May 14, 2014

Home!

Yay!  Harry and I are finally home in Michigan.  We arrived here the last weekend in April and settled in rather quickly . . . like within three days :)  It's a long drive from Texas - 21 hours drive time and 1360 miles.  But it's oh so worth it to be home!




The weather was still a bit chilly when we arrived.  Temperatures were in the mid 50's.  But when we left Texas, the temperatures were approaching the mid 80's-low 90's so to me, this weather is just fine!

The plants in my landscaping were just beginning to bud out after we arrived.  My poppies just popped out of the soil and will bloom shortly.  We did loose a few azalea bushes due to the extremely long, cold winter Michigan just experienced.  But I will visit one of the local nurseries very soon to replace the shrubs that didn't survive this winter.


Just before we left last fall, I planted some black tulip bulbs and they, too, are beginning to poke their lovely heads up out of the soil.  I'll be anxious to see what these beauties look like.


Same goes for the Forget-Me-Nots my brother-in-law gave me last fall.  These are such happy little plants.  They make me smile every time I look at them.  And they spread like wildfire too.  These will quickly fill in as ground cover where I planted them.


And as you can see, Gretchen and Laci have settled in nicely as well.  They love it here and seem to be as happy here as I am.



But on a much sadder note . . . we lost our beloved Tyson last fall.  When we returned to Texas in October, Tyson could barely walk.  He was miserable and our only choice was to relieve him of his misery and put him to sleep.  That was one of the most difficult things Harry and I ever had to do.  He was with us for nearly 14 years and I loved him so very much.  There is definitely an empty space here in Michigan without him. 


I simply cannot believe the birds I have this year!  It's incredible.  It's worth a separate post but just quickly I have had red breasted grosbeaks (male and female), Baltimore AND bullock Orioles (male and female), gold finches, blue birds, red wing blackbirds and hummingbirds visiting my feeders.  If you look closely at this blurry photo, you can see two male Red Breasted Grosbeaks and one female.  


And here are two male Red Breasted Grosbeaks and one male Baltimore Oriole.  They are so much fun to watch.


So I guess what I'm trying to say is:  I am so very happy to be home here in Michigan!  So please, stay tuned :)

4 comments:

  1. I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. I can only imagine how difficult a decision that was for your family. Your Michigan home is lovely and you sure won't miss our heat! Looking forward to seeing more of your garden!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, so sorry about Tyson. :( It's so tough to lose a beloved pet, and he was part of your family for so long! I agree regarding the birds, Diane. Every year we seem to have different ones visit. I've never been successful at attracting the Orioles before, but the oranges did the trick about a week ago as they were migrating through. I hope we'll see more in the weeks ahead! Welcome home to the Midwest for the summer!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've never seen a Baltimore Oriole! I'll send you a million sparrows for a few of your birds. :o) I am so really sorry about Tyson. I know how hard that is. I always plan on emptying my dogs ashes into the garden but can never bring myself to do it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am sorry to hear you lost Tyson. I had the same happen to my Akita, where he could barely walk or stand up. I know how you must have felt losing him. You had a very long drive. I got back from PA after a ten hour drive (that should have taken less than 7 hours) so I bet you were very glad to pull in the driveway. Grosbeaks!!! I like how you captured them, a shy bird too. I cannot believe how they are showing up everywhere. Where were they before? We now have a male and female oriole pair. It must mean they are nesting nearby and that too is unusual. I am keeping them with the grape jelly. Such sweet-beaks I guess!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting me!