The birds are chirping and singing their songs. Mating. Doing what they always do in the continuation of nature.
On Mother’s Day I got my tall grandson to hang wind chimes I am too short to put up by myself.
I’ve missed them, I realized.
My Wind Chimes:
They have been in the outdoor storage closet since I moved in. All tangled up together. I didn’t feel like I could tackle that mess until recently.
I love these blue and green wind chimes especially, their colors like stained glass. They have a particularly beautiful sound when the wind comes this way.
It is a soft sound, more like coins being rustled about in a cash register. (Do they even still have cash registers?)
I just love to hear the wind chimes tinkling in the breeze. Such a lovely sound that blends in with the birds chirping.
The Male Cardinal:
There was a rather loud male cardinal outside yesterday. Maybe he was calling his lady love and she had not yet responded.
The male cardinal sings to defend its nesting territory and will actively attack any intruding males.
I love to see the cardinal couples together.
Did you know that some cardinal pairs do break up and look for new mates, sometimes even during the nesting season?
And if one member of the cardinal pair dies, the survivor will quickly look for a new mate.
I guess they have to keep the ball rolling in nature.
Do Cardinals Kiss:
Some people ask the question “do cardinals show affection?” It sometimes appears that they are kissing one another.
During courtship, affection is expressed by the male cardinals when they feed the females seeds. This method is known as “beak to beak.”
Of course there are many birds out there flitting from tree to tree, but the sound of the male cardinal seems to be the most distinct.
The Purple Clematis:
The purple clematis seems to have perked up since I cut the dead-looking stems off. It probably helped that it rained for several days.
It’s putting out new blooms. And I’m just waiting to go out there one day and see it climbing up the trellis!
After 42 years of living along a 4-lane highway, my husband and I decided to move to the country (in Indiana) to enjoy some peace and quiet. Now we have lots of pastures and wooded areas around us. I hardly ever see a robin anymore, but we have lots of red-winged blackbirds, nuthatches, blue jays, and at least 4 kinds of woodpeckers, including the large pileated woodpecker, all of which come to my suet feeder. I always enjoy reading your posts! And I’m glad you are getting around better these days!
Brenda, I love seeing the birds, especially cardinals. Lately, my “wildflower” meadow which I planted this spring and is now about 3ft high has lots of bees and tiny birds hopping around. It is sedative to sit and watch.
Love your wind chimes! They are beautiful and peaceful. That reminds me that I need to get mine out.
Brenda, I just wanted to say how much I enjoy your blog. It’s so fun to see all your decorating and gardening ideas. I love how you have updated your garden and all your beautiful flowers. Thank you for blogging !
Sandy
Your windchimes are quite pretty – are they a type of capiz shell? I have numerous “loud” cardinals here too in South GA along with some other songbirds – it is that time of the year! I like to watch the cute little fledglings as they perfect their flying skills too. Unfortunately we have also had some random incidents involving a predator, probably a hawk, and last week I called the Georgia DNR Game and Wildlife Commission after an entire bird’s nest was “dropped” on my front lawn and pieces of the nest were strewn everywhere on my porch along with a blue egg that was broken open. It is the way of nature and there isn’t much that can be done about it, but I wanted to report it for the record anyway.
Oh, I watched Annika on Masterpiece at your suggestion and I really enjoyed it – and I don’t usually like crime dramas! Thanks for recommending:-)
I only got to watch the first episode of Annika because that’s all that was showed. Now I have to find the rest of the episodes to watch. Where did you watch it?
I watched Annika on PBS Masterpiece – I think you recently added PBS (Masterpiece) to your streaming? Take a look at Magpie Murders also on PBS Masterpiece too – it is really fun to watch:-)
Love that peevish expression on the male Cardinal’s face.
He does look a bit put out, like the female isn’t responding to his call or something.
What is your wind chime made of?
unless I sign up i won’t be seeing your tips, is that correct? it’s something different from the blog?
Petie, I write a bit on the email subscribe feature that’s emailed to subscribers. Photos, this and that. But most of my tips are right here on the blog.
I don’t know what it’s made of. I purchased it some years ago when I found it in the clearance section of a small nursery I went to.
Your wind chimes are beautiful. I have one set that has a lovely time. Then i have another chime, just a wrought iron heart, and it chimes when it’s really windy.
Been a sad week for us. Our 15 yo kitty died unexpectedly Monday. And yesterday we had to let our 15 yo Morkie go. His trachea has collapsed and he wasn’t doing well with his meds. We got them about four months apart back in 2008. The house is so quiet and has such a different feel. But as Ziggy passed there were three hawks that came to fly overhead and circled around for a bit then left and immediately a lady bug flew thru the yard. And oddly enough we haven’t seen one here in about two years. The Universe let us know Ziggy and Joey were at peace.
Oh Annette, I’m so very sorry! That’s just terrible, two right together like that. I’d have a hard time recovering from that. I’ve been thinking about you this week. I was thinking about the sedum autumn joy plant because I saw one in someone’s yard. When I see one I always think of you. You and your daughter take care of one another through your grief.
I do not have wind chimes here in Wyoming because the wind blows 24/7 and it would be extremely annoying 😆. I wish we had cardinals here, but meadowlarks and sand hill cranes make up for it. And the wild turkeys gobbling in the morning.
Oklahoma is known for its wind, but it hasn’t been really windy for awhile. When it comes, all those wind chimes I have out there will be making a lot of noise!
I have a purple clematis like yours and it likes to have it’s “feet wet” – area where the roots are covered in mulch or you can provide some kind of shade to the root area and I make sure to water it well every other day, sometimes every day if we haven’t had rain and the temperature gets into the 80s and 90s. I inherited mine from the former owners of this home I bought in 2014. It was planted where it pretty much gets full sun at least 7 hours during the height of summer so I check to make sure the soil is moist around it’s “feet” daily. I have two pairs of cardinals that visit my yard daily. The males are very loud and do have that distinctive call. The photo of the male cardinal you posted here reminds me of a Millennial with a beard which why I will never understand, is back in fashion. Personally I think such beards are crumb grabers! The dark feathering above the cardinal’s eyes in the photo reminded me of Groucho Marks’ bushy eyebrows. Friday it is off to the nurseries and Chinese Maple hunting is on my list, if the nursery I know stocks many varieties will deliver it to my house.
I will remember that “wet feet” suggestion. Have fun and I hope you find the perfect Japanese Maple!
I love your wind chimes. I’m so glad your grandson hung them for you. I enjoy hearing the “chimes” and yet sometimes I find them very annoying. Strange, I know.
Ahhhh, the cardinals are such incredible birds. Thank you for sharing more information about them.
Have a delightful Wednesday!
Maybe it depends on who the chimes belong to. If a neighbor had really loud annoying ones, that would probably bother me.
Good point, Brenda. Hadn’t thought of that. Thank you!
Cardinals are such beautiful birds. The males are, anyway, with those bright red bodies. You take the best bird photos. The purple flower is beautiful too. I can’t wait to see it get big enough to climb up the trellis. That was sweet of your grandson to hang your windchimes. I love having tall children. They can reach everything I can’t, lol. I do think the colors of your windchimes are particularly pretty. They’re very soothing to look at and listen too. I have some windchimes too. I like to think they are singing to me on a windy day. Ahhh, the little things that make us so happy, right? And the two trees with their colorful leaves over lapping are so very pretty. You really have made yourself a beautiful outside space. I had no doubts you would, just as soon as you were physically able to.
I like the idea of the wind chimes singing to me. I’ll think of that now when I hear them.
Love seeing the wind chimes again! The colors are perfect – so pleased for you to enjoy it again. Your clematis is beautiful – I have the same trellis! Bought it years ago at Lowe’s – they still carry it in their garden section.
Enjoy your day!
I hope the clematis is past it’s “iffy” stage. One side had dead stems and the other had pretty ones. I finally cut off all the dead looking stems so I wouldn’t have to look at them.