Sedum Roof For The Birds

 Just a birdhouse with no roof, but no ordinary roof-less birdhouse. This house is now a home ! This birdhouse was built many years ago by our nephew Kevin*, during a summer visit to Cedar Pond, and over the years the turquoise roof fell apart and finally blew away in a storm. I stuck a small pot of sedums in the little house never dreaming a pair of birds would move in and raise a family.

 A pair of Oregon Juncos have moved in , built a nest, and are tending the eggs carefully. And protectively. The father Junco is not happy with me being nearby, but I have to pass the birdhouse to water and feed my sheep. Really Mr. Junco, I won't disturb your nest.

 Both Mr. & Mrs. Junco were chattering and chittering at me as I did my chores near their home, but soon after I was done they resumed their parental duties and delights. ( I like thinking of parenting as a delight!)

 Can you see the bird ( Oregon Junco) peeking out?

Who knew a roofless birdhouse could be a home? An Oregon Junco, that's who. "To build a house is one thing, but to make it a home is quite another." Louis L'Amour

Thankful Thursday ~ My View From The Porch

 This is a well-traveled and used area of our property. The lattice hides the wood shed where we also keep our garbage cans. This area is in full view of our front porch too, so it is nice for it to be somewhat visually appealing.

 The mirror was a Goodwill find for under $5.00 and has endured quite a few winters here. The ceramic planters are re-planted every spring. The bird-bath is new. We have 3 bird-feeders hung in the trees surrounding the wood shed.

 Every morning and in the early evenings we sit on the porch and watch the birds fly in for sunflower seeds. We see chickadees, nuthatches, Oregon Juncos, Stellar Jays, Grosbeaks, finches, Goldfinches, sparrows, Towhees, Cedar Waxwings ~ to name a few. We also watch hummingbirds flit around the Bleeding Hearts and Ajuga that grow lush around the porch and squirrels doing acrobatic tricks to get as many seeds from the "squirrel-proof" feeders as they can carry away in their pouches.

There is no end to the entertainment at the feeders and in the garden, especially now that the weather has warmed. Thank-you Lord for your glorious creation ! ~"For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or rulers or authorities- all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Colossians 1:16,16

Tea Time Tuesday & Missing My Bee-Keeper

My husband had a milestone birthday this month. There is so much going on in our lives that has to be attended to right now we were unable to celebrate the way we had hoped. Plus, my husband, my bee-keeper, had to go out of town on business shortly thereafter.

The day my bee-keeper left for a few days I made a pot of tea in my bee-hive teapot and brought out this sunshine yellow teacup.

Doesn't this teacup cheer you up? Look at the happy yellow rings of color with little flowers and red / orange dots. Reminds me of my home raised chicken eggs after the chickens have eaten lots of greens fresh from the garden. The yolks will be a very deep red/orange this very color.

The yellow is so bright it seems to make the whole teacup glow.

I made peppermint tea,

and cut myself a piece of my husband's birthday cake. The cake doesn't look near as good as it tasted. It was a whip cream white cake. Happy birthday my Bee-Keeper and we'll have that birthday celebration soon !

I am joining these ladies for Tea-Time Tuesday :

• Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *
• Terri at Artful Affirmations *
• Martha's Favorites *
• Kathy at A Delightsome Life *

Rest

 "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him ;Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way , because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret, it leads only to evildoing...Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many wicked....the Lord sustains the righteous." Psalm 37:7 ~ 17

 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:28,29

"Rest~ Freedom from activity; quiet; tranquility; slumber ~ Peace of mind or spirit." Webster's Dictionary

Lilac Lucy With Two Hearts

This is my yearling ram, Tonkin. He is the father of a precious new lamb I know I will be keeping...

...little Lucy Two- Hearts ! Look at Lucy peeking around her mother, Tilda. This past Saturday we returned home from a wedding of two young friends, Lucy & Trevor ,to discover my ewe Tilda had her first lamb. What a precious little lilac ( Jacob sheep more commonly have black spots) lamb, and her spots seemed to have been formed by God knowing she would be born on their wedding day. I had to name her Lucy.

This is her right side...

...and on her left side, look ! Two heart shaped spots. They also resemble newborn baby footprints. Hmmm. Either way, this made a happy event even more happy for me. A lovely wedding of two special people and a lovely lilac lamb with two heart spots.

Tilda and Lucy Two-Hearts, mother & daughter. If you are interested in what I do with the wool fleece of my Jacob Sheep, you might enjoy this post , Recipe For Yarn*.

I am linking with these blogs for the Thursday Home Acre Hop ~

• Black Fox Homestead *
• The Self-Sufficient Home Acre *
• Everything Home With Carol *

Tea With Her Dolls~Treasured Times

 I have had the pleasure of this granddaughters' company these past few days. She & I baked oatmeal cookies today,then she set the coffee table for tea & cookies with her dolls.

 Samantha and Cecile ( American Girl dolls) sharing tea with my granddaughter. The dolls have very tiny tea cups.

 My granddaughter chose this lovely little teapot adorned with hummingbirds and flowers.(Thanks Barb !) It is full of hot mint tea.

 Samantha and Cecile wore identical dresses to tea.

 The teacup my granddaughter is using is Rosina bone china, made in England. I found it in a thrift shop.

This is a tiny teacup with gold edging.

" The friendships we treasure most dearly are the ones in which we feel, "Wow, how did I deserve this?" Emilie Barnes

Click on the links below for more celebrations of all things tea.

• Rose Chintz Cottage *
• Artful Affirmations*
• Martha's Favorites*
• Bernideen's Tea Time Blog *
• Antiques & Teacups *
• A Delightsome Life * 

Ella, Fella & Blizzard

Blizzard is a very curious cat and the package I brought home from the post office intrigued him. The package chirped !

In the small box were two goslings. Sebastopol goslings to be precise. I put myself on a waiting list last fall to even be able to order them and here they are, a pair of goslings of a breed I have wanted for a long time. I named them Ella & Fella. The gosling in the foreground is Fella.

 Look, Fella is peeking out of his box for the first time. He is barely two days old in this picture.

 Ella and Fella were shipped in this box with a warming pad, it is the white rectangular object in the box. It was still emitting heat when I opened the box.

 Blizzard is very interested. I would say he is a keen observer of all that goes on in the sunroom gosling brooder. My brooder is a livestock water tank with two heat lamps. Because I have 2 house cats who would probably love to snack on fresh gosling I also have a metal wire lid to place on top of the tank. ( Sorry Blizzard & Miss Marple)

 Inside the brooder there is newspaper to absorb the water and toweling on top of the newspaper to make it more comfortable for the goslings and easier on their delicate feet. The waterer is on a metal rack inside a cookie sheet with even more toweling to absorb the water.This helps keep the water contained after the goslings play with the water. That is the primary problem with raising water fowl. They are too young to be wet all the time but cannot resist playing with water until it is all gone. This takes a lot of upkeep, but I think it is worth it.

  The aluminum foil on top of the tub surrounds a heat lamp to help direct the heat down into the tub . The metal crib springs keep the cats out and the heat lamp which is firmly clipped into place from causing a fire.

Having a large metal tub in my sun room does wonders for my home décor don't you think? But the entertainment value of a curious cat and goslings in a tub beats Nat Geo and Animal Planet paws down.