I heard the church bells from afar

It's a beautiful spring day here in Maryland and I've spent most of it outside working on the area at the back side of the house. One of the bushes was damaged in a snowstorm and needed serious cutting back. There's also mulching going on and I just had to take a break. Just a few years ago, I needed much less breaks. I could have had the whole side of the house done by now. 

So much has happened since I last wrote in February . . . and I'm so glad that Spring has finally arrived. My Outback was totaled in an auto accident late that month but luckily I ended up ok. I had to buy another car and went again with Subaru, because it kept me alive. This time, I bought a Forester and I like it fine. 

Here's a few photos from my phone. I haven't had the big camera out much at all lately.

The dogwood tree at the back side of the house is finally in bloom.

And I planted some pansies in containers.

They're happy flowers.

My beautiful George.

The day I had the accident, I was heading home to take him to the vet. He'd not been right and my son had texted me to make an appointment because he was concerned about the dog.

It turned out that he'd probably eaten something bad outside which wreaked havoc on his digestive system. After some meds, he recovered quickly, which was a good thing.

He loves the weekends when I'm home.

I can tell, you know.

He's not in love with my son's cat, though. 

I made a pie last weekend while staying at a friend's house in NJ.

It was to celebrate the season premier of my favorite TV show ~ Outlander. 

My TV hasn't worked for over two weeks and looks like it's probably going to be at least another week until things get straightened out. I've been a DirecTV customer for nearly 20 years but my internet is through Comcast. So I decided to delete DTV and go with Comcast TV. Unfortunately, the line outside is damaged somewhere and it seems to be taking them forever to fix it. So I went to NJ to watch my favorite show. That pie crust was fun to make and I used my new pie bird and it turned out delicious. Here's the link to my favorite apple pie recipe:

The Apple Pie that wins hearts

And on that note, I bid you adieu.

I've got to get back to work.

Thanks for stopping by to visit!

The post title came from the first words of a song I like by City and Colour.

You can listen to it here: 

City and Colour - We found each other in the dark

To better days

It has been so long since I've last posted and I thank those of you who have sent me kind notes inquiring as to how I'm doing - maybe a little worried because you hadn't heard from me. I am fine and that was very nice of you. I figure if I post about once a month, it's fine. I miss you, too.

I've been sick since nearly the beginning of the month and was diagnosed with bronchitis last week. Today is the first day that I actually feel almost "better". I'm trying not to overdo it, although George would love to have me back in form much faster than I'm able. But he is a patient pet.



We had some snow and still have a nice layer of it on the ground here. I've been keeping the feeders filled, which sometimes sucked the life out of me, but it's good to see the birds. They have been good company and an inspiration for my camera lens.

I often post my bird photos on Facebook. It's easy to do and doesn't involve writing a lengthy post here in blogland.

Divebomb!

I like this one. Pretty colors, too.

I use a lot of Florabella actions when I edit. The bokeh is a texture layer I added.

The suet cakes are rock hard.

This morning, it's 9 degrees here and feels like -3. 

We had several flocks of red-winged blackbirds that came through here, eating me out of house and home as far as seed was concerned. But everyone's got to eat, right?

 Even the squirrels.

Today I'm going to venture out to the grocery store.

Down the long driveway.

I plan on roasting a chicken for dinner tonight.

I love the smell of roast chicken on a cold winter afternoon, don't you?

What a beautiful week we've had (although I was too sick to enjoy it).

At least I could sit by the window and be entertained.

Thank you for stopping by to visit me here today.

To better days, then ~

January images

Greetings from Maryland on a cold Monday in January. Winter has finally arrived and yesterday, we even had a little snow. I've got the day off and was up early this morning, making coffee and then packing my bags to come home. I stayed a couple of nights at my friend's house in NJ. George gets to come too.

I'm writing this on Blogger, something I haven't done for years . . . since 2009 maybe . . . not since I began using Windows Live Writer. Something's up with that program however, and I don't feel like discovering what's wrong. The only reason I began using it in the first place was the ease it affords in the placement of images. But it looks like Blogger has gotten a little more user-friendly in that department, so I'll give it a whirl.


 This was taken last week some time. I had opened the front door to let one of the kitties in and looked up and liked what I saw.

A little nuthatch waits for a turn at the feeder. Taken through my kitchen window.

 I took this female cardinal yesterday through the living room window while at my friend's house. It had been snowing for a little while and was actually sticking to the ground and the branches. Very pretty.

Ditto for this little white-throated sparrow.

I was walking through my kitchen last week when I saw this lovely glow coming through the window. I grabbed my iPhone and took this while standing on my front porch. I love the colors!

I think I was heading to the grocery store last weekend when I snapped this image of my driveway and a crazy cool-looking sky.

George waits patiently while I sew up a tear in a toy that he'd gotten for Christmas. 

He had chewed a little hole in it which isn't like him.

All fixed.

Hope all is well in your world. Thanks for stopping by mine.

Christmas in Florida

Hello, friends. I’m still here although my visits have been sporadic this past year. Happy New Year, by the way! I hope the year brings more good than bad to everyone. I spent the week over Christmas visiting my husband’s folks in Florida along the Gulf Coast. My sons were with me and it was great to be away.

And the weather . . . oh my stars. It was like summertime.




One of the many highlights of my trip was taking bird photos the Rookery/Venice Area Audubon Society. There were so many nesting birds – it was amazing. Can you see some of them in the photo above? This was an island in the middle of a small lake and there were so many egrets and herons in there.

I managed to capture this one of a Great Blue Heron.

And this one of a mother with one of her nestlings.

I love how graceful they are in flight.

I found this on the beach one evening and thought it was pretty cute.

Merry Christmas!

This is a Great Egret that came right up to our table at a waterfront restaurant one day.

Love that green.

Wish I had a bigger lens sometimes because I could have gotten a much better shot of the elusive Roseate Spoonbill if I had. Caught this one in flight at Myakka River State Park while on a boat tour.





This is one of my favorites from my bird shots. A Great Blue Heron coming down for a landing with ruffled feathers galore. I love it.

We took a little tram ride through the park and this was a pretty scene from my seat in the back row.

A sailboat glides through Venice Inlet on a beautiful afternoon.

I had a restful holiday over Christmas. Hope yours was good.

Thanks for stopping by today ~