More Spring!

My favorite part of my day is the hour or so after I get home from work. I can hardly wait to get out of my truck to peek at what's going on in the yards. The back yard is always full of squirrels, birds (of every color!), chipmunks and of course, there are my duck pairs - All the animals are gathered around the feeders, baths and birdhouses. Everyone is very busy in the Spring and I love watching it happen on my property. As soon as I sit down to feed the koi the squirrels and birds come back out of hiding - As long as I'm still they'll come out and go about their business as if I'm not there. It always thrills me to see the look on a little squirrel's face when he jumps up onto the deck and realizes I'm there. You should have seen all the birds and the chipmunks scatter as I walked through the arbor and into their sanctuary but as soon as I sat down on the bench they popped out and went back to work. Of course, after the sun goes down there is a whole new bunch of furries that venture out into our yards - My sweet little possum and raccoon, the bats in the summer and the hawks that hunt at dusk all year long. One night, while we were soaking in the spa on the deck the huge Barn Owl that lives in one of our trees flew right in front of us. Fantastic! I also love all the plants and flowers that are waking up from their winter sleep, and nothing thrills me more than the sight of new leaves on the trees. I miss the trees after Fall and every day before they are full again seems like a lifetime. But now my private forest is on its way back to me and the house far up on the hill becomes a little more invisible every day. Here are a few pictures from my walk this evening - Enjoy! 

Red and Green Japanese Maples by the koi pond

White Dogwood in full bloom

Hostas and Bleeding heart

The purple Azalea behind the pool fence is more full than it was a few days ago

Poof!