Snowball Bush

My Snowball bush is blooming this year - not lots of blooms yet, but more than last year.  It is one of my favorites.

What is your favorite shrub in your garden?

Mandavilla Vine

A lovely Mothers' Day gift from our oldest daughter and her family.  It is a subtropical plant and has to be overwintered indoors in our climate.  It has wonderful big flowers - and such interesting buds.  And can grow to ten feet - I'm going to try and train it along the deck railing.

It sits on the deck and I can see it from my chair in the living room - the hummingbirds love it, but I've not been quick enough to get a picture of them at the flowers yet, but I shall.

I had never heard of this plant before - but I'm so happy to have one.  Have you seen or grown one before?

Hummingbird HIgh

We have a pair of hummingbirds that are nesting high up in a tree.  Every day the male comes out and sits on a leafless branch.  I spotted him from our deck across the street and half a block away.

 A close up - as close up as I could get from that distance - of our sweet hummingbird on his branch.

These two trees are 40 or 50 feet tall, the nest seems to be in the tree on the right - near the top.  That is where we see the hummingbird flying in and out for most of the day.  I'm so happy I spotted him on the branch and now can watch him every day.  I tried close ups of the tree, but the nests are so tiny I couldn't make out anything that seemed to be a nest.

Birds Visiting the Feeder

Birds visiting the feeders

 Black Headed Grosbeak

And our little friend the hummingbird

The wild Dogwood in the woods across the street from our house 

Dings of spring

Warm and fuzzy - spring is here!

Old Water Tower

We often pass this old windmill water tower - it seems to lean just a bit more each time we pass.  Soon it will settle back into the earth, and we will miss it.