Blackbirds and Grackles-Oh My!

The recent snows in Middle Tennessee were a treat! Today, tho, it is hot and sunny and warm and April 1st! Happy April Fool's to you all!

After moving into our home a few months ago I put up some birdfeeders. It took about six weeks for the birds to find the feeders but find them they did! The snows brought in a lot of new birds for me. One of them is the red winged blackbird. This is a bird I had not often seen in my area of Tennessee, tho I would see it quite frequently further north in areas like northern Kentucky and southern Indiana. I think the red winged blackbirds are heading south as I now see them quite a bit more in Tennessee.

The birds really liked the black oil sunflower seeds I offer up in my bird feeders.

Not everyone like grackles but they are a really beautiful bird in my humble opinion.

Did you know blackbirds, grackles, and starlings often flock together in the fall, winter, and early spring?

These birds were part of a large flock that came to Tiger Way Gardens for a few days.

I had several feeders up so they did not really chase away the smaller birds--everyone got fed and as a bonus I got to see some beautiful blackbirds....

in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Please! Pardon Me While I Preen

A gal's gotta look good no matter the weather so please...

pardon me whilst I prepare myself for spring.

Ah, there now just a little shake out.

And I'm all set for spring....

in the garden....

The Nashville Lawn and Garden Show starts tomorrow! I can hardly wait! Hope to see you there....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Animal Tracks in the Snow and Winter Walk Off

It's cold outside! Brrrrr! While the south and most of the country is in a deep freeze I thought this would be the perfect time to share some snow track pictures. 

Ever wonder what animals roam around your house? It's hard to find out unless you see or hear them. With the recent snow I went for a nice snow walk along our property trails and wow, what fun! The animals have been busy roaming around. Just look at all the deer tracks along our trail in the woods. The funny thing is while I know the deer are here I never see them.

I find rabbit scat quite often so I definitely know they are here. Their paw prints are rather cute. The wider footprints would be their hind legs with their front paws the smaller prints. In the above picture this rabbit would be coming toward the camera.

More rabbit prints.

I am not sure what made these prints but I surmise it was a squirrel. I see squirrels all the time. Sometimes there will be five running all around a tree in the forest.

Deer prints along the trail.

This trail travels down a long and fairly steep hill. It is apparently a favorite haunt of the deer as we can tell from all these prints. I don't blame them because hey, it's cleared! I was surprised I did not find some turkey prints here. We like our trails so we can get around the property but there is also another reason for trails--they are good for wildlife and can be a part of a conservation plan. 

When walking in our woods for the first time we (Mr. Fix-it and I) followed deer trails. At the time we were not familiar with the all the man made trails and they were mostly overgrown anyhow. Any trail where you don't have to walk into greenbriar is great and the deer and other wildlife think so too. Following deer trails help prevent snags in briar of all sorts as we found out. At some point we'll be able to clear most of our trails where we can have access to all of the property. 

Note the skid mark on the right side of the picture? Even deer can lose their footing on slippery hills.

This is an up close picture of the deer prints. The size of the deer was quite variable. I could tell there were little ones and big ones.

I have no idea what made these prints and if any of you all know please chime in. Maybe a bird of some kind? We have hawks, vultures, crows, and all sorts of birds. If a bird made these tracks it was possibly a big bird.

These are cat prints. I have three cats and from time to time they venture out into the snow-tho they don't stay long! When I walked out to the mailbox one of the cats followed me for a bit. His tracks were quite different from this as he was jumping along behind me instead of walking. I followed some of the cat tracks and they went straight to a wood pile where a rabbit and voles live. No surprise there.

It is said when you visit a place like the forest you should "Take nothing but pictures (or memories),  leave nothing but your footprints, kill nothing but time." I don't know who came up with this but it very fitting for nature walks. I take this very seriously. If you do this then in return you will be rewarded tenfold by the beauty and special moments found....

in the garden....

I am going to enter this post in Les's Winter Walk Off post as this one works and is timely. It has been awhile since I participated in his walk offs but this will be the year now that we are finally getting settled. Les has beautiful photographs of the Tidewater area of Virginia. Visit his Winter Walk Off post here. 

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Winter Damage

BY SKEETER

 We had snow on Jan. 28 here in my GEORGIA GARDENS.

 Was only 2 inches but pretty as if a big snow fall.

 Palms always look funny with snow on them. But this Silver Fan Palm is hardy and can handle the snow. Click HERE to see my Beach Planter in its glory.

 Bur, the Bicycle Planter looks cold doesn't it?

 The birds were happy I had plenty of food for them during this little freeze.

 It has been a very cold Winter with us breaking Record Low Temperatures. I am starting to see some damage within my gardens. 

 The Confederate Jasmine is starting to brown.

 I have never seen it do this and hope it will bounce back come spring.

 Since we normally have such mild winters, I have always kept the Spike Plants outside. They have always done well in our winter climate but not so this year.

 Every one of them is laying over looking mighty unhappy.

 I find humor in this one though as the kitty seems to enjoy the hiding spot. Spike plants are inexpensive so they can easily be replaced but will take some time to mature such as these lost ones.

 My Oleander is not looking well. I am crossing my fingers in hopes it will bounce back to life with warmer temps.

 And now I am seeing signs of Spring!

 Crocus are giving me hope.

 Budding daffodils are giving me hope as well. 

As I strolled through the gardens, I looked up above the fence to spot the neighbors kitty Coco Bean. She is keeping a watchful eye over the WINTER DAMAGE, In the Garden... 

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Global Warming??? NOT

By SKEETER
We had a winter storm and Burrrrr, it is cold here in Georgia! We only had about 2 inches of snow which is beautiful but,
on top of that snow, we had ice! Ice is good to me when added to a drink during the summer time but not welcome on our roads...

This storm pretty much closed our entire town! Schools, all Government to include Ft Gordon closed on Monday. Tuesday, schools and other county facilities remained closed.

Yep, to be expected when you live in the Deep South. You visitors from the North laugh at us during these times with some of you calling us Wussies. What you don't understand is, we do not usually see such stuff this far south. Therefore, we do not have the equipment to clear the roads of such mess quickly. Some may think that our county should invest in a few more plows and stockpiles of salt. In the 11 years I have called Georgia home, I can only recall 3 snowfalls and two ice storms so I am not so sure that would be money well spent. Also another good reason to stay off the roads during such mess, not many people here have experience driving in such conditions, thus, many fender benders. Normally, Snow and Ice are gone within hours of falling here but this one is still melting after 3 days of arriving. Yes, it is cold down here!

During times such as this I cannot help but ask about Global Warming. I am seeing a Global Freeze in places where we normally do not see Freezing weather. Hum, Who is going to jump on this bandwagon? We knew this storm was on the way so we made sure to have plenty of supplies on hand. Winter supplies include bird seed for our wild friends. The Finches love their new Thistle Sock!
Black Oil Sunflower seed is a favorite as well at the large feeder.
The Peanut butter nugget feeder's top was frozen. This is why we have a top on the feeder as it kept the food dry and ready to nibble. Even though the squirrels are pest in my Georgia Garden at times, I do feel for them in the winter months. I made sure they had food to nibble as well. In the Spring, I will be chasing them around the yard out of my plants. Yes, a Love-Hate relationship with these critters...
Seeing these prints tells me the deer were at the corn bucket.
And Peter Rabbit was here for a visit as well.












As a Gardener, I cannot help but worry about my beloved gardens during such horrible weather. The Japanese Maples have endured ice in the past and survived so I believe they will once again jump back to life once the ice melts.
The Rock Garden looks more like a Snow Garden right now.This Pot full of Winter creeper and Arrows Rush is a new addition to my Rock Garden so this will be a "Wait and See" for me.
















Another "Wait and See" will be this Fan Palm (Silver European) in the Beach Planter. The tag states she will be okay to temps as low as 0-degrees once established. I planted her last spring so we will see if she had time to establish or not...

Iris (Tina passed along to me) are still green nestled within the freezing snow and ice.
The Semi-Formal Garden did not look too inviting to me with its frozen pathways. Sigh...
This Dogwood says something to me. "I am okay and will be back in Spring" That is what I am hearing anyway. Hey, my story and I am sticking to it okay....
I also think the Vinca will be fine as it has endured much worse.
And I do not worry about the Butterfly Bushes either. They may be laying down right now with a heavy ice coating but with the melt down, they will pop back up, be pruned this spring and once again bring butterflies into my life. See how they are still green for me?

Of course we have to add a pretty Red Berry (Nandina) picture in this mix! I just love the way they glow through the ice...
Even though we are burning the fireplace as if we were living in the Pioneer Days, we have plenty of wood ready to keep us toasty this winter.
And more wood remains to be split for next winter as well. Yep, we are prepared for this GLOBAL WARMING??? NOT, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden