Lilacs

The lilac is blooming!

It's not quite in full bloom, but there are lots of blooms, and it smells amazing. 

It has gotten huge!

Fortunately, the colder weather we had over the weekend doesn't seem to have hurt the blooms.

Kale

My kale seeds have sprouted.  

I think they're so cute.

We had a freeze last night/this morning, but the little kale seedlings still seem to be doing well. 

Are you having colder weather this weekend? 

Jellyfish

I wasn't sure what to do for my J post.

So, I scrolled through my pictures hoping for inspiration.  I came across these pictures of jellyfish from when we visited the SC Aquarium last year.   

  

I definitely wouldn't want to encounter one at the beach, but I think they're beautiful. 

They just seem so peaceful.   

If you're doing the A to Z Challenge, was J hard for you?  If you're not doing the challenge, is any particular letter the reason?  

I Couldn't Think of Anything Else

I couldn't really come up with anything for my I post.

So I decided I would share another groundhog video. 

I could watch them all day.  

Here Are a Few Random Things

How about a little midweek randomness?

My arugula seedlings are doing well. 

We're still working on a lot of decluttering. 

And no random things post is complete without at least one cat picture. 

How is your week going? 

Groundhogs

As soon as I signed up for the A to Z Challenge, I knew that my G would be groundhogs.

We had several groundhogs move into our backyard last year, and I absolutely love them.  They’re so much fun to watch. 

We set up a little critter corner, mainly for the groundhogs, but we have also had other visitors (some of the other letters in the challenge will be about some of the other visitors).  I put out food and water for them, we set up a trail cam, and I love watching the videos of the groundhogs enjoying their snacks.

They like bananas a lot.

They love broccoli.

And corn is one of their absolute favorites. 

I know a lot of people consider groundhogs to be pests, but they’re not hurting anything, so we’re peacefully co-existing with them.  I love that they’ve chosen to live in our yard.  

Free Range Chickens

One of our neighbors allows her chickens to free range most days.   

With her permission, I started giving the chickens snacks and treats.  Now their routine is to come over every day for a snack.  

I love feeding them and seeing them everyday.   

Enjoy this video of the free range chickens having a snack.  

Eek! I Almost Forgot to Post

We're still working on our spring cleaning/decluttering project.   Why do these things always take so long?!?

Yesterday, I decided to do my "E" post on Sunday instead.  

I almost forgot, but I'm getting it done at the last minute.   

Enjoy this picture of sleepy Theodore. 

Don't Feel Like Blogging

I really don't feel like blogging today, which is part of why I signed up for the A to Z challenge.   I want to get back into the habit of regular blogging. 

I've been spring cleaning and decluttering (there's another d!) all day, and I'm exhausted.   It's at the "worse before it gets better" phase.  I know it will be worth it,  but it's definitely not fun.

Theodore has been enjoying it, though.   He's having so much fun inspecting everything I drag out of closets, climbing shelves, and generally getting into everything.   This picture is one of the few times he sat still today. 

Are you doing any spring cleaning/decluttering? 

Collard Greens & Cilantro (Blogging from A to Z Challenge)

I’m hoping to have a fairly large garden this year. 

We’re not past our last frost date yet, so, for outside, I’m only starting seeds that are a little more cold-tolerant. 

I recently learned that cilantro is best planted while it’s still chilly, and of course, greens tend to do well in cooler weather. 

So, last weekend, I started my collard green and cilantro seeds.

I’m hoping to see little sprouts soon!  

Blue Jays Eating Peanuts (Blogging from A to Z Challenge)

Last year, I set up a little critter corner in our backyard to feed the wildlife that stops by.  We also set up a camera so we can see our visitors. 

Recently, we had some Blue Jays stop by to eat some peanuts. (The date and time on the camera are wrong because it messed up when the batteries died and we haven’t reset it.)

Enjoy this video of the Blue Jays enjoying their peanuts.  

Azaleas (Blogging from A to Z Challenge)

Some of our azaleas are starting to bloom.

They tend to bloom anywhere from late March to late April. 

Some years, we’ve definitely had more blooms by April 1^st, and some years, they’re just barely starting to bloom around this time. 

I love azaleas, so it always makes me very happy when they bloom.

So what about you?  Do you like azaleas?  Are they in bloom where you are?  

March Wrap-Up

Since I missed doing a Thursday 13, I thought I’d do a March wrap-up for the random things since my last Thursday 13.

A cat picture is always a good place to start, so enjoy this one of Charlie in a basket.  He doesn’t exactly fit in the basket, but he still enjoyed hanging out in it.

We were close enough to some of the NC wildfires to get a lot of smoke and falling ash from them.  I’m not sure how well you can tell in the pictures, but the haze is from the fires.  

We had rain yesterday and today, which has helped with the fires.  Even though we desperately needed the rain, it’s still making me nervous. 

Last week made six months since we were hit by Hurricane Helene.  The recovery process is ongoing.  Storm damage was a contributing factor to the fires.

Our wonderful neighbors have been helping us dig a dry well for drainage.  It didn’t occur to me to take a picture while anyone was in the hole.  Hopefully, you can tell from these pictures how deep it is.  I just dangled my legs in for the pictures because I didn’t want to have to climb out of it again just for pictures. 

We had four tons of gravel delivered last week for the drainage project. 

I started some seeds (only for cold-tolerant plants since we’re not past our last frost date yet) last week.  Hopefully, I’ll be sharing seedling progress soon. 

I’ve decided (at the last minute!) to participate in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  You can read more about it here, but the basic idea is to blog every day (except Sundays) in April, starting with A on the 1^st and ending with Z on the 30^th.  Some people do themes.  I’m not doing a specific theme; I'm just trying to blog more regularly and hopefully catch up on some of the things I’ve meant to blog about. 

So, how was the rest of March for you?  Are you planning to participate in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge?

Thursday 13: A Lot of Randomness

Today’s Thursday 13 is going to be all over the place.

1.    Mortimer had an emergency visit (fortunately to our regular vet’s office) on Friday due to eating plastic.  Fortunately, after x-rays to confirm there wasn’t an obstruction, fluids and an anti-nausea shot did the trick. 

2.    Unfortunately, I doubt this did anything to curb his obsession with eating plastic.

3.    We mailed out a total of 152 protest postcards on Saturday.

4.    We had severe storms and a moderate risk of tornadoes late Saturday night into the early hours of Sunday morning.  Pre-Helene, we wouldn’t have been very concerned, but almost everyone here gets nervous about storms now. 

5.    Because our house doesn’t have any rooms without exterior walls, we deemed our bedroom closet the best place to shelter in case of a tornado.  We didn’t want to have to round up five cats in the middle of the night with a tornado imminent, so we opted to lock all five cats in the bedroom with us.

6.    Catching and containing five cats is a big job! 

7.    Fortunately, there were no tornados, and we didn’t have to shelter in the closet.  We had a lot of rain, but no flooding or damage.  Unfortunately, we didn’t sleep well at all.  Caroline’s facial expression sums up the night well.

8.    Other than that storm, we’ve still been enjoying mostly sunny weather.

9.    The daffodils along the back fence have bloomed.

10. The daffodils next to the carport are at their peak.

11. The forsythia is just starting to get a few blooms.

12. There are a lot more flowers on the bush in the front yard.

13. And the hyacinth is still blooming,

 

How was your week?