Last week I posted about the “Touch of Fragrance” bouquet we bought. Today, the Asian lilies were opening to lend their sweet fragrance to the mix along with their beautiful appearance. Click on the image to enlarge.
Home & Garden
Upside Down Thistle Feeder
We have a new goldfinch feeder – a Perky Pet Upside Down Thistle Feeder. We got it from Amazon.com last week just to try it out.
The product description on Amazon follows:
Keep undesirable house finches and larger birds away from your finch feeders with this unique finch feeder. It’s designed to attract goldfinches, who can easily feed upside down while other species cannot. Holds up to 2 pounds of thistle seed or finch mix. Features plastic squirrel-resistant cap and perches. Cap slides along a hanging bail for ease of filling. Weather-resistant 18 inch feeder tube. Six upside-down feeding ports & perches. Feeder empties completely leaving no residue.
The feeder hangs from a garden crook just outside of the courtyard where we can see it through the front window. Click on the image to enlarge.
A Touch of Fragrance
Thursday is our usual day for grocery shopping. Today, as usual, included a stop at the flower concession to pick out a bouquet for this week. The name of the bouquet of roses and Asian lilies is “A Touch of Fragrance. When the roses and lilies open up over the weekend (I hope), the area around the vase should smell really pretty. Click on the image to enlarge.
Frost Alert
We don’t remember having several nights of sub-freezing weather last winter, at least not six consecutive days in a row. Fortunately, we took precautions for possible freezing weather starting as early as November, draining the spa, and flushing the motor home plumbing. No sense in waiting until the last minute. We got this image of the birdbath next to the RV drive yesterday morning (about 10:30 AM) still frozen solid – one big ice cube.
The forecast is for warmer conditions returning by mid-week or so. Not so much sub-freezing nights and warmer days (up to the 60s or so). Click on the image to enlarge.
Native Beavertail Cactus
This cactus is a beavertail (opuntia basilaris). It grows in the wash behind and to the left of our house. It is behind several cholla cacti and creosote bushes, so we can’t see it unless we go up into the wash near the north property line.
I walked around the lot today, looking for quail nests and whatever I could see. I found a wren or thrasher nest (not sure which) in one of the cholla cacti on the other side of the lot from where I took the picture of the beavertail. There were no quail nests, though. Maybe it’s too early in the season for that.
Last year, I found some other beavertail cacti up on the hill on the other side of the lot. I dug several of them up and transplanted them to the landscaped part of the property, along the road and RV drive. Those are doing pretty well. Damsel hopes that they will produce some of their hot pink flowers this spring. Click on the image above to enlarge.
A Marjan Salmon Pink Rose
We went grocery shopping today. While we were in the floral department of the supermarket, I saw these beautiful roses. The tag says “Marjan.” I did an internet search and found a description of Marjan roses at FiftyFlowers.com:
A fresh salmon orange rose, Marjan has a slender head with a high petal count that fully opens into a classic bloom. Its color is unique, and often described as a dark pinkish-orange. For a fiery effect, combine this rose with any hot or light pink wedding bouquet, table centerpiece or flower arrangement.
Click on the image to enlarge.
Opuntia Spikes
There are literally dozens of opuntia (prickly pear) cacti on and all around our lot. There are several varieties of these, although I don’t know their proper names. Two things I do know is (1) the spikes are very menacing and (2) there will be flowers in the springtime. This particular cactus is beside the road about 200 feet east of our house. Click on the image to enlarge.