winter day~dreaming...

what do you do on the frigid days of winter?

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we try to think of warmer things...like daffodils blooming in the spring.
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like dressing up in a summer dress and going out into the garden...

for a garden tea party of course.

when all else fails we sit by the fire and do our school~work...

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and warm up by the fire's heat.

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happy winter days in january.

stay warm my friends.

here's to dreaming of april.

marmee

c'est la vie

"such is life"

despite the rains...buds are stilling emerging.

yesterday with our storms and torrential downpours

we were flooded here at dash home farm.

those are newly planted flowers on the chair. i found them laying around the yard.

weather is always a consideration on when to plant what and what to plant when.

the ranunculus got a bit beaten down...

...but not destroyed.

i am just learning the weather cycles of our beloved tennessee

but i still have a lot of understanding to come by.

sometimes it feels very pioneering to be starting all this new stuff.

expanding the berry bramble. those are the raspberry bushes from

last year with 16 new little plants all around it.

we will be adding blueberry bushes as well as some companion flowers.

i only wish i could read faster and my understanding would come more readily.

this is the outside of the wildflower garden with newly planted

vinca, pansy, hartswood ruby. the little fencing is temporarily in place

to keep the dogs off until the baby plants get their start.

wind blown pansies are hanging in there.

new shoots arrive daily on the oak leaf hydrangeas.

red clementine columbine made it.

alyssum fared well in some places...some got uprooted and floated away.

variegated ivy has lots of new bright green shoots on it.

dogwoods are holding tightly onto their

buds...it's alright you can let go now.

hostas are slowly unfurling their colourful leaves.

we have no takers yet on the martin housing. we have seen

the scouts they have been sending. there is all kinds of

pairing up going on around the farm.

introducing for the first time, mr. and mrs. purple finch.

there are always more females than males, at least so it seems.

but the males around here don't seem to mind it. they just pouf out

their chest, let out a belt and try to attract all the attention they can muster.

like mr. gold finch who shows off his brightest colours of the season.

then there is mr. red winged blackbird demurely showing his colours.

we have a new little visitor...a chipping sparrow... welcome little guy.

mr. tufted titmouse is more interested in keeping his belly full.

then there is mr. bluebird, already espoused, checking out the

newly placed feeder. he is just not quite sure ...

what to make of that shiny copper...come on over it's safe.

and so life at the farm goes on...april showers bring may flowers.

i wonder if floods bring them in masses?

dreaming of april

is anyone else in awe of how fast march has slipped through time?
it has been but a blink of the eye and now it's going.

so we bid it goodbye, or as they say in france, bon au revoir.
all things being said i am glad to welcome april.

it is the month of easter, it is the month of major planting
here at dash home farm. we will be putting all veggies in the ground
come the 22 of april. the wild flowers will also be planted around
that same time. still there is some preparation being done...

...when the weather cooperates.

mr. cardinal sits in the high branches and declares his love very vocally.

the cherries are almost finished blooming...it comes and goes so fast.

i did see this dogwood blooming in downtown franklin...so

i thought i would share it...mine isn't nearly this big...and

not yet blooming.

mr. goldfinch is happily spying the niger seed from the iron gate.

panies are blooming in regal purple.

red clover covers a great deal of the open fields...

they say red but it looks purple en mass.

the teddy bear magnolia has a bud on it.

i re potted it for now until i find it's permanent home...which could require

a lot of work...more tilling in the front gated area.

my weed shield is the discussion of much debate around here

at the farm...some like the idea and others think it is silly.

i am not planning on planting through it like some suggest.

it's just here temporarily until i can sow the wildflower seeds.

to keep the weeds at bay.

but the birds are having a walk about on it...tiny footprints

in a photo taken by abbey.

~click to enlarge~

***as with any of my photos***

frizzle sizzle pansies are doing well.

the sun is setting on the last day of march

and i am "dreaming of april".

it will be a good month to be in the garden...to watch new things

being planted...to anticipate new growth from the ground and enjoy

family gatherings...and some can be outside...yippee!

farewell march.