Killdeer

Anyone familiar with killdeer knows that if you have a mama bird with eggs or young in your garden it doesn't take long to find it out. I ventured out last Saturday morning with my camera to check out the garden and almost stumbled onto this mama at the edge of one of my planting beds. I was very surprised that she had not already warned me with the typical melodrama involved in such situations. She tolerated me rather well that day but the light was never right for a good picture and I was afraid to get too close as she sat on her eggs.



The next day I went out to do some work and she was still there. I thought I'd get back out with the camera and try again later. In the meanwhile my husband came outside to play a little fetch with our Pomeranian( he loves the little plastic "whiffle" golf balls) and being unaware of Mama practically hit her with the ball. That was definitely more than she could bear and from that point on she ran at every approach. That was how I was able to capture these beautiful eggs.

The photo at the top was captured after stalking her a while on Monday morning before going to work. It wasn't as close or detailed as I would have liked but it's amazing what can be done with photo processing software.

I looked for her this morning but you would never know she had ever been there:-)

S. Britt

All images in this blog are original photography and legal property of the author. Any unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited.

Overwhelmed!

We had another beautiful Spring day yesterday and I really had no excuse for not getting out to work in the garden...other than working on the computer,lol. So I did get out in late afternoon to do a little work. Winter weeds are everywhere! The first thing that had to be done was to tackle cutting back Miscanthus 'Cabaret'- a not so minor chore that has cured me of wanting to add any more large grasses to the landscape.



Never let anyone tell you that bearded iris are not tough. I dug these and left the clump sitting roadside with a "Free" offering last fall. After a few days with no takers I tossed them on "the pile"- my ever growing mountain of sod and assorted garden trimmings. I can't wait to see them bloom:-)

And so it begins

It was a beautiful day for the first Saturday in Spring. My garden is not a Spring peaking garden as is the norm in this part of NC. I have very few early bloomers. It may be that I'm just too far behind everyone else when it comes to maintenance. I'm not very fond of cold weather and we can have some pretty cold (and strong) winds here right on thru April. This clump of daffs is a division from my mom and was very unceremoniously heeled in during warm weather- luckily they survived and are working their own way to the depth they want to be. Gotta love them,lol.

One of the best things about early Spring is the color provided by weeds. I think this may be a Veronica but I'm not sure. It's plentiful in my neighborhood making the roadside right of ways a lavender border.

I have not had very good luck with low growing Verbenas over the years. 'Homestead Purple' is virtually a weed for most people here but I think I may have killed it overwinter yet again. I think I may have finally found a winner in Verbena 'Snowflurry'- which is really just a white version of V. canadensis that luckily reseeds true. My slackness in putting out mulch makes my garden a good one for reseeders. These are it's first flowers of this year.

And last but not least is this beautiful Hellebore. A treasure from a plant swap- I always thought that I did not have enough shade for Hellebores but I am so glad I brought this one home:-)

Weeping Cherry Blossoms at Last

At the absolute first available moment this week after the rain I was out taking pictures of the flowers on my Prunus subhirtella, weeping cherry tree. There are quite a few flowers on it this year and I couldn't wait to capture them. We were given 2 seedling trees as gifts shortly after purchasing our home in 1997. I think I had my first blossom- only one mind you- in Spring of 2007 and a couple more in 2008. The trees are beautiful in shape alone but I was thrilled to finally see these delicate flowers.

My tiny Redbud tree has buds for the first time this year! Young gardens can be so exciting~ it almost makes up for the unfinished look.

Today was a beautiful day for the first day of Spring. I can't wait to see what awaits me in the garden tomorrow:-)

A Preview of Spring

Spring is definitely on the horizon here. The pear trees are in full bloom and daffodills everywhere- except here my one clump hasn't bloomed yet. This photo is from a week ago when the weather was warm and these were the first flowers open. This weekend is cold and it has rained continuously keeping me and my camera indoors.

I have been working nonstop between Photoshop and Zazzle. I have added many products and learned new things. What I have not done is much of anything to promote my work( or play as it may be since the promotion would be the work).

Above is an example of a photo that has been altered to look like a painting. Not a dramatic change but what I hope is an improvement. Rudbeckia triloba floats among the foliage of forsythia overshadowed by the seedheads of Eragrostis elliottii, Blue Love Grass.







This is the same planting with a different photo and editing method. With the volume of garden photos in my hard drive and the possibilites of what can be done with them in Photoshop it's no wonder that I can barely pull myself away from the computer. But Spring is on my doorstep and hopefully will return some balance to my world. In the meantime I think I'll do some more uploading...