That's Amour or love is in the air!

 

Well we now know spring is here and love is in the air when Dylan and I walked out and were greeted by this guy doing his thing. Yep, that would be a male turkey all blown up and doing his courting dance. Thankfully he was to busy putting on a show to be bothered by me and picture taking.  In case you’re wondering Dylan’s an odd dog he doesn’t chase the animals in our yard he has better things to do then waste his energies chasing birds. He did sit down and watch the show a few minutes.

 

The tom’s blow up with air and spread their feathers and walk in circles constantly turning to give the ladies a full view of what a stud he is and how he would make a great mate. Just look at that foot work!

 

He preens, clucks and gestures to try and get the ladies attention. I think he’s turning blue in the face from holding back all that air that makes him look so big since his head is usually white.

 

What are the ladies doing while the show is going on, they really can’t be bothered most of the time and carry on eating as if nothing special was happening.

 

The males or tom’s are pretty easy to pick out when they aren’t all puffed up by their beards. See that feather hanging down off the front of tom’s chest…that’s his beard.  

 

This is a female turkey and as you can see they’re smaller, don’t have the beards and are much duller in coloring.

 

 

Mister Tom has been dancing about for eleven hours at this point, they’re very dedicated to the end results and he needs a break for dinner.

 

 

I found him an hour later up in this tree all alone and not smoking a cigarette so I’m guessing he didn’t impress the ladies much.

 

They tucked their heads down and under since owls are a predator of theirs and will come along when the turkey is sleeping and …well lets leave it at that shall we!

 

The next morning Tom was right back at it for another day of dancing. About noon when Dylan and I went out Tom was missing and so was one of the ladies so hopefully soon we’ll have babies fluttering about.

 

I know this is a home design blog but sometimes you have to show life around your home. When I’m lucky enough to walk out our front door and see this going on I want to share. And for those of you who like to place big puffed up turkeys on your Thanksgiving table keep in mind why they’re really all puffed up like that…..;)

 

Enjoy your week everyone!

XXX

~Debra~

 

 

 

Boxwood: Trim or not to Trim

Clive Nichols Photography

 

Are you like me, do you love boxwood surrounding your home in your landscape?

 

I was first introduced to boxwood many years ago when we first bought our home. It helps to add some structure to your gardens as well as a touch of formality.

 Hyland Garden Design

 

Best part is the deer won’t touch it. Boxwood contains alkaloids that are toxin to deer as well as to humans. We have a lot of roaming deer here in the country so my garden palette is somewhat limited to what the deer won’t eat.

 

 Sweetgum Horticulture

 

With over a 150 varieties of boxwood there’s something for everyone in every shape and form. Boxwood can be planted to form green walls and allee, low borders or tall as well as different textures and size of leaves.

 

My image

 

This is one of our upright box and a very slow grower. I’m hoping someday he’ll fill out his container but until then we’ve given him some height with a pretty iron ornament.

 

 Landscaping Network

 

Boxwood is a tough shrub, which is good for us since it gets buried under mounds of snow in wintertime.

 

My image

 

This is one of our dwarf boxwood and he was MIA for months this winter under the snow but when the snow finally melted he showed us all the growing he had been doing when I thought he was sleeping.

 

The Scout Guide

Did you know that shearing your boxwood into balls and hedges stresses your shrubs?

 

 

My image

 

Since our home isn’t formal and I prefer a somewhat wild untamed look we left these two boxwood to their own devices and let them grow. What do you think trim or not?

 

Southern Living

 

Even in a pot they don’t always need to be sheared to look good.

 

 My image

Since these dwarf boxwood are being used for a low hedge I’ll give them a little bit of shearing. They’ll grow to three feet if left alone and I don’t really want them that tall.

 

My image

 

I know these alliums have nothing to do with boxwood but they’re finally opening and I wanted to show you. I planted up eight different varieties of alliums last fall and as they open I’ll give you a show.

 

Happy Memorial Day everyone and if you really want to make someone’s day go thank or hug a service person.

 

XXX

~Debra~

 

 

Breathing a deep sigh.....

 

Hello everyone! I know I’ve been MIA for the past month but things have been a little hectic and unfortunately until work was done my blog had to take a back seat. I hate it but there is only so much time in a day and I’ve missed everyone!

 

 

As you can see the snow is gone and in its place we’ve been rewarded with new life.

 

I love this about spring and how everything wakes up and gives us a show.

 

 The lily-of-the-valley is just starting to put on their show.

 

 

Lucky us we have fields of Lily-of-the-valley I wish they stayed around longer. If you’ve never smelled what a large field of these flowers smell like then you’re missing a real treat. They’re heaven sent the smell is so clean and light.

Thanks to all the snow/water we received this past winter we’re going to get a bumped crop of pears…..

 

And peaches, I guess there are some rewards to receiving so much snow. Last year was so dry our fruit trees didn’t bud out so we’re doing a happy dance this year.

 

 

 Even our crabapple tree is about to get showy, everything is jumping to life and I love it.

 

 

I want to wish each and every one of you a very Happy Mother’s Day. I wish I could give you all a big bunch of lily-of-the-valley, enjoy your special day!

 

I’ve missed you all and can’t wait to get caught up with your blogs. Be well and have a wonderful week!

 

XXX

~Debra~