Garden Ornament Pictures & More

It took a few shots, but I was able to capture the solar butterfly after all. With the wind today and the spinning of the motor, it was a difficult shot to get. I must say, I am pleased with how it turned out.

The next picture is of the bird feeder my sister gave me for my birthday. I took the picture before I attached it to the trellis and filled it.

As I did my little tour around the yard with camera in hand, I also noticed my strawberries were blooming. They do appear to need a drink, as the sun and wind have dried out the bed. I will be adding a layer of alpaca beans to the bed to help keep down the weeds and feed the strawberries.

The final picture is of the pile of pine cones I cleaned out of my shed last week. Remember the squirrels stash?

Have a great afternoon! I must go do some planting now.

Happy gardening!

Squirrel Stash

Good morning!

For those of you who belong to my group on Facebook you may have already heard about where our squirrel stashed his food for the winter. For those of you who aren't, keep reading. :)

The garden shed gets opened regularly through the spring, summer and fall, but throughout the winter it usually stays closed. This past winter was no exception. Yesterday I decided would be a good day to open it up and get out the watering can and some flower pots. Wow, was I in for a big surprise when I opened the door!

Our squirrel had been very busy! I do have to say he was well stocked and was in no danger whatsoever of going hungry. Today he is going to be quite upset with me, as I will be cleaning the shed. I will have to empty the pine cones and crab apples out of my watering can before I can even use it. It's nice to know he had a comfortable place to spend the winter. :)

As I was giggling to myself and taking pictures I couldn't help but marvel at just how much he had stockpiled. I am sure he has enough in there to last another winter. I'm not sure if he did any other damage to the contents of the shed; I can't really tell for all the pine cones and mess. He did make a nice little hole in the bottom of the door, which was one of his access points. His other entryway is in the corner, where the metal is separated (kicked by a horse last winter). I'm glad he was able to utilize my shed, but did he have to make such a mess? Hmmm...I wonder - do you think if I left a broom and dustpan he'd clean it up?

My question for today - have you ever had a surprise such as this one when you started your spring yard cleanup?

Happy gardening!

Diane