Birthdays, Baby Birds & Blooms

What cute picture's of Tina's twin girls, Christine and Liz, taken when they were mere tots.

Look at those great big smiles... Mom and the rest of us here at In The Garden hope you both have big smiles upon your faces today and always.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRLS!
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Tina recently posted on the birth of baby Bluebirds and everyone seem to enjoy them so much that I decided to add a few pictures of some of the babies in our life as well... My all time favorite of course is the baby wren hatching from an egg. I was so lucky to be able to capture this moment but did not hang around after snapping the picture out of fear for disturbing nature.

I caught this baby Chickadee peeking out into the world getting ready to leave the nest...

Later on that day, I spotted the little guy on the watering hose watching my every move!

The Chickadee are such a small bird as an adult so this baby was really tiny...

Here is one of many baby Bluebirds we have had in our bluebird houses. The best we can tell, our houses have been home to about 75 baby bluebirds over the 6 years we have lived here! Unfortunately not all survive as the hawk and cats catch their share of unsuspecting babies...

Here is a baby Brown-headed Nuthatch. They have a cute squeak to their voice and walk upside down on trees looking for bugs...

This little baby bird is either a Downy or Hairy Woodpecker. Not sure which as they are so similar. This is the first woodpecker baby I have ever seen in the wild before so I was really excited to spot him this spring!

Here is a baby House finch nesting in a hanging plant. Each year I fight the little buggers off as they are so messy. We now have a deal with them, if you get a nest made and eggs in it, you win the plant but must deal with me watering it. I must get the step ladder with each watering. argggg....

I don't mind the wrens nesting in my ivy box because they are not messy plus the box is located on the railing of the porch so I do not have to get a ladder when watering...

The Eastern Phoebe nest on a metal beam in our garage each year. Last year while building a nest, we found one of the parent birds dead on the garage floor. Think the neighbors cat is to blame for that one. I have seen Phoebe this year but so far no one has made residency in the garage... Look at the cute baby swans! A pair of Swans nest in the Saints parents yard each spring. This year they had 3 babies and this was taken the day mommy kicked them out of the nest, which is within 24 hours of birth!
Here they are out for their first swim. These babies don't have a good survival rate as large snapping turtles will get them. The last I heard, Mom and Dad B reported only one of these babies remain. Nature can be so cruel at times...

Speaking of turtles, look at the cute little baby box turtle I found in the flower garden this morning when I went out to water a few things. Cute as can be...

Now to Blooms... I cut my finger this morning and typing is difficult as I keep having to stop and wipe up blood from the keys so I will just let the pictures do the talking for me. These are things that are blooming now or have bloomed and just now getting recognition from me...

LAVENDER

PINK PEONY
WHITE PEONY
AMARYLLIS HUSKER RED BEARD TONGUE


CLOSE UP OF BLOOMS











CLOSE UP OF CONFEDERATE JASMINE

I have Jasmine climbing along the trunks of 3 trees and the scent is wonderful and can be smelled throughout the yard!

Ignore the moss and weeds growing in the gravel. This picture was snapped before weed control...

The Ligustrum was blooming at the same time as the Jasmine and the lush green foliage of the leaves with the white blooms were spectacular together!








The Nandina Royal Princess plant which keeps my beloved Skeeter boy company at his grave, is now blooming as well.



I have never seen such white blooms on all of our bushes until this year. I assume they are happy and more mature now...




Here is one more picture I will share with you even though it does not fit in with the topic. As I went to replace a horrible looking zucchini in the veggie garden, Mr Peter Cottontail joined me. He let me walk right up to him as the Saint took this picture! I talked to him and he just sat there as if my little friend!





Am sure he had his eye on the veggie garden more so then me. Probably trying to see how I get inside the fence...



So Happy Birthday Liz & Christine and keep your eyes out for more Baby Birds and Blooms, In The Garden....