Before and After Garden

Hello Ladies...I have a before and after to show you. Last February, a big storm blew down a HUGE pine tree in our front yard. The tree barely missed the house and fell directly on top of my garden. Since none of the plants were up yet, I didn't lose any. But man oh man was it a big mess to clean up. This picture was taken while it was still raining.

You can see how it fell between the house and another group of trees. 

This is the side of the house and under the tree is my white gargen.

We had a very close call and I am thankful we were safe and didn't suffer any damage except a little bent gutter on the porch.

The top of the tree extended about 25 feet beyond this picture. It was massive.

And here is the yard and garden now. It sure has changed!

I think I like the after much better.

You can see the huge metamorphosis my garden and yard went through this year.

And since I am so proud of my birds, I wanted to share some of my regulars with you. The pics are taken through the window so some of them are a little blurry but look at the sweet male and female goldfinch.

This is one of my sweet baby wrens that was born on my porch this spring.

I'm new at birding (my new hobby started by the wrens) but I think this is a female cardinal. Let me know if I am wrong.

A sweet little chickadee. These little ones come all day long. They splash around in the water and bathe while I drool.

My guess is the male cardinal.

Another one of my sweet wrens. I fell in love with the wrens. You can read all about them here.

I haven't identified this little lady yet. Anybody know? Maybe a female baby cardinal?

Another shot of daddy cardinal.

They flock to the feeders all day long. If I have identified any of the birds wrong let me know. I have really been enjoying watching them come and go.

Another goldfinch. Vibrant lemon yellow sweetness.

If you didn't read my post last weekend, I am spending a lot of time job hunting as I lost my job a few weeks ago. If anyone knows of any online opportunities such as a virtual assistant, PLEASE let me know. I can do any type of office work. I am not at a panic state yet but I am a single Mother and my children, dogs, birds and flowers depend on me!

I hope you enjoyed the yard before and after and meeting my birds.

KK

I'm linking up to these fun parties.

White Pears

Hello...I hope everyone had a beautiful weekend. I know that I did. I enjoyed spending time with a few of my girlfriends. We ate very good, drank some refreshing beverages :-) and talked till 3 AM last night.

I want to show you my pears. I really really like them.

A few weeks ago I bought 3 pears for $1.00 at our Hospice Thrift Store. They looked OK as they were but I knew they would look sooo much nicer in white. Here they are after 2 coats of white spray paint. I bought the little pewter bowl for .50 cents. It is marked Jostens Pewter Paul Revere Reproduction. I priced several on Ebay from $10.00 - $25.00! I also got the little angel candlestick for .50 cents. I think $2.00 is a great price for all these pretties. I almost wrapped them in jute but I'm liking them white. How do you think the pears look in white?

I'm linking this little pear makeover with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday and with Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for Thrifty Treasures Monday. Go visit both parties and you will be inspired with other makeovers and thrifty treasures.

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Freshening up KKs Place: The Dining Area

Last year, I started to lighten and de-clutter my home. I started painting everything white. I painted little frames, side tables, candle holders, baskets etc. I added white curtain panels, pillows and throws. I donated and gave away car loads of non-white stuff. But my shiny, orangy table, and chairs were standing in the way of progress in the dining area.  The chair cushions were way way past their reasonably expected lifetime. This is a bad picture but you get the idea. See what I mean?

The table and chairs looked horrible and blended right into the floor. (I can't use rugs--ask my dogs why.)

So what do you do when you want to paint your first piece of furniture? You go to blog land of course! There are so many creative bloggers providing inspiration  for painting newbies like me. Cindy at My Romantic Home and Miss Mustard Seed have great painting tutorials.

Look at my table and chairs now.

I haven't distressed the chairs yet. I am liking them as they are for now. I bought the lace tablecloth at a yardsale for $1.00.

I recovered the chair cushions in a linen fabric that I bought at Habitat Re-store for $2.00. I found the pillow (that is sideways) at the thrift store for $5.00. It was new and had Bed Bath and Beyond tags.

I love the way the dining area came out. It is light and fresh. This space is in one large room that includes the living area, the dining area and my office. I have re-done each of the areas and  I'll post about the living and office areas soon. What do you think?

I'm linking my dining area re-do with these fun parties.

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/2011/05/mantel-makeover-and-wow-us-wednesdays.html

Sweet Baby Wrens Leaving the Porch

I had some really sweet guest on my screened porch this Spring. You can go here to read an earlier post about the Carolina Wren family that moved in. The birds were extra loud this afternoon. I knew it was time. All of a sudden, both parents were flying around the porch loudly chirping commands. The babies seemed to all fly out at once!  I was a wee bit nervous. OK...shaking like a leaf. (You really don't want to see my video.) I do admit to getting carried away sometimes. This was one of those times! The babies all flew to the screen first. Four babies! Look at them!

First  picture of the new babies.

All flying! Mom and Dad were going in and out their little hole trying to tell the babies what to do. I opened the outside door to maybe help Mom and Dad.

I then commenced to take 165+ photos while peeking out the door to the porch. The babies wanted to fly around and check out the place first.

This is one cute baby bird.

These two sat on the ledge a minute.

Resting for a minute.

Look at those little legs.

This sweetie flew back to the nest for a  portrait. This is looking from inside the house to the porch. 

 So sweet.

This one enjoyed resting on the wicker chair.

He's looking a little chubby.

This one found a nice spot in the little urn.

Pure Goodness.

This little one is looking at his big new world.

Looking very healthy.

He decided to do a little climbing.

He was working so hard.

This little one flew over to check out the birdie decor.

So pretty.

This little one rested on the chair.

Look at that brave face.

This one enjoyed the sunshine.

Taking it all in with his head held high.

This little one decided to walk around a little and explore.

So Couragous.

Look how focused he is.

So Determined.

Mugging for the camera.

So Precious.

Everybirdie Welcome.

Posing with the sign.

Somebody took off!

Look at that wing span!

One by one...they all left. One little guy did give me a scare.  He was hanging around hiding behind a broom. Mom came in a few times to check on him. He soon decided to go ahead and go (not before I broke out in tears fearing he was injured and madly trying to find the number to the wildlife rescue shelter.)  One baby even came back on the porch but soon left again to join his family.

Flying away with such bravery.

Fly away babies. Fly away. Thank you for gracing me with your sweet presence. I am honored and humbled. Your sweet songs will brighten my day every morning. Tears falling. OK... getting myself together now.

About three hours later I closed the door to the porch with sadness and pride. Sad because I won't get to check on them all day every day but so so proud of ALL of them. Mom and Dad were relentless. They set up a home for the babies in a risky place (I have three dogs and we used the porch daily until I saw the Mr. starting the nest) but the porch was also a place that could offer their babies protection from bad weather and predators that often end up disasterous to the bird family (last year I lost a family that was nesting outside my window in a flower pot. The nest and eggs were destroyed by a predator late one night. I heard the terror and the fighting. The next morning, the nest was strown around in pieces.)

This goes in my book as one of those "times of my life." I don't have the words to properly dedcribe the joy this Wren family gave to me. So now with bird watching slowing down for a minute, what's next on my to-do list?

1. Respectfully remove the nest from the porch a patch the little birdie doorways.
2. Get a wren nesting box installed ASAP.

Bye Bye Sweet Babies.

Update: Warning: VERY Shaky video. First flight. Didn't they do great?  :-) My daughter let me know that I didn't show where the nest was on the porch. And few more pics. Can you feel my pride? On the video, make sure you check out the fourth baby jumping to the ledge.
:-))

The birdies built the nest behind the shutter.

This is looking at the nest from inside. I did drape the curtains to give them privacy after they finished building it. I peeked out.

Thank you for reading.
KK


I'm sharing this little birdie story at some of these fun PARTIES.