MUSICAL CHAIRS...

What seemed like 

a world stuck in a dark place

 for so long, 

the game of musical chairs 

is now being played out 

by the seasons 

and a seat has been taken 

in the twilight of 

springtime.

Although it seemed 

like spring would never come, 

finally the days are beginning 

with sunlight streaming

 through the windows, 

capturing reflections of old lace, 

a fairly obvious breeze

 ringing the chimes 

and the garden is 

sprouting and greening up

 the landscape.

The mystery flowers 

are collecting by 

the front walk...

...the lilys of the valley

 are peeking out through 

their green foliage...

...and the endearing Cecil B 

is languishing over and around 

the arbor gate,

 unruly as ever

 but as pretty as always

 and the bright colors 

of a David Austin rose

 accompany it in 

the foreground.

California poppies

 and Valerian

 are mingling at the

 wire fence 

and beyond.

The lilacs 

have come and gone 

and the "purple rain" 

from two weeks ago

has fallen 

and carpeted the Secret Garden 

with all its

 former glory.

Hope you all had 

a wonderful Mother's Day.

  The kids sent me

 these beautiful flowers,

 in the most gorgeous vase.

 It actually is a pitcher

 and will be enjoyed 

many times over 

after the flowers have faded. 

 Thank you, 

Tim, Tami and Jake 

for your love and thoughtfulness 

always.

The Captain's 

gift to me

 was a trip to the nursery 

and a very pretty make-over 

of the screened porch, 

which is still in progress 

and will be disclosed

 in a future post.

I can finally say 

that spring is truly here.

  We are enjoying 

the pretty mornings 

and being outside

 in the soft sunlight for now.

 And,

 as the music plays 

a little louder and a little faster, 

spring is poised and anxious 

to take her seat

 in the next chair.

...Judy...

Sharing today with:

Keep In Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles

AN EMPTY NEST SYNDROME...

As most stories go, 

there is usually 

a beginning and an ending.

 This story, 

I'm about to tell,

 is a little different.

 We know the 

beginning and the middle 

but the ending 

we may never be sure of...

...as our little family

 of house wrens 

(we are fairly certain that is the specie)

 has flown the coop 

and left an

 (almost)

 empty nest

 behind.

For days

 we have watched them 

fly back and forth,

 some days just one and 

other days the both of them,

 working so hard 

to gather what appeared to be 

bits of twigs and 

small items of food.

Once in awhile

 one would fly in 

with a little something in their beak 

and fly back out 

with something larger and white, 

and then come back 

without it.

Then we would see

 one fly out of the nest

 with a small piece of white 

which did appear to be 

part of an egg shell.

  In between these times,

 one would always bring back 

something for dinner

for the one inside.

The males and females 

look pretty much the same 

so it was impossible to know 

which was which.

We found a pretty good reference 

on the internet

 which stated that 

the male wren is the one 

who builds the nests,

 sometimes building more than one

 in different places,

 even before 

he has found 

a mate.

When he does choose, 

then the female 

will make the decision

 which nest to use and 

she will line it with

 feathers or animal fur

 to make it a 

cozy space.

Sometimes

 when the male is in the process

 of scouting out places 

where he would like to build, 

he might come across 

a nest already occupied 

and decide that is the one he wants 

and will damage the eggs 

and remove them from the nest.

Is that what 

they were doing

 in this little house?

-

 (Although there was never 

any indication 

that this house had been 

used before)

-

 Or were they moving 

their own eggs 

to another location?

They have been gone now

 for a few days 

and when we were sure 

they weren't coming back,

 the Captain looked into the nest 

and saw that one egg was left behind.

 So tiny and so sad. 

We did see 

the neighbor's cat 

on top of the garage roof one day

 while the birds were still here. 

 She wasn't paying any attention

 to the bird house 

that we could tell 

but maybe

 they sensed that it wasn't 

safe to stay.

So, 

our little story began 

and ended in the middle, 

just outside the Secret Garden.

 We thank the little wrens

 for all the fun we had

 watching them go about their 

business of making a home 

while they were here.

 We hope that

 Once Upon A Time

 will start again

in a Kingdom Far, Far Away

and that the little family 

will live

 Happily Ever After.

...Judy...

Sharing today with:

Keep In Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles

PURPLE RAIN...

I know 

that Prince sang,

 and I think wrote,

 Purple Rain.

  I don't know any of the words

 to the song 

or what they might mean,

 and if you were a fan of Prince,

 I don't mean any disrespect, 

but the title seems to describe

 what is happening 

over the Secret Garden

 these days.

We planted this wisteria

 at least ten to twelve years ago

 with the hopes that 

an umbrella of blossoms 

would cover the gazebo each coming spring.

  Believe it or not, 

it bloomed very little

 over that period of time,

 never making much of a showing. 

 But this spring is

 something different...

this is what was intended

 all those years ago...

...the only problem is 

that the blooms

 are a bit higher up

 over the gazebo 

than intended.

We admit 

that this is due to our

 short comings as gardeners. 

 Some pruning 

should have happened many years ago, 

but it is what it is...

a haven for every bee in the world

 and a

 beautiful and magical sight...

...is it any wonder

 that the fairies chose 

this exact spot

 to set up 

home keeping?

Another spot of purple in the garden 

is the lilacs. 

 We had a late frost

 that damaged some of the blooms this year 

but they made 

a pretty showing, nonetheless.

  Unfortunately, 

after all these years, 

I have become allergic to them. 

 I am finding 

that any type of flower 

with a strong scent

 does not do well by me.

I couldn't resist 

a quick display 

in the guest room 

- only because the colors are so pretty - 

then out to the porch.

  I can no longer bring them 

into the Cottage

 and that makes me 

very sad.

Thank you for your help 

in trying to identify our tiny birds.

  It appears that they are wrens 

as near as we can tell.

  They are so busy and so fast 

that it is very hard

 to catch a glimpse of them 

as they go about their day.

 I snapped these two blurry photos 

and maybe these will give a better idea.

 I will keep you informed 

when any new developments occur.  

The fairies 

are keeping a 

close look out 

on the subjects.

I received notification 

from Magnolia Market 

that Jo's cook book,

 Magnolia Table, 

was now on sale. 

 I thought it might be a good book

 as I don't imagine Chip

 would be into 

too many fancy foods 

which is the way we like to eat.

  

On the Magnolia Market website 

the book sells for $30 

but I purchased it 

on Amazon for $17.99.

Have to love Amazon!

The cook book is full of 

lovely photography of 

Jo and Chip and their kids on the farm, 

personal stories and,

 what looks to be, good recipes. 

 I haven't tried any yet

 but will let you know

 when I do.

Jo writes a personal sentiment 

about each recipe 

which are fun to read. 

 It really is

 a beautiful and 

well done book.

If you want to taste a great cookie

 - as close to home made as you can get - 

these from Trader Joe's 

are excellent. 

The Captain picked them out

 and he never reads 

any of the ingredients. 

I would have seen 

that they are vegan

and probably wouldn't have chosen them

 for that reason, 

but I'm sure glad he did.

 Very moist 

and tasty 

without being too sweet.

Have a wonderful week...

...Judy...

Sharing today with:

Keep in Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles