~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL
Another miserable week in Obama’s Land of Hope…but let’s not dwell on that…we’re here today to forget about it!
My old camera died and I went out and bought a Canon Power Shot SX110 IS. I bought it because I wanted more zoom. It’s already paid off because I got a really great series of shots of the mystery thrasher this week. I thought it had left, but he/she was at one of my feeders yesterday. This pic is so much better than the one in last week’s Saturday Sanity because with the zoom I could get the “close-up” shot from my usual spot at the kitchen window. I think it’s a “cressal” thrasher for sure…with its beak open. This bird is apparently endangered…
Cressal Thrasher (I Think...)
Last week I posted a picture of a flower that had sprung up next to my neighbor’s driveway, where a tire had formed a tread in the sandy soil.
Well, this week, we now have FOUR flowers, all lined up!
Now there are FOUR!
The little cacti are starting to bud out…
Budding cactus
The stars of the garden are the pansies, which are rejuvenated in the warmer weather…at least until the heat gets to be too much for them…
Violas
Interesting pansy color combo...
Love the color contrast...
Unique...
I love the black lines and the yellow/blue combo...
Cool an elegant...
Most dramatic of them all...
The purple stock is really beautiful this year…
Purple stock
And so is this first bloom on the verbena…
First verbena bloom...
And, to finish up, here is Tico in one of his more unusual poses…He loves belly rubs, but yesterday he was especially…provocative!
Tico Goes Belly Up!
After the belly rub ritual, I went out and took advantage of the overcast day and cool temperatures to prep my two raised beds! All I have to do is add some compost and we’re ready to roll! I’ve already planted the thyme and cilantro, so now it’s time to get the artichokes, tomatoes and peppers in soon. I’ve also got a couple of sprouting sweet potatoes sitting in water, in hopes of getting some slips so I can try a crop out this year.
Enjoy the day! And get dirty…
Filed under: Life | Tagged: Barack Obama, cactus, Canon Power Shot SX110 IS, chihuahuas, cressal thrasher, dogs, garden prep, gardening, high desert gardening, New Mexico gardening, pansies, raised beds, southern New Mexico gardening, stock, SW gardening, sweet potato slips, sweet potatoes, verbena, violas |
InsightAnalytical -- Watching Our World 
You’ve got a mean streak Grl! All us northern gardeners are sitting here pea green with envy. We have packets of seeds and gardening catalogues clutched tightly in our hands just waiting to get dirty.
I still have mini icebergs in my yard where 5 feet tall snowbanks sat a few weeks ago. And you have flowers! Not fair. Not fair. I plan to sulk for the rest of the day. 😉
Kidding aside, love the pictures. Especially the verbena which is one of my favorites. And Tico. Don’t you wish you could bottle all that cute?
The new camera is great! Much clearer pics, and the zoom is an obvious advantage when it comes to thresher stalking…
Like Marge I am sitting here looking at a pile of snow/ice/road salt/dirt/asphalt that’s probably 12′ high in the parking lot. Even though it was in the 50s here yesterday these mountains of winter snow detrius make it seem like Spring is a lifetime away. Thanks for proving that life has returned somewhere….
*sigh*
Like Kenosha and Grail, I’m sitting here by the window with beautiful sun coming in but it is still very cold, and the remnants of Monday’s snowfall still all around. It has been too cold to melt except in certain spots where a bright shaft of sunlight comes in. It is supposed to warm up today, so that will probably be the last of the snow.
The pictures are great, IA. You don’t know how much I envy your garden preparations. I will have to satisy myself with just a few pots this Spring, but am hoping to be able to do more later on.
Give Tico another belly rub to show him how much you love him.
Oh, how those flowers have brightened up my day! The four little flowers in your neighbor’s driveway are just breaking my heart. They are so filled with hope.
And that photo of Tico made me laugh out loud.
It’s a dreary, 38 degrees and raining here, just south of Kenosha Marge’s mini icebergs. (So, Marge, there’s hope.) I can just barely make out buds on the trees outside my dining room window. There are puddles on the sidewalks – but it beats the snow and ice that has lately been plaguing my little town.
The pot holes are large enough to swallow my car, and I see little change in that.
Tomorrow daylight savings time begins. And even though it is earlier this year, it signals to me that
Spring. Is. On. The. Way.
(It also signals that I have more cleaning to do 😦 )
hearts to all…..
pretty spring flowers! i want to go buy some now!
the Robins have returned..a sure sign of spring.
i,ve got tomato plants started from seed looking good
thanks for the pictures just beautiful.
Great pictures! Tico and the flowers took my mind off the madness for a couple of minutes.
Thanks so much for the eye candy!
Takes my mind off the….. never mind – not gonna mention names
Beautiful pics, tonic for the soul
The pictures are beautiful.