Valentine’s Day tulips enjoying a sunbath.Snowdrops in early March…..a promising sign.But then it snowed…..covering up the crocus tips.And then it snowed some more – 3 snow storms and 3 ice storms in March. I’m more than ready for spring. The only good thing about this time of year is that it melts quickly, allowing for a walk in the park.These seagulls are tired of freezing their tails off. Some winters the bay freezes over deep enough to allow ice fishing, but this year it was just thin sheets of shifting ice. The resident ducks foraging for food….there’s a shortage of french fries this time of year.It makes you want to fly south….. (action shot taken with old camera, it’s been too cold to take the new camera out when I’m still trying to figure out the settings)….or stay inside and bake bread…(my new favorite find – good with chili or soup)….and dream of summer days again. (The Luncheon of the Boating Party is one of my favorite paintings, but I don’t know about this puzzle, the pieces are so tiny….)
We do….but I recycle the puzzles with two fellow addicts, or donate the to Value Village or Goodwill. Nobody wants the 1000 piece one though, my friend is struggling with a 1000 piece Van Goth – all that blue and yellow! I think that will be the problem with the LOTBP – too many colors all the same.
Thanks Kate – I’m sick of winter, but the forecast is not looking good – rain and maybe even flurries again next week. It does seem spring gets later and later. I long for just one nice warm sunny day.
Ok, I will. Right now, we are having such strange weather. One day it feels like Spring, the next day we are threatened with rain and snow. So, I haven’t seen the flower buds you have seen quite yet. Looking forward to that. Today the wind is HOWLING, it’s raining.
We still have tons of snow in Ottawa too, although it is raining right now. My tulips are peaking up at the edges of the snow though. Spring is coming!
Hi Joni – I tried sending this slideshow on an earlier post you had done, but it asked my credentials and still didn’t like me. If I send it by e-mail, Shutterfly will bug you forever with their promotions, free stuff. https://link.shutterfly.com/ysFuqWYnpyb
Wow Linda….that is beautiful! But what a lot of work! How did you get to be Wildlife Certified – is it something you apply for and they do an inspection? I noticed over the fence that some of your neighbours are not gardeners! Your back yard looks quite big.
I’m glad you could open the link Joni. I tried to send it by going onto your site and I had to log onto my site which didn’t recognize me so had to do it thru Reader – sigh. I applied to the National Wildlife Federation and at that time (2009 or 2010) they have questions to answer like what sustenance you provide to wildlife in your yard, do you have protection/shelter for them all year around – for example, bees might hibernate in mulch in your gardens (I have mulch, having switched from cedar chips after we had carpenter ants) or in leaves left in your yard. You have to pay for the sign and you get a certificate as well. My yard is not too big but it looks smaller because of all the perimeter gardens and scalloped gardens. It was a lot of work. Yes, next door was not a gardener – Marge had roses but they are not in these pictures. I took the shots over the course of the Summer … you can see those little mushroom things and my climbing rose on its umbrella trellis that never made it. Now behind my red roses is a white vinyl fence which blocks the light for the roses.
Great photos Joni. I just noticed my crocuses up yesterday but no blossoms yet. I wonder how many people will be sharing fries with the birds this year with prices as high as they are. I can’t believe how much fast-food costs now days.
Actually Ruth I’m going to blog about that sometime in April – Inflation nation – the last time we ate at McDonalds it was close to $30 for two – no value meals there anymore. And it was cold, even the coffee….because they don’t have many customers We have 4 McDonalds here in the city, talk about market saturation. So I’m happy to boycott the place, but mom likes it once in awhile. That park where the ducks were has a chip truck in the nice weather and there’s an old guy in his 90’s who lives in one of the nearby apartment buildings and he told use he goes everyday and buys $5 worth of fries to feed to the ducks!
These are beautiful and Spring-y pictures Joni. Were those tulips from your garden against the deck (which I know is white) or are they in a vase or pot? They are just beautiful as are the crocuses – so pretty. Marge used to have crocuses planted close to our fence line and I always saw them pop up in Spring, but nothing is there yet … it is quite blah here. I like your Winter pics with the seagulls freezing their tails off – very picturesque and yes the poor ducks. I know their feet are made to withstand the snow/ice and cold, but still you have to feel sorry for them. I did not know they liked french fries. 🙂 I know seagulls like them. We used to go to an A&W sometimes and the carhop would bring the tray of food and you had to hurry and pull the food into the car as the seagulls would swoop under the roof at A&W and try to steal fries – I’m sure it would burn their mouth or beak?
I like that puzzle. I have saved puzzles from my mom, but where I could do them (when retired) is another story – probably I’d get a card table and one of those roll-up maps. My mom used to use large Styrofoam boards – she had one for her 500-piece puzzles and one for her 1,000-piece puzzles. She did not do puzzles bigger than 1,000 pieces.
I love cornbread. My mom used to make cornbread when she made her homemade soups in Wintertime … she’d either make cornbread cakes, or cornbread twists and sometimes she would make garlic toast. After I was alone, my grocery store started selling cornbread. It came in an 8 X 8 inch square plastic container, flat like a cake. I used to buy it for myself sometimes to have with soup or chili. I haven’t had it in years though. I figured I shouldn’t buy it since I ate the whole cake over a few days.
No, the tulips were from the grocery store this year. I bought them for mom for Valentine’s Day hoping they would inspire her to paint. I put them in a vase and then moved them to the sun so they would bloom. Those are her beige vertical blinds in the background. The crocus are from in front of the library last week – they always bloom first. And the snowdrops are from down the street in front of the communal mailbox, although I do have some in bloom in my backyard they aren’t that plentiful as I just planted them last fall. Everything I have in my yard is only up a few inches, but it’s coming. I think those ducks will eat anything. There’s a sign up not to feed them bread or fries, but there’s a chip truck right in the parking lot. One day we met this 93 yr old man who lived in one of the apartments nearby and he comes over to the park everyday to buy french fries to feed the ducks. Chip fries have gotten expensive – like $5 for a small, $8 for a large, and that’s from a few years ago, not sure what it is now. I bought mom a Ravensburger Stand and Go puzzle stand for $30, which is angled 5 inches at one end, and it’s easy to lift on and off the end of the table. It was only $30 and easy to put together. They have puzzles stands in the toy shop for $100 or more. We tried the roll up things and didn’t find them useful. Before that she used bristolboard, and empty chocolate boxes for sorting pieces. I had never tried cornbread before this year, but it’s become more popular here for some reason. I will answer your gmail tomorrow. The maids are coming early so I have to get to bed earlier!
The tulips are beautiful Joni. Did your mom paint them? I know you were trying to get her to paint that bunny on the bench scene from last year to use in a post. You sure do have pretty Spring blooms though – there are no crocuses around here at all. Only snowdrops are out. My mom liked the Ravensburger puzzles and White Mountain too. We used to order from a catalog called “Bits and Pieces” which at one time had only jigsaw puzzles, but then they started having wooden puzzles and magic games and getting more things we would not buy. But they did have some great puzzles. I had them shipped to work and would bring one home one at a time – we didn’t order that often. I’m sad she never got to work on a lot of those puzzles. The Springbok puzzles at the Hallmark store were favorites too. Just respond to it when you got a chance as I know it was long and most of it was informational!
thehomeplaceweb 
Your photographs are beautiful!
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Thanks Anne! I’d rather be taking pictures of flowers.
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🙂 I love the mood and theme of this post. I think we are all a bit tired of winter and are ready for the freshness of spring!
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Terrific photos. And, like you, I’m looking forward to warmer temperatures. See ya! Neil S.
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Thanks Neil……not one warm spring day in sight yet.
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The header photo has me thinking of Easter, which comes sooner than I expected this year!
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They are purplely! The crocus in front of the library always bloom first, everything else is still gray and drab.
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Love all the outdoor photos, but not the snow! I think that puzzle would be a real challenge. I just can’t do those types anymore.
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I haven’t started it yet and am sorry I bought it. Opening the box was daunting enough. We usually buy the 300-500 large pieces for my mother.
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Do you have a senior center nearby? Maybe donate it to a place like that.
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We do….but I recycle the puzzles with two fellow addicts, or donate the to Value Village or Goodwill. Nobody wants the 1000 piece one though, my friend is struggling with a 1000 piece Van Goth – all that blue and yellow! I think that will be the problem with the LOTBP – too many colors all the same.
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Those photos!💗💗
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Thanks LA!
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Wow! Flowers budding. I won’t be seeing that here for a while.
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The south facing crocus bed in front of the library always blooms first – everything else is still drab and gray.
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I find that things come up earlier in town, because all the asphalt and concrete create a warmer microclimate.
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I never thought about that, but it’s true! Plus they have professional gardeners and better soil!
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All the pics are great but the flowers are so pretty!
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Thanks Kate – I’m sick of winter, but the forecast is not looking good – rain and maybe even flurries again next week. It does seem spring gets later and later. I long for just one nice warm sunny day.
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Fabulous photos!
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Thanks! If there are any signs of spring in Chicago send those warm breezes our way!
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Ok, I will. Right now, we are having such strange weather. One day it feels like Spring, the next day we are threatened with rain and snow. So, I haven’t seen the flower buds you have seen quite yet. Looking forward to that. Today the wind is HOWLING, it’s raining.
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We still have tons of snow in Ottawa too, although it is raining right now. My tulips are peaking up at the edges of the snow though. Spring is coming!
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Mine are up too, but yesterdays rain took ALL the snow away!
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The photos are wonderful. But aren’t there a lot of words for a “Wordless Wednesday? 😎
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Captions don’t count! But you must know by now JP that brevity is not my strong suit…
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Beautiful photos. I like the one of the ducks not eating French Fries, the poor dear things. Made me smile with that caption.
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It won’t be long until the chip trucks are out and about….now that’s a real sign of spring!
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Hi Joni – I tried sending this slideshow on an earlier post you had done, but it asked my credentials and still didn’t like me. If I send it by e-mail, Shutterfly will bug you forever with their promotions, free stuff.
https://link.shutterfly.com/ysFuqWYnpyb
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Wow Linda….that is beautiful! But what a lot of work! How did you get to be Wildlife Certified – is it something you apply for and they do an inspection? I noticed over the fence that some of your neighbours are not gardeners! Your back yard looks quite big.
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I’m glad you could open the link Joni. I tried to send it by going onto your site and I had to log onto my site which didn’t recognize me so had to do it thru Reader – sigh. I applied to the National Wildlife Federation and at that time (2009 or 2010) they have questions to answer like what sustenance you provide to wildlife in your yard, do you have protection/shelter for them all year around – for example, bees might hibernate in mulch in your gardens (I have mulch, having switched from cedar chips after we had carpenter ants) or in leaves left in your yard. You have to pay for the sign and you get a certificate as well. My yard is not too big but it looks smaller because of all the perimeter gardens and scalloped gardens. It was a lot of work. Yes, next door was not a gardener – Marge had roses but they are not in these pictures. I took the shots over the course of the Summer … you can see those little mushroom things and my climbing rose on its umbrella trellis that never made it. Now behind my red roses is a white vinyl fence which blocks the light for the roses.
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Great photos Joni. I just noticed my crocuses up yesterday but no blossoms yet. I wonder how many people will be sharing fries with the birds this year with prices as high as they are. I can’t believe how much fast-food costs now days.
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Actually Ruth I’m going to blog about that sometime in April – Inflation nation – the last time we ate at McDonalds it was close to $30 for two – no value meals there anymore. And it was cold, even the coffee….because they don’t have many customers We have 4 McDonalds here in the city, talk about market saturation. So I’m happy to boycott the place, but mom likes it once in awhile. That park where the ducks were has a chip truck in the nice weather and there’s an old guy in his 90’s who lives in one of the nearby apartment buildings and he told use he goes everyday and buys $5 worth of fries to feed to the ducks!
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Talk about brightening my day Joni, these are beautiful pictures!
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Thanks Diane!
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These are beautiful and Spring-y pictures Joni. Were those tulips from your garden against the deck (which I know is white) or are they in a vase or pot? They are just beautiful as are the crocuses – so pretty. Marge used to have crocuses planted close to our fence line and I always saw them pop up in Spring, but nothing is there yet … it is quite blah here. I like your Winter pics with the seagulls freezing their tails off – very picturesque and yes the poor ducks. I know their feet are made to withstand the snow/ice and cold, but still you have to feel sorry for them. I did not know they liked french fries. 🙂 I know seagulls like them. We used to go to an A&W sometimes and the carhop would bring the tray of food and you had to hurry and pull the food into the car as the seagulls would swoop under the roof at A&W and try to steal fries – I’m sure it would burn their mouth or beak?
I like that puzzle. I have saved puzzles from my mom, but where I could do them (when retired) is another story – probably I’d get a card table and one of those roll-up maps. My mom used to use large Styrofoam boards – she had one for her 500-piece puzzles and one for her 1,000-piece puzzles. She did not do puzzles bigger than 1,000 pieces.
I love cornbread. My mom used to make cornbread when she made her homemade soups in Wintertime … she’d either make cornbread cakes, or cornbread twists and sometimes she would make garlic toast. After I was alone, my grocery store started selling cornbread. It came in an 8 X 8 inch square plastic container, flat like a cake. I used to buy it for myself sometimes to have with soup or chili. I haven’t had it in years though. I figured I shouldn’t buy it since I ate the whole cake over a few days.
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No, the tulips were from the grocery store this year. I bought them for mom for Valentine’s Day hoping they would inspire her to paint. I put them in a vase and then moved them to the sun so they would bloom. Those are her beige vertical blinds in the background. The crocus are from in front of the library last week – they always bloom first. And the snowdrops are from down the street in front of the communal mailbox, although I do have some in bloom in my backyard they aren’t that plentiful as I just planted them last fall. Everything I have in my yard is only up a few inches, but it’s coming. I think those ducks will eat anything. There’s a sign up not to feed them bread or fries, but there’s a chip truck right in the parking lot. One day we met this 93 yr old man who lived in one of the apartments nearby and he comes over to the park everyday to buy french fries to feed the ducks. Chip fries have gotten expensive – like $5 for a small, $8 for a large, and that’s from a few years ago, not sure what it is now. I bought mom a Ravensburger Stand and Go puzzle stand for $30, which is angled 5 inches at one end, and it’s easy to lift on and off the end of the table. It was only $30 and easy to put together. They have puzzles stands in the toy shop for $100 or more. We tried the roll up things and didn’t find them useful. Before that she used bristolboard, and empty chocolate boxes for sorting pieces. I had never tried cornbread before this year, but it’s become more popular here for some reason. I will answer your gmail tomorrow. The maids are coming early so I have to get to bed earlier!
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The tulips are beautiful Joni. Did your mom paint them? I know you were trying to get her to paint that bunny on the bench scene from last year to use in a post. You sure do have pretty Spring blooms though – there are no crocuses around here at all. Only snowdrops are out. My mom liked the Ravensburger puzzles and White Mountain too. We used to order from a catalog called “Bits and Pieces” which at one time had only jigsaw puzzles, but then they started having wooden puzzles and magic games and getting more things we would not buy. But they did have some great puzzles. I had them shipped to work and would bring one home one at a time – we didn’t order that often. I’m sad she never got to work on a lot of those puzzles. The Springbok puzzles at the Hallmark store were favorites too. Just respond to it when you got a chance as I know it was long and most of it was informational!
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