a little less than enthused for an early morning picture! But I managed to get them all on a couch for a group picture since it was pouring down rain outside. I don't think any of us would be too happy for pictures!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Soon our atrium will be done and there will be some new pictures to share. Stay tuned!

Until next time....................

See Shorty's blog for more pictures of the boys - Is that your dog? on blogger.com

02.18.2025 A Flurry of Activity after a Winter Storm

 Winter snowstorms come in many varieties. There is the one with just a few flurries and then it is done.  There are those storms with feet of snow, no school for days and maybe no power either! But this last snowstorm was a mix of the worst conditions. I don't mind shoveling snow - it actually is quite therapeutic. No one outside to bother you, just peace and quiet with the exception of the shovel scraping the driveway. 

But this last storm left us with almost 10 inches of snow, then it started to rain, then freezing rain, then more snow and freezing rain. I started shoveling early but I could only clear the snow done to the ice from the last storm. Now we have ice on top of ice, some of the gates are frozen shut and the main gate does not close, and one must walk very carefully in the driveway and on the sidewalk. I used all of my ice melt and it doesn't seem to make that much of a difference. Was able to clear some of the sidewalk and after much effect managed to get the double gate closed - with rope! Cannot wait until the next storm this week!

On the bright side of a winter storm is the flurry of activity at the bird feeders. Three was a flock of male and female bluebirds, my winter favorite dark-eyed juncos, black capped chickadees, my little all time favorite Carolina wren, cardinals, tufted titmouse, white throated sparrow, white breast nuthatch, hairy woodpeckers, blue jays and our little red squirrels. They shared the feeders with constant activity. Most of them are very timid, so even opening the door startles them and they fly away. And most of them do not like cameras. So I had to carefully open the kitchen door and stay as still as possible with the camera lens in a very small opening. It was cold, but not too bad. I love watching them but also really wanted to see if I could get any nice photographs.

Here are a few photographs showing a variety of birds. 

      

A bluebird and a female cardinal share a perch in the freezing rain.

Goldfinch and house finch share the globe feeder.

 

More bluebirds.

   

Hairy woodpecker.

 

Dark eyed junco. The eye is really hard to see as it blends with its black coat. Back, front and side views! They do not hold still for very long!

A little Carolina wren. They nest on the Christmas wreath and we found nests between the gutters and the house! Looks like they will be here for the Spring!

A bit blurred as she would not hold still, but this is the white throated sparrow. They are a bit shy.

A tufted titmouse. 

Male house finch.  They also nest around the house.  Beautiful little birds. He has a sunflower seed in his bill.

A black-capped chickadee shares the globe feeder with a house finch.

Chickadee at the suet feeder.

The birds are not very territorial right now. It is cold and they seem to allow birds from different species to feed. But in the Spring during breeding season, we don't observe sharing like this. Generally, it is one at a time - quick grab a seed then out of the feeder. 

I had noticed that some days the feeder is empty almost as soon as I fill it. Then I found out why! The little red squirrel could squeeze into the globe - you can see how small the space is from some of the pictures. I found him sitting inside chomping away on the sunflower seed. His little cheeks were as full as they can be. As soon as I opened the door I saw how he got there as he tried to escape. He squeezed out of the globe, jumped onto the baffle that is supposed to keep him from climbing up to the feeder, then he jumped onto the dumpster, scampered along the edge and jumped over the fence to the garden. Clever little one. He has a lot of practice running fast since the dogs bark at him when they see him feeding at the bottom of the feeder. He usually picks up what the birds drop but now he has figured out how to enjoy a feast! No pictures, sorry - I was too captivated to watch him and there just was no time to get the camera.

For most of the winter the boys did not need their puffer vests. But because it was so cold I got them all dressed. First they assess the steps - I can almost hear them discussing strategy!

Fionnegan jumps off the porch first. He is having a good time!

Gunnarr is right behind him. 

It would not be snow without a chase!

Shorty was a bit late to the party but once down the steps he had fun.

Shorty is getting old so I let him just take his time.

Gunnarr was having a good time!

No outing would be complete without a group photograph.

There were sent back into the house to warm up and I needed to shovel. I don't let them in outside when the gates are open - learned the hard way that Shorty is very stealth!

Shorty in his green puffer vest. Goes well with his natural coat color.

Fionnegan is always in blue.

And Gunnarr is in a red puffer vest. They do not mind getting dressed.

How did you weather the winter storm? Any problems? Do you have ice problems like us? Am just riding this out - Spring will be here soon!

Until next time........................