Bird Central

It's been Bird Central around here this weekend and especially today. Yesterday, I saw the first hummingbird-a male as usual. Today, there have been at least two buzzing around. I saw the male grosbeak, a redstart, plenty of yellow warblers, house wrens and was very surprised to see a red breasted nuthatch stop for a drink at the bird bath. I see them once every year or two, sometimes longer stretches. They are darling little birds, about the size of a chickadee but more slender. I think I heard a cardinal this morning. It's very fun to see all these birds back and feels more like summer now.

Puppies!!!

Gracie's family is getting one of these puppies. Doesn't she look happy!!!

Saturday Sales

There were quite a few rummage sales in town on Saturday. One sale in particular was very good, an elderly lady who was quite a collector was selling everything. The sale began on Friday but they kept adding new items so even on Sat we scored. These red plastic shoes fit and are perfect outdoor shoes-super comfy for 25 cents. The basket belonged to her mother and is 75-100 years old-$1!!! Basket on left is from Shirley's sale, going in the pantry. Ribbon-25 cents.
A robin nest box for $2, that I will use as a feeder, unless someone makes a nest in it. Speaking of birds, I saw the first hummingbird and house wren of the season yesterday. This morning, I had a female grosbeak eating bugs of the hummingbird feeder. The orioles arrived this week too.
Stuff for my classroom. The "paint your own Tshirt" is going to Jana this week for her "art extravaganza" retirement party. The trolls are going to my coworker who makes statues out of them for the Flekkefest run. 4 for a quarter!
This is my favorite find of the day for 10 cents, a sweet Kerr jelly jar. It has little feet and the red tin cover is mint! I have never seen one like this before-have you??
This narrow shelf fit nicely in the pantry and gives me extra storage! It was 50 cents!! I picked up a metal one for the garage for $2. Isn't rummaging fun!!!!!

May Flowers

May bouquets are the best.

The little ones are my favorite.

I think lily of the valley is my favorite, because they're the first ones out and they smell so good.

The primrose did very well this year. I transplanted three that I got from Trader Joes late winter, they're indoor plants and instead of tossing them, thought I'd give it a try. These are from an established plant I already had.

The pansies outside my kitchen window are my favorite color variety.

Another Bear???

This is exactly what the bear did last summer. Rumor is that he was poached, either they were wrong or there's another bear. This happened twice this week. I snapped this photo on Wed.

Pretty Pictures for you!

Jackson-Mother's Day

Dan and Darlene on Mother's Day!

We had a very nice time down in Jackson this weekend. We drove down from Mpls on Saturday, arrived in Jackson mid afternoon, and stayed til Sunday afternoon. The Twins game we had tickets for on Friday night, which was the first game in Target Field to be called on account of the weather, were used by Dan's coworker Keith and his wife on Sat evening. Tim and Emily met us for dinner on Friday night and that was a lot of fun. So we watched the Sat. game from Jim and Darlene's warm living room instead which was a very nice Plan B! Earlier, we had dinner at Pizza Ranch and then went for a fun drive all around town, a drive down memory lane you might say and a chance to see all the new changes in town. Jim made his famous bacon and eggs for breakfast on Sunday and it wasn't long before we were dining on Darlene's famous chicken and rice. That's right Jen, your favorite! It's Dans too! :) Darlene's perennials look wonderful and I was able to dig up a few things to bring back to my garden. Thanks again, Darlene. I also bought a few herbs from the local nursery(they had a great selection) to get my gardening off for the season. Can't wait! It looks like 4 more days of cold and then we'll warm up again. I'm hosting a retirement party at the cabin on Friday after school so we'd appreciate a little warmth, otherwise it's at the house and I will be forced to clean. :( Have a great week, everyone! Happy Mother's Day to my own mother, Lorraine!

Baby Shower

Morgan adores Odin.

The happy mommy!

A yummy spread, courtesy of Aunt Jeanne and perhaps others? I know for sure she made the egg bake. Also featured left to right, Mary, Steve, Becky and Kris.

Joe's mom, Audrey, Lorraine, Kathy & Teri

Sarah's Birthday

Sarah is 18!!

Jen's fun new purse!

Her mother in law got it in Mexico-made from recycled materials.

Eric, Courtney, Kelsey and the Shadow.

Cabin down the road~

Here's a cabin down the point that was on the market for close to 3 years. Rumor is that a couple from the cities bought it and there's a lot of progress going on down there. Many of you have peeked into the windows with me and admired all the lovely woodwork inside. The outside, however, was not so pretty. You can see that the new roof and soffits are complete. They tore off the metal awnings and wide 60's siding. It will be interesting to see what color siding they choose. I hope they add some cute window boxes!!!

Kris's fancy chickens...

Aren't they pretty?

The speckled black hens are my favorite.

They are tame and come to Kris when she calls, especially for treats.

Kris said that if you are carrying a white bag, they will all come running to you. Tami, who isn't a big fan of chickens, learned this the hard way. I'd better warn Mom.

There are a couple of handsome roosters in the flock.

They produce about 2 dozen eggs per day. Ironically, Kris and Gary don't eat eggs, so she is very generous with them. She sent me home with this carton. I liked that they even came with some straw and the colors are wonderful.I got home and fried some eggs for lunch! I thought Odin's party was today, but was a week early. Kris and I had coffee together instead and I had fun taking pictures of her gorgeous chickens. See you again next Saturday, Kris!

Signs down the Point

This is Junior's sign-perfect for him. Isn't his cabin the best? It's exactly what I picture in my mind as a perfect Mn cabin. Last summer they changed the wood siding to vinyl but they matched the color perfectly so you'd never notice.

They may not be smart, but they're fast!

rip-rap

Here's a good look at the new rocks. I wasn't sure how I was going to like the look of the rip rap, even though I knew we needed to do it to protect the shoreline. Well, I really like it already. The big rocks at the bottom are great for sitting on and dangling your feet in the water and it will also make it easier to get down into the water from the dock or vice-a-versa. It also allowed us to put our dock out a few feet deeper which should make putting the boat in and out easier.

New Plants!

We have a lot of wild columbine growing around the house. I let it be where ever it chooses to grow because it's pretty and a great natural food source for hummingbirds that lasts well into June. No hummingbirds here yet. I had some feeders ready but the woodpeckers drank all the sugar water. They have a sweet tooth.

My little grape hyacinths are doing well this year.

Not sure if these are violets or trillium or something else....

Look at Junior's rhubarb already!!!!

He is always so good to share this one with me.

I'm so happy my lamb's ears are flourishing!

Jumping into Spring!

Just some images I've collected from the web lately. If that kitten photo doesn't make you smile, nothing will! I love it.

This picture is from the 40's. These are children from France watching a puppet show. I think it so sweet and I like how the little guy in the middle is holding the hand of the boy next to him. He reminds me of Joey.

Have a beautiful Sunday!