A Walk In The Garden Surprised the Geese Families

It was time for Penny's suppertime walk and lo and behold, I got a nice surprise.  Having spotted the 2 Geese Families from my living room window, I brought my camera to take pictures of then along with some flowers in the garden.

These are the flowers, both yellow and white daisy types.

Here

Here is Seven Family heading for grass which I saw from my window. The kids are looking full-grown already.

I spotted them from my upstairs apt.  Both families are grazing.  Both fathers stay alert and on guard while the mothers graze right along with their kids, teaching them survival skills.

Another shot of the grazing families, with Five Family on left and Seven Family on Right.

They spotted me as I arrived at my back door and headed across the dirt road for the river.

Almost there.

"Ah, safe at last.  I think she went indoors."

The Seven Family feeling safe and secure, rest and preen, but Dad on the far right, even resting, keeps an alert watch for danger.

It was so nice to see them again.  The Five Family (5 youngsters in the brood) are somewhat younger and still sporting some gray fluff among their feathers, but all look sturdy and healthy.  The Seven Family (7 youngsters in the hatch) look big enough to fly but I have yet to see them sprinting across the road.

Its pleasant to see our geese come back year after year to raise their young.  It keeps things interesting when one strolls in the garden or watches the river.

Have a nice day.

2 Family of Geese out Strolling Today

It was a pleasure seeing them all again and knowing they are all alive and well.....and growing like weeds.

The family of five came ashore first, the goslings still sporting lots of gray down.

Not a great shot, but here the family of 7 goslings are still swimming in the river.

The younger family of 5 babies grazed around a bit while some rested.

The larger family of 7 goslings, looking almost adult in size now with their adult feathers, chose to lay about a short distance away.

I was really happy to see that they are all well and growing.  Since they live on the other side of the bridge I don't get to see them often.

Have a good day.

A Hot Day in June

Its very hot today, hitting 90*F with the air feeling heavy with moisture.  Expecting thunder storms later today.  But for now, its time for flowers...…

Yellow, as in some type of daisy I think with candy tuft beside it.

Small white blossoms here.

This is a very short groundcover in pale lavender.

Our resident gardener's container garden includes 6 tomato plants, 3 in each of the large blue containers.

Two of the tomato plants are producing yellow flowers, a precursor to tomato fruit.

Its a good day to stay indoors where the a/c can keep me and my dog cool today.  I have leftovers of meatballs and sauce and pepperoni pizza I made last evening.  I finished the chili yesterday.   For dessert, some fresh strawberries a neighbor picked in a nearby town yesterday and gifted me.  Mmmmm good.

Have  A Good Day!

Another Summer's Day for June

I took pictures of the front garden today.  There are some lovely bushes coming into bloom, mostly Hydrangeas.

This is a Climbing Lacy Hydrangea on the utility fence topping ten feet now.

A close-up of what a Lacy climbing vine looks like.

This is a Hydrangea Bush in one of the Hosta Gardens.

A longer view of this Hosta Garden.

Another flowering bush coming into its own.

A close-up of the 2nd potted planter filled with flowers for spring and summer.

We got a nice shower last nite which worked wonders for the plants.  The day itself is now sunny but not too hot, being only in the low 70sF.   I understand that Monday will see us in the heat, hitting 92*F they believe.   A good day to stay indoors.

Have a nice day.

My Toadstool Fairy WH is Mostly Tacked Down in Place

I got my sewing mojo back after re-organizing my several quilting totes stored in my walk-in closet.  I was able to free up 5 plastic containers which means more room in my closet.

She is roughly sewn down, enjoying a restful lie down among the flowers, where she should be and the toadstool house will be behind her.  That piece of gray fabric behind the fairy marks the doorway to her abode.

Lovely day here is southwestern Maine today.  Temps hitting the high 70sF and sunny, but low humidity and a nice breeze when you are outdoors.  That's the good thing about living by the river in the summer time.  The breezes are so cooling.  In winter, those breezes can be mighty cold but in summer, they are a blessing.

Its time for me to relax for the afternoon.  I don't mind at all.
Have a good day.

Baby Sparrow Is Nearly Grown

I told you I would report on the turtle and if  she laid eggs.  I hunted around the area but could find nothing that caught my eye so maybe she was just resting in the sunshine for awhile and not intent on finding a place to lay her eggs, or she was very good at hiding them.

The baby sparrow was on a branch outdoors today.  Its growing

 I love watching them grow bigger and their fluffy down disappearing as feathers come in.

It seems to be enjoying the outdoors today.

In the raised beds there are Daisies and Dianthus.

The Siberian Iris are everywhere.

This cluster of tiny flowers in a raised bed is lush.   May be Candy Tuft.

K's tomatoes are growing nicely in their pots.

A final view of one section of our back garden.

Oh, and I mustn't forget our wild rose border which is coming into its own now and will be full thru early fall.

Warm today, expecting a beautiful day with sunshine and little breeze.
Have a good day.

Our Local Snapping Turtle On A Stroll

I don't know if she was just going for a walk, or looking for a place to lay eggs, but our resident Snapping Turtle was out and about this gray and dreary morning around 7:30-ish.

 I was not close to her, fearing I would frighten her off, whatever her reason to journey.

As you can see from this side view, she's very rugged and has large features.

She chose to stay in this position for several minutes, not moving.  She's alongside the edge of the reservoir about 12 feet from shore.  I did not come closer, thinking, maybe she's laying some eggs.  She comes up to do that every June and this is the time for that now.

After that quiet time, she started on her rambles, then shortly turning around.

She then proceeded to head back to the river.

With a determined pace, she lost no time.  By the time I took the elevator up to my 2nd floor apt., she was gone from sight.  My last view was her only feet from the water's edge.

I may investigate her stopping place later when I take my dog out for her noon walk.  I will let you know what I find.

Have a nice day.

A Rainy Day Brings Out Our Geese Family

We had rain off and on all day, the skies stayed gray, and it brought out our geese.  There are still 7 goslings, so that is a good thing.  The snapping turtle has not struck this family.

Its entertaining to watch them preen and relax.

Daddy, as usual, remains highly vigilant over his family.

I hope you had a good day.  I did.

Our Garden Has More Flowers Today

As we wing toward summer, our garden is perking up with more color and flowers.  It was a pleasant walk thru it today, even with the temps hitting 80*F.

 We now have a few clusters of Siberian Iris here and there.

More white irises in the raised beds.

Another variety of white Iris here.

We have two stretches of wild roses and this section with the pink roses is just starting to bloom.

Here is the white wild rose border.  Both borders are the demarcation point between our property and that of the dam where fisherman enjoy catching trout and eel.  The Canada geese wander thru the river area and our back lawns.  In fact, as I type there is a young couple fishing there now.

Our garden area with its yellow and magenta iris and other lovely flowers around some paper-bark birches.

Down the garden path to the river's bridge that separates our town from the next.

Another view of the wild rose border along the dam roadway thru some pretty Iris.

Our resident gardener has transplanted some cherry and sweet 100 tomato plants,  This is the first of 2 planters she has of tomatoes right now.

This is the large planter outside our back door planted with herbs, among them Rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, basil and chives.

I always enjoy walking thru our gardens, back and front, because I love that we have so many lovely colorful flowers thru the seasons.  Right now the lilacs are fading and will be gone shortly.  Its too bad they don't last longer, but our rhododendrons will be in bloom soon.  I have seen many buds forming on the plants.

Have a good day.