I can't say that I've really been THAT affected by all of the "stay in place" rules as of late....but, everything else around me has been.

I have been busy.....seemingly extra busy here...simply because I've been able to get things done and accomplished without all of the stopping and going to town nearly everyday for one thing or another.  

Actually all of us here have been a little extra busy. 

Amazing how much you can get accomplished without having to stop, dress, hit the road and then get back home, change back into your work/play clothes and re-focus. 

That re-focus part....whew!  It can really get to ya some times.  It's hard for me to re-focus on anything once I've been distracted.

Let's talk about those distractions........amazing how many you finally see that you have on your calendar or to-do dates when you have to actually clear your calendar.  You kinda find out what's REALLY important or not.

However, the part about this whole thing that gets to me now-a-days is the feeling I get when I actually have to go to the grocery store and try to AVOID people w/out actually feeling jumpy.  I mean....really....it's like your brain gets this panic mode that if you get too close to another human you get COOTIES.  UGH!  

I don't like the "jumpy feeling".  And I'm tired of feeling like I can't touch anything. 

There...rant is over.

Oh....and I do miss going into Hobby Lobby.  Yep.  That's one stop shop for me.  Art supplies, ideas, garden deco......art supplies....well, you get the idea.

Well, one more complaint......I'm not THAT keen of the idea of having to order everything I NEED from online.....why????????  Honest Sue here........our mail person can't seem to get the address right here and get things delivered to the proper spot.   It's become a game of sorts to find out what porch the packages are being "quarantined" at.   

Ok....really folks....rant is over.

Meanwhile.....the mule has been used and abused again.  These two are always trying to find something to have a "say" about.  Ha.  Two peas in a pod.   

Never a dull moment here on the farm.  One of them is going to be making some kind of noise some where around here while causing everyone else that is paying attention, to stop and wonder where in the WORLD is THAT coming from?!

I happened to catch this photo while I was photographing some of my flowers in my garden.  Off they go again.

The hummers are here.....have been for about a month now.  We've had 5 of them.  I was able to capture the one below the first day I put out my fuchsia plant. Early morning light gave way to a great moment of buzz around it. 

This was taken yesterday.  The day was mostly cloudy and dreary...but, that didn't stop these little darlings from nearly giving me the buzz as they sped past me and chased one another from one place to another.  They don't mind my presence near the garden as they come and play among my flowers.

We call him "Papa Blue"....he and "Mama Blue" have checked out my yard since last year. This year they built their nest.  They have been so busy building and nesting that they have allowed me to sit on my porch and photograph them and when Papa comes to sit a little closer....he and I have a "chit chat" about all the goings on in the "buzz" yard.   They have had to chase squirrels off of their tree quite a few times.....and the only other birds they don't take to "kindly" too are the cow birds that frequent the feeding platform nearby.

Meet Pierre......his faithful "Mister, Mister, Mister"....call lets me know he is in the yard every morning and late evening.  He even stops by during the day in the garden for a "snack" of a big grub worm or bug.  He and his little lady friend have a nest in the trees some place behind our cabin.  

He is the loudest and proudest out of EVERYBODY in bird world here.  He makes his entrance known...believe me!

So....taking a break from the critters in the yard......here are some of my garden beauties.....below are my corral knock-out roses that I purchased last year.  

My favorite color of roses is orange.....I found these at a nursery in Tomball last year that I love to frequent from time to time to get different flowers that I can't find at the local Home Depot or Lowes.....or faithful Walmart.   

They have given me great joy this year in how well and plentiful they have bloomed.

One more......aren't they just beautiful!!??  They are a nice corral color...sometime have a tad bit of pink...but really an orange hue.

I said "tad"......oops.  Does anyone else ever use that old word?  I have heard it and used it allll of my life and I don't plan to stop.  

I like that word.  I like the "old" words.  Maybe it's an age thing.  Who knows......

Moving on.....I surely don't want to bore my great reader friends....

The image below is my "Dragon's Breath"......last year I planted this for the first time.  I replanted new pieces in another spot of the garden and it is coming along nicely.  

I was thinking that what I planted last year wasn't going to come back....but, about a week ago....after I had pulled up the root system from the old plant....new little red blooms started popping out of the ground all along the area where the seeds had fallen when the plant had died.  So, I have yet to see how well they will do as they grow. I'll try to keep you posted.

Oh...btw...I purchased this at Walmart.    Last year, I found it at Lowe's.

I had bluebonnets this year and didn't have to travel any where to find them.   I planted some and want to see how well they do in a garden w/ other perennials.

Ok....so, we bought about 12 mums in the fall this past year........I didn't want to throw them out....so, I put them in pots and other places in my garden to see how they would hold up.   They have bloomed and grown all winter long and now into the spring.  I am hoping they make it through the heat of Texas this summer and survive.  I have orange, yellow and the deep burgundy colors.

If you want to know what the BEST plant to buy for hummers........Sage (image below)......I have this all throughout my garden and it's the first plant the little angels go to when they visit one of the feeders.  It comes in several colors and it survives winters here as well.

I can't remember what this plant (below) is called....but, I bought it at Walmart last year and it survived and GREW during our winter here.  It blooms and blooms and the leaves are a nice feathery, soft texture. Nice addition to the garden.

Our beloved pansies.....I still have them in the same pot, they are still blooming and growing!  I hope they survive this Texas heat!

My butterfly bush.....oh how I love thee.....let me count the ways!  I bought this last year in Lousiana at a place that is no longer in business and I wish I had bought two of them.  It has a unique color of purple and is a delight to the garden.   Butterflies love it.....hence its name. Ha

Aside from maintaining the flower garden.....Linda and I planted a small vegetable garden this spring as well.   It has grown so well and fast due to all of the nice temps and the added rain showers that we've had.  These are our various tomato plants that we have on one of the rows. 

I was "tickled pink".....(there's one of those OLD PHRASES again)....when I walked out to photo these cucumber vines.  They weren't like this last week.

Both are already climbing the piece of fencing we put in place to support them and keep them off of the ground.

Much to my delight and surprise......I found out we already have baby squash!  Two plants of them. Didn't see anything on our zucchini plant yet but, I'll keep my eyes open.

For all of those in favor of purple hull peas....raise your hands!  Or ....I don't know....say "yum" or something good!  We have two rows of them! They are coming up fast and furious with this good weather.  

While photographing the garden, this was a moving target I found behind me.  I had to "shoot" him too! He was mowing the small pasture before the rain hit and so Linda and I wouldn't have to worry about snakes in the area.  Believe me......they are out! Linda killed two baby copperheads a couple of days ago....I haven't had any "run in's" and don't want to with ANYTHING like that!  One of us would be dead......(probably me from a heart attack!)

Well, getting back to the birds.......this is the second year we've had the Indigo Buntings come for a visit.  I've counted 4 in our yards and we always get excited when they appear at our feeders.  They are beautiful little petite darlings to watch.

We've also had the beloved American Goldfinch.  I love how their bright yellow just pops out from all of the other birds in the yard.

The faithful Pine-Siskin....I have nearly 60 of these or so feeding at my feeders.  I don't mind them because they are cute and don't mind my presence and they have personality.  They also bring other birds into the yard w/ their constant movement and banter.  Besides....they use my bird-bath quite frequently.  

Well, I guess my banter better come to an end.   Bubba just asked me if my blog came in a 16 book set?!  

I know I haven't' written in a while...but, since I've gotten some other projects out of the way........I thought it would be a good time to get it rolling again.

Welllllll, I guess I better give credit to the one who tends to do a lot of the work around here for everybody that needs a "handy man".....Bubba! MY GUY!

He never stops.  Leave it to me to always want a new project to get completed.....Leave it to Bubba to get up and make sure it gets done.  But, done RIGHT!  

No "janky" work here!  (That's a new word.....at least for me.....and believe me....I use it A LOT!"

Happy trails to you.....until I type again!  

Over and out.....

Mrs. Rogers