Bear and Bees

Bear loves to eat bees... He will jump off of the ground to grab one in mid air. He caught this one on the porch today when I was outside with him taking pics... He curls his gums back and bites the bee continuously until he kills it.

A Couple More Spring Pics

Redbuds are indigenous to our area. I stood in front of the dozer when clearing the lot if he came too close to a couple of them :) The others I transplanted from saplings that grew underneath my mature ones. They are throughout our woods and I love them. Their leaves are shaped like hearts and they are perfect to put near your house and are very hardy.

Red is one of my favorite colors and it looks so vibrant in the spring with all of the yellow flowers. I am not a fan of tulips, but the squirrels are... :)

More Spring Blossoms

I love this little spot in my back yard... It is full of perennials and is pretty with the split rail section behind it. I lost a dogwood tree a few years ago and would love for the stump to be cut down shorter, but buried on a honey do list somewhere... The hyacinths and daffodils are so pretty together...


My friend Iva Mae gave me a piece of this gorgeous Bridal Wreath... I have several of these now in the back yard. This one is the largest.

My friend Donna gave me the purple phlox. It has spread nicely and it is a great fill in. I enjoy sitting here and watching the girls chalk on the driveway and play basketball with their friends... when I'm not participating as well :)

This is one of a few white dogwoods that I planted. It is starting to open and will have huge gorgeous blossoms in a couple of weeks or less.

... more pretty daffodils ~

HAPPY EASTER ~*~

The Easter Bunny arrived! Little info about him...

The Easter bunny has its origin in pre-Christian fertility lore. The Hare and the Rabbit were the most fertile animals known and they served as symbols of the new life during the Spring season.

The bunny as an Easter symbol seems to have its origins in Germany, where it was first mentioned in German writings in the 1500s. The first edible Easter bunnies were made in Germany during the early 1800s. And were made of pastry and sugar.

The Easter bunny was introduced to American folklore by the German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1700s.

The arrival of the "Oschter Haws" was considered "childhood's greatest pleasure" next to a visit from Christ-Kindel on Christmas Eve. The children believed that if they were good the "Oschter Haws" would lay a nest of colored eggs.

The children would build their nest in a secluded place in the home, the barn or the garden. Boys would use their caps and girls their bonnets to make the nests . The use of elaborate Easter baskets would come later as the tradition of the Easter bunny spread through out the country.

~*~

Wishing you and your family a wonderful Easter! He is risen!

Weeping Cherry Tree is Blooming!

This is one of my favorite trees in the yard... I wish I could blink and make it bigger, but it is rather slow growing and I love it anyway... I have to prune the bottom so I can duck my head and mow under it. I think it looks better pruned evenly.

Englander Pellet Stove

We purchased this Englander Pellet Stove from Home Depot and it is now hooked up and running. I absolutely LOVE it! I filled the hopper with pellets yesterday around 12:30 and it has hardly used any pellets. I turned it off through the night and back on again this morning. Our home is very well insulated and I have had the setting on 1, which is the lowest setting. If you have been thinking about purchasing a wood stove vs. a pellet stove, I would definitely go with the pellet stove. It is so easy to use and much cleaner than the wood stove. I am seriously thinking about putting one in the family room within the next few years to replace our woodstove. We'll see how the wood supply holds out ;) I still need to find a more appropriate hearth pad, but using this one for now. I would prefer a corner hearth pad and a darker color. Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Split Bradford Pear

We had high winds here on the mountain the other day and they split my Bradford Pear tree... Oddly enough, there was a large split at the bottom of the branches, however, the split was on the other branch. We cleaned up the broken branch and will have to take the rest of the tree down soon. Bradford Pear trees are known to have soft wood and break easily.