A Hawk Tale and the February Garden

A peek into a wild part of Deb's Garden, February 2012:

I have a question for those whose children have left the nest: Do you expect them to someday provide for you? Sort of as repayment for all those years of feeding, clothing, providing shelter, mentoring, and encouragement? If the answer is yes or maybe, then don't judge too harshly when I tell you the following story.

Lou recently watched as a young female hawk caught a mouse and carried it to a limb in a tree near our patio. The bird had just begun to enjoy her meal when another, larger hawk flew up and landed beside her. This larger hawk was also female, and Lou supposed them to be mother/daughter. Well, no sooner had Mom landed when she knocked against the younger hawk, then reached with her beak and grabbed the mouse for herself. Daughter glared at Mom for a moment, then flew off, no doubt to find herself another lunch!

When Lou told me about it, at first I was offended that a mother bird would treat her offspring that way. But then, maybe she thinks she deserves it after all she did to incubate and then care for her daughter when she was just a nestling!Hawk flying high

Soon spring will be here and Mom and Dad Hawk, who mate for life, will be preparing for a new family, and I suppose daughter will be looking for her own mate. There's a lot going on in the garden! Spring is leaking though the seams of winter and is about to burst through with full force. However, February is still winter, and we had some of our coldest temperatures this past week. But the subfreezing temperatures didn't last long, and I was relieved that most of the blooms in my garden came through OK. Here's a quick look at some things in my February garden:

Some recent scenes in the Front Garden:

This little rabbit stays in a pot by the front parking court:

Some random flowers and foliage:

Some woodland scenes:

I will end with moss and lichen, for winter is always a good time to appreciate these often overlooked denizens of the garden:

 Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you all have a great week!  Deborah

Winter Blooms And The Living Dead

I've moved! According to the new 2012 USDA Hardiness Zone map I have moved from 7b to 8a. This doesn't surprise me. My location was in zone 8 prior to 1990, then became zone 7b, now it's back to 8a. I have always known that plants zoned only up to 7 could be iffy to get through our summers. I like plants zoned 5 to 9. That should cover it! Thanks to Carolyn at Carolyn's Shade Garden for prompting me to check out the new zone map!

Whatever the zone, today was cold! Did I say something about spring in a previous post? This afternooon was so sunny I was expecting pleasant temperatures. I put on a light jacket before grabbing my camera and heading outdoors. Well, I was outside about three minutes before I came back inside for a heavier coat!

We are expecting temps well below freezing tonight, and I hold my breath for all the blooms in my yard. You would not guess how cold it is in the following photos. Not a snowflake for proof!

No worry for this thing I found, for the living dead have no concern for the frost!This rotting log is encrusted with fungi and lichen, and a close view reveals otherworldly beauty.

Hellebores were hunkered down this morning but perked up by the time I took their photos this afternoon:The frecked hellebore in the top photo is a chance seedling. I hope more like this one pop up!

Daffodil blooms stood up to last nights frost. I don't know if they will survive tonight's.
Above are back and front views of the same bloom.

Some more colors to cheer this February day - see the pansy with the smiley face:

Here's a view across the Front Garden. Can you feel the chilly air?A note about those round balls: I have tried hard to train Lou not to prune our yaupon hollies into round balls, but so far my training has not worked. He does it when I'm not looking.

And finally, here's some images from the Woodland Garden:

By now my fingers were frozen. Back inside! What's that smell? Lou is cooking up some fresh collard greens, just picked from the vegetable garden. Frost, they say, makes collards tender, so these should be very good!