Wordless Wednesday - Nearly Full

May the burdens of the day rest lightly

“May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow. 

May the soft winds freshen your spirit. 

May the sunshine brighten your heart. 

May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you, 

and may God enfold you in the mantle of His love.”

Irish Blessing 

 

Those first green shoots

"Before the seed there comes the thought of bloom."
- E. B. White 

It's a cold rainy night with a prediction of snow in the wee hours of the morning.

While the rain falls and the wind blows, I'm cozy inside dreaming of seeds and blooms and thinking of the green shoots appearing in my garden.

I'll be ordering some seeds later tonight, but there are a few blooms that I won't have to wait for.

 This African Daisy has survived all winter in a container on my deck. 

This bud and another appeared this week. It's my hope that tonight's cold snap won't destroy them.

And one of my favorites, the pincushion flower, has begun to bloom.  I love the way it looked earlier this week in the morning light with raindrops glistening on it.  It's not a showy flower, but a reliable one that blooms much of the year.  When it's at it's flowering peak in the Spring, I love to use it in little nosegay vases with dianthus blooms.

 Yesterday was a warm day, and the rain earlier this week softened the ground around the weeds making them easier to pull out by hand.  I spent several hours cleaning and clearing the beds all the while thinking of how it would be transformed in just another month or two.  I was reminded of the scene in "The Secret Garden" when Mary first discovered the tender shoots of green, for there were shoots of green everywhere in my garden - daffodils, Easter lilies, columbine, daylilies, salvia, sedum, verbena, and more.

“However many years she lived, Mary always felt that 'she should never forget that first morning when her garden began to grow'.”
― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Each year, when the green shoots appear, it's like a miracle all over again - 

as if it's the first time those green shoots have appeared.  What joy! 

 Is this what we wait eagerly for - not the blooms - but instead the first signs of new growth? 

Even though the winter has been warm and we have early and unexpected blooms, the thrill that I receive from the miracle of Spring will not be diminished.

Puffed up against the cold

"The sound of birds stops the noise in my mind."
- Carly Simon

"To me, the garden is a doorway to other worlds; one of them, of course, is the world of birds. The garden is their dinner table, bursting with bugs and worms and succulent berries."
- Anne Raver

Listening to and watching the birds in my garden is one of my favorites ways to relax - 

watching them and listening to their song does stop the noise in my mind.  

The birds were busy outside the window all day yesterday.  They were at the feeders, in the leaves and grass, on the fence, in the trees - and all puffed up to keep themselves warm against the cold wind. 

American Robin

Male Cardinal

The Cardinal and Robin keep watch on the fence.

The female Cardinal perches on the birdhouse.

A Dark-eyed Junco in the grass.

Digging for insects under the leaves.

White throated Song sparrow

Dove

Downy Woodpecker

These are just a few of the birds that I see in my garden. The Tufted Titmouse, Blackcapped Chickadee, Carolina Wren, and a variety of Finches are frequent visitors to the feeder, along with several other woodpeckers.  For an earlier post on birds and more photos, go here:
http://www.ginnysgarden.blogspot.com/2010/04/what-wondrous-beings-these.html

You might also be interested in Debra's post at Gardens Inspired and Karin's post at Southern Meadows. Debra give tips on how and why to attract birds to your garden and Karin provides a link to a checklist for the upcoming Great Backyard Bird Count.

Are you counting birds in your garden?