Monday, April 16, 2012

This and That: More Garden Photos and a Blog Award...

With the school year winding down, (only 5 1/2 weeks left 'til summer break!!), I've been SUPER busy! This week we begin EOI (End of Instruction) testing, which will run until May 11th. Yup, you read that right, that's 4 WEEKS of testing! I always feel so bad for the kiddos having to test for that long, but EOI testing is a state requirement. On the upside, May 23rd is the last day of school and summer break officially begins!

As I am sure that many of you have seen on TV, there have been some really bad storms hit Oklahoma in recent days. We are so very thankful that we only received rain here in Broken Arrow, and none of the terrible tornado devastation that Woodward had. The rains have really caused my flowers to burst into bloom, so I thought I'd share a few more recent pics of some of the views in my back yard...

Here's a photo of the flower bed along a portion of my back fence. The clematis, which is climbing up the trellis, has GORGEOUS purple blooms; and the knockout rose bushes are budding as well:


Here's a close-up view of those beautiful purple clematis flowers:


We have 2 blue bird houses hanging on the fence near this flower bed, and a blue bird couple have decided to call one of the houses "home" and lay eggs there. Here is a photo of "daddy blue bird" guarding his home:


And here is the precious treasure he is guarding...5 sweet little eggs:


Some other interesting wildlife that we have living in our back yard, (besides our 13 year old beagle, Hunter!), is a family of rabbits. These cuties reside under our garden shed, and have adorable little babies that hop around our back yard. (Funny thing...Hunter doesn't even notice them because her hearing and eyesight aren't very good due to her age. In "people years" she would be 91!!) Here's a picture of momma and daddy rabbit hopping around our yard after the rain:


Recently Mike added a weather vane to the top of our garden shed, and I just love how it looks!


As you can see, the Jackmani Clematis vine growing on the trellis located on the side of the garden shed has gotten so big and is about to burst out in deep purple blooms any day now. I'll share a photo with you once it's bloomed!

Last but not least, a BIG thank you to my blogging friend Justine at Kerr-afty Creations for the following award that she sent to me:
"Liebster" means favorite, and I am honored that she selected me as a recipient - thanks, Justine!! You'll want to check out her blog...she is SUPER talented and has lots of fun crafty projects posted there!!

Upon receiving the "Liebster Award", I am to pass it along to 5 of my favorite bloggers that have 200 or less followers....so, in no particular order, here they are:

1.) Lisa at Lisa's Loft
2.) Stacie at All Things Crafty
3.) Gloria at Scraptabulous Studio
4.) Tammy at The Stamper's Cottage
5.) Kimberly at Scrap-It-Girl

I hope that you'll take a minute to visit these terrific blogs...I KNOW you'll find lots and lots of crafty inspiration when you do!!

Wishing you a wonderful and safe week ahead!

Blessings,
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9 comments:

  1. Your backyard is beautiful! So glad the tornados were not by you! And thank you for the blog award!!! You are a sweetie!

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    1. Thanks, Tammy! Our yard is a continual work in progress...I'd really like to add a lilac bush and a peony or two, just haven't decided where yet. :)

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  2. Ah Becky--thank you so much!There are so many great blogs out there, I'm humbled that you gave this to me!
    I was thinking about you during the storms--watched the radar on the news to make sure Broken Arrow wasn't in the line of storms!
    Your yard is beautiful. I got a good chuckle that Hunter doesn't bother the rabbits. I have an old cat (19) that co-habitat-ed with mice in the garage. Since she didn't bother them--I had to!
    Thanks again! XO

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    1. So funny about your cat being "retired" from mousing, the same way that my old beagle is "retired" from chasing rabbits! ;)

      Thanks for the kind words about our yard...still need to get our tomato and cucumber plants in the ground. Would also like to try putting in some thornless blackberry bushes, but we'll see about that...

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  3. Thank you for sharing your garden photos. It looks beautiful! I love blue birds. Ours haven't returned yet this year. I always have problems with sparrows taking over their nests.

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    1. Hi, Cheryl! I have trouble with sparrows taking over my martin house...wish I knew of a way for just martin's to next there. Let me know if you have any tips! :)

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  4. I'm so glad you were not hit with the devastating tornados...my heart does go out to the other families who were struck with bad storms.

    Great pics! I just love bluebirds...so pretty!
    Sounds like those bunnies knew the right yard to pick! We usually have them under our back porch...darn things like nibbling in our garden though! Thanks for the award...I still haven't posted the last one! YIKES! So far behind!

    Hope your having a good day! I can't believe school is almost over!!

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    1. Thanks, Stacie! I'm so excited to have blue birds return to our nesting boxes this year. We had two batches of bluebirds lay/hatch eggs in them last year...wonder if they are the same momma & daddy blue bird returning this year?

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  5. As you can see I'm a lil behind with my blog reading, haha. Thanks so much for the shout out! I love the pic of the 5 sweet little eggs and the bunnies. So jealous of your green grass, we were unable to plant grass last year, so I have a mudpit for a yard right now, haha.

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Thanks so much for leaving a comment; I truly value your thoughts, ideas and opinions! Have a blessed day! Becky B.