the bark tree

Flowering quince

Our gorgeous flowering quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) has made me so happy!

A harbinger of spring, this deciduous shrub is nearly care free.  Planted here long before we arrived, it is a wonderful gift from a previous gardener and makes me remember some things we left behind in our old garden.

A few blooms emerged during some warm days in January and I wondered if the severe temperatures in early February would zap the remaining buds, but they survived without any help.

They keep getting more and more beautiful as the days get warmer.

I like the way the plant looks next to our white stone house.  We've even enjoyed it indoors!

 

 

Flagstone project

Using flagstone that was left over from the nice walk in front of our house, I'm attempting to cover some muddy, shaded areas in the back yard extending from our small porch.

After visiting my wonderful hairdresser, Annette, a gardener who told me she built (and later rebuilt) her own flagstone patio, I figured I would give it a whirl with the available materials.

As with most of the garden, it's still a work in progress.  I'm planning to use pea gravel in the path area along the edge which leads to the front yard gate.  Though perhaps not completely professional, it will help keep us from tracking so much mud and dirt into the house.

Outdoor table

Brandon found this completely decent wood table with three good chairs up for grabs out by the street.  One chair was broken so I guess someone decided it was time for a replacement.  We've already been enjoying this new lounge area on the occasional warm days we've had lately.

Tumbleweed

On a fall weekend trip to Caprock Canyon state park, Brandon found this tumbleweed covered in cotton which we used as a Christmas decoration.  It's so pleasing to look at that we've left it hanging.

Snow in TX

This was our view for days on end in early February.

When we moved back last February to Texas after 10 years in Brooklyn, I hardly expected to return to a snowy winter.  Admittedly, one week of snow days is nothing for the NYC area, but around here it's downright unusual.

On our icy porch, a pine (Pinus densiflora) stump I claimed from Wave Hill when we had to take a beautiful old tree down.

This might be the last time we see snow for a long time. Of course we had to get out in it for a little while.

With temperatures in the low 20s and teens, it wasn't comfortable for long.  The snow wasn't holding together very well so our obligatory snowman was dashed off quickly and was therefore quite small.

Inside, we entertained ourselves by building fires and watching the birds.

Chickadees and tufted titmice were frequent visitors to the feeder as well as a pair of cardinals.

A ruby crowned kinglet found a morsel on this cage I hung to hold a suet brick. We quickly realized that the squirrels were devouring most of it.

Here you can barely see the kinglet's little ruby "crown."  Roger Tory Peterson's last word in his description is: Inquistive.  We agreed.

In the warm days before the snow, this little carolina wren was singing his heart out each day on our fence, perhaps believing spring was already here.

Even when we can only hear him, we are always pleased by the presence of the lovely red-bellied woodpecker who, along with the smaller downy woodpecker, finds food in nearby dead tree limbs and occasionally visits our feeder.

An unusual vistor for this area was what we believe to be an ovenbird.  Two of them hopped around in search of food in our yard while the snow was on the ground and presumably winged it to warmer environs soon after.

All in all, we've counted thirteen different species in our yard including crows, mockingbirds, sparrows, blue jays and white winged doves.

We certainly enjoyed them all during the long days spent mostly indoors.