Tensions at the Feeder....

As I was watching my feeder today I thought I would document a little lesson in Red-wing Blackbird etiquette. Just ignore that beautiful cardinal in the foreground!!! Now we are witnessing a bit of a problem beginning to expose itself in the top two blackbirds....

And there we have it!!!

Lesson learned.... When it comes to red-wings....Redder is Better!!!!

The Sign of Things to Come...

It warmed up enough today to go out and do some cutting in the garden. As I was trimming away the Coneflowers that I left for the birds to nibble on over the winter I noticed a few surprises in the garden.
One of my favorite early risers are allium .... I worry about them though because they tend to come up and look beautiful then a hard frost will yellow the leaves. But there are always long lasting globes of purple to enjoy in the months ahead.



Also signs of my Sedum Autumn Joy pushing out the dead stalks. I am always amazed by these beautiful compact starters.

This is such a wonderful time of year and although it only got into the 40's today I can feel the sun becoming warmer as it continues to climb to the height of the summer solstice. NO RUSH though!!!











All the while I was being watched by a patron of mine...
waiting for me to get back into the kitchen so she could dine in peace!!!

I went outside this morning.....

...and there was snow on my sedum.....

....and my geese were heading SOUTH!!!!

Gettin Our Exercise....

Last night we had a beautiful sunset and it was a little bit red so we had a little bit of a nice day today. Some sun in the morning, it clouded up, but it still got up to near 40 degrees F. My mom and I took Daisy Lu and Ole out for a walk. We went to the pond and some of it was running...

This is the side that faces southeast, the water comes from runoff from the east. It channels through our property in a meandering swampy stream...then into a crevice system, through a cave and eventually to our pond then beyond across the road and probably ends up in Lake Ontario!

This is the side facing the west and road, and as you can see its fun for ice skating right now. Or if you are a little dog, running fast on! That dark spot on the left is Ole eating his rawhide bone. He did not want to share, which just got Daisy Lu all that much more wired up!

She found the old peanut butter jug that Ole liked clean for me (before recycling) and decided she hadn't run enough yet.
She finally got tired and wanted to be Queen of the Hill!!!

We had a good day but sure would like it to feel a bit more like Spring!

My Second Favorite Place to Be....

My best friends farm.....

Crist and Deb...Thank you for all the wonderful memories...

We watched your new silo being built...

We watch you work with Geege...

We love to feed your chickens...

We LOVE the girls...

And we always know which direction to go when we

want to be near our best friends....

Thank you for all the wonderful memories!

Harleys, Pizza and What Happened Here?????

Today was finally a day to get out of the house and try to enjoy

spring even though it is still very winter-like outside. My best

friends, Deb and Crist, my daughter Morgan and I went to the local

Harley Shop...

I think I want the Army Green one....

Then we went to Sam's where I bought doggie treats and we got

pizza for lunch to heat and enjoy at Deb and Crist's Farm...

But, while we were at Sam's we saw the strangest thing...

How do you get in a wreck this bad in a parking lot?????

That is a bit WIERD!!!

STILL SNOWING.....

Ok...my sunny attitude is beginning to wane!!! Enough is enough and we are ready for some sunny gardens, and WARMTH now!!!! The forecast is a bit grim...I think I'll go find a blog in a warmer climate to hang with today!!! Well here, I'll put in a couple pictures of my favorite summer things....

My back yard garden in bloom...

and my front porch swing...

Ok now I'm feeling a little better!

And the Winner is......

Me!!!

Last year I entered a photo contest with 'Dutch Gardens' my favorite plant supply company. I entered the "Best Garden Bed" category with a picture I took of the garden I planted with my Dutch Garden perennials. The garden was in its second year of growth and I was very pleased with my hard work. I had taken the picture, not knowing about the contest, but when I saw the contest I thought this would make a fine entry. Well the year went by and every now and then I would check on all the beautiful entries to the contest and think to myself...this is a good picture...it could win....
This Feburary, the phone rang and it was Dutch Gardens calling to tell me I WON! Not only did I win best garden bed, but I won best in show! David Grist from Dutch Gardens congratulated me and told me to check my email for details on my win. I opened my email and found that I had won $1,100.00 in garden plants and supplies!! You can view my photo on Dutch Gardens web site here http://www.dutchgardens.com/2007%20Photo%20Contest:%20Winners%20and%20Favorites/8154,default,pg.html
Dutch Gardens also sent me a free detailed design for a garden that I plan to plant at the front of my house!
Thank you Dutch Gardens for not only a great garden company but for this wonderful gift!! I can't wait to get started planting!!!
PS this win has inspired me to finally get going on my dream of starting a photography business. So "Pets and Petals Photography" is in the early stages of being formed. Wish me luck!

Critter Watching....

Well thats it! I no longer have a seat to blog from. Daisy Lu has become the new blogger of the family watching videos from http://critterfarmgirl.blogspot.com/! Here she is watching the girls and she actually got to see Roxy too!!!

Danni....Daisy almost had a heart attack!!! And no, I wouldn't trust her around the chicks, espically if she and Roxy were chicksitting. That would probably last about a minute and a half and it would all be over!!! Ha Ha thanks for the fun this morning!!!

Incoming....

While I'm saying goodbye to my redpolls, I'm saying hi to the Canada Geese stopping for a rest. Soon the sky will be full of Canada and Snow geese...sometimes in flocks in the thousands. This is a sure sign birds are on the move and so is warmer weather. YIIPPYYYEEE!!!

Goodbye to my winter bird buddies...

This winter was a great winter for one of my favorite northern birds...the Common Redpoll. Why a bird would fly south to the north for winter is beyond me but I'm happy to have such sweet, happy little birds to feed through the bland winter months! Common redpolls are extremely tame. I looked out one day to see my 10 year old daughter sitting like a statue under the feeder with redpolls all around her. Some even landed on her boots and leg. This is a moment she will take with her for all time.

The time for my visit from these sweet little birds in coming to an end. They will be packing their little bags and following the cold snowy weather north, taking a crop full of the sunflower seeds I provided with them. Some years we don't get to see their little red caps and gotie style mustaches, but this year we did. This year was the year of the redpoll!

I am SO sorry......

I must apologize....to all the little dogs of the world. I am sorry to all you little dogs for not having faith in you. I now will say that I am on board with little dogs. Daisy Lu is my first little dog. Before she was a part of my life I used to say things like..."well...you know...little dogs...I dont really care for little dogs...." and "I'm a 'big dog' person" and "those little dogs...not so good"....I'M SORRY, I AM SO SORRY FOR EVER SAYING A NEGATIVE WORD ABOUT A LITTLE DOG!!! Please forgive me! I've learned a lot from this little dog, she has taught me that a little dog doesnt know it's little. That there is more to a little dog than meets the eye. Now, I still love all you big dogs but come on...you can hold your own against a big bunny rabbit! and hawks don't look at you like you're dinner.

Daisy Lu you're the biggest little dog that I've ever known. You've taught me that no matter how small you are...you are big at heart. You are one tough cookie and I should probably have named you something besides Daisy Lu!!! I should have named you....ROXY or ZENA the worrier dog!!!

Little dogs....you are now a part of my world!

Daisy the Pointer:

Daisy the Hunter:

What's on the horizon....

I know it sounds like spring is here but as you can see it's still pretty white outside. I think Daisy Lu thinks she sees a bunny rabbit! Well, it wont be long before this snow is melted...even if we do have a few more spring snow storms. I have garden plants coming in the mail the week of May 5th and I have to put a gutter on my front porch and dig a new garden to put them in before then. It's something to look forward to. Make sure you follow along for that little adventure and keep your fingers crossed that we get some nice weather in the weeks ahead.

I can feel it in the air....

Spring is so close I can taste it! I can smell it and I can hear it. The robins were singing their hearts out yesterday morning despite the early freezing air. Today the red-winged blackbirds are sounding out their territory and it sets my heart at ease. This is the time of year when all northern gardeners get excited about the surprises that will be popping up from their formerly petrified gardens. Evey year its like a new gift that has not been given before, even though it has and it will continue to be. If you have garden fever as I do your gardens just seem to get bigger and bigger or more and more numerous each year!



My backyard garden Spring 2006:

And bigger it gets! Spring 2007:

I have a new garden planned for my front yard this spring. I cant wait to get started!!!

What's that Old saying....

"Red sky in the morning sailors take warning, red sky at night sailors delight"

Here comes some more snow but with the 40 degree weather coming it should turn into water for my future flowers!!!

Just waking up...

Hi All!
Ole here. I’m Daisy Lu’s big brother. I love to spend my time perched on my porch surveying my domain with a keen eye and sharp ear, and I can even, as my mom says…“hear a bunny fart” from a mile away. As you can see I am a lover of great cuisine but we really don’t need to get into that right now. I don’t want my mom to start in with the “d” word. I like my chicken treats way too much.
That Daisy Lu is ooookayyy, but she tends to gnaw on my dewlap, which is somewhat annoying. I thought about eating her when she was just a little bitty thing but mom wouldn’t let me! Ok now that you all know me…I can go back to doing what I do best…nighty night!

Waiting for Spring

The calendar says spring is just over a week away. I even had a red-winged blackbird sitting in the tree outside my bedroom window this morning. The temperature says something different however. I took Daisy Lu and Ole, my Norwegian elkhound out for a romp this morning and I'm still having a hard time typing. My fingers are in melt mode and still moving pretty slow. I'm not complaining though!! Today is in the teens....yesterday it was in the belows!! Onward to spring!!

Getting Started

What Will Become of this Blog? Well here I sit with Daisy Lu in my lap (pictured left) trying to figure out if I'm even going to remember my password etc for my own blog! It happend so fast getting on here I wasn't really expecting to be working on it so soon. I came up with the name Sunny Side Up because I love the sunshine, warmth, and up beat attitudes. Which may contridict some of my moods but hey it's my blog!!! I love photography, gardening, dogs, birds, nature, a little controversy and knowing the difference between right and wrong. Lets start there shall we! I still have to figure out if I can ever find my blog again!!! Your new friend, Eve

More about me next time.