EASTERTIDE - The time of renewal, rebirth and hope!

White and yellow always remind me of Easter - especially when the Easter Lilies (Lilium longiflorum) adorn church altars and peoples homes.  We always take them home from church and plant them in our gardens, but of course they rarely bloom at Easter unless they are forced and prepped by the commercial growers.  Mine received a huge setback in our unprecedented freeze this year - most seem to have survived but probably won't bloom this year.  

This year, as a result of the freeze, the wildlife has suffered from lack of food so I have been filling a bird feeder every day.  It has been a joy to watch the variety of birds that have visited - from the chatty little sparrows to the cooing Mourning Doves.  Black Cap Chickadees, Goldfinches, Carolina Wrens, Cardinals - the larger birds don't fit in the feeder, which is like a saucer covered by a mushroom cap!  I think the prettiest bird, though, is the Purple Finch.  The wily squirrels, however, have learned how to hang upside down and reach a small amount of seed!  

One thing that never changes, though, is the Carolina Wrens nesting in hanging baskets on the porch, year after year!  The chirping of the chicks has been getting louder over the the days, and today I tried to get a short sound clip - then later this afternoon after expelling a neighborhood cat from the area, was able to catch a glimpse of at least 3 chicks.  They are getting big now, soon will be on their way, and I'll be able to clean out the hanging basket!  

Disappointing that I can't post my phone videos - will have to work on that!  In the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy the birds, and the hummingbirds that are now showing up for the summer, before heading south to Mexico again for the winter!!!