The Red Cardinal Garden of Neglect soldiered on while we were away.
Behold, the first Iris of the season..
We have roses, with a bit of black spot..
Winter is, quite frankly, a bit of a fizzer.
While we are having early mornings down to 2-3 degrees, the maximums have been 26 - 28 degrees!
If this keeps up, the daffodils will refuse to play this year...
These little guys were glad to see us return...
They might be wild birds, but they believe they own us.
They are quite happy to have us walking about and feeding them, but when visitors come there is great consternation, fussing and squawking.
You'd think they'd seen a snake...
Today is my mother's birthday.
She would be 100 years old if she were still with us.
Mum was a great teacher, and taught me so many things I still enjoy.
Music, sewing, reading, gardening, baking - the list goes on.
This is her portrait as a young woman in her teens.
Happy Birthday Mum...
Some of you may have heard that 12 hours after we returned home from Europe, Mr Cardinal slipped and fell, fracturing his left hip.
He had a week in hospital and is now at home recuperating, unable to put weight on that side for at least six weeks. There was no surgery needed, just rest and avoidance of any movement which would extend the fracture.
This is actually very difficult to achieve, but he is very strong-minded and a good patient.
Another X-ray will be taken in a couple of weeks to check his progress.
Fingers crossed.
XXXX
ReplyDeleteOh no, so sorry to learn of your hubby's fall and subsequent fracture - hope all goes well for a full recovery. He sounds like a keeper - "a good patient" is hard to find among men, haha!
Your mum sounded a lot like mine Patricia, taught you all those great things that helped us through life. Are you like me, still missing her, still 'talking' to her now and then when life throws curves?
Your flowers are beautiful and those parakeets(?) so pretty - know they are happy to see you again.
Thanks for your always delightful comments - I think of you when the cardinals are at my feeders and right now we have so many young ones.
Mary -
Thank you Mary, and yes, Mr C is a 'keeper'. I do still talk to Mum in my head, quite often in fact. When they taught us so many things, it just comes to mind naturally. The birds are lorikeets, which I suppose are a type of parrot or parakeet. They are friendly and chatty most of the time. Always love your blog.
DeletePatricia, your flowers are so pretty with vibrant colors. Oh my, look at that red one! Happy Birthday to your dear mother. What a sweet and treasured picture of her. Oh, I love to see the Lorikeets around your area. They are remarkable birds. I hope your husband heals well from his fractured hip.
ReplyDeletelove, ~Sheri
*just wanted you to know that sometimes it's still hard to comment on your blog. I sent a comment on your last post, but it didn't go through. I was wondering, have you ever considered using the pop-up comments? They are so easy to comment on, and many blog friends are switching over to them.
DeleteDear Sheri, thank you for your good wishes. Mr C is a good patient, but is getting rather bored with the situation! We do enjoy our lorikeets, funny chatty birds they are, always have a comment to make.
DeleteThank you for letting me know about the commenting. I will refresh the page because I was wondering if that might have happened again. I don't have any idea how to do the pop-ups - I will look on the Dashboard and see what I can find.
So sorry to hear of the fall. So easily done. I hope you both make good progress.
ReplyDeleteThank you, it is so easily done, and we never know what is around the corner. Thankfully, not the disaster it would have been if it had happened during our tour. We are hopeful for a good X-ray next week.
DeleteOh gosh, I am sorry to hear about Mr.Cardinal. Must have been quite scary for both of you.
ReplyDeleteIt was quite scary Sarah Liz. At first he tried lying down, thinking it was a pulled muscle. As day went on he got worse and I had to dial 000 because by then he could not walk. At least we still had the house equipped for these sorts of things, following the knee replacement last year.
DeleteSending best wishes to your husband that he heals well. My father in laws birthday was at the beginning of the month and he would also have been 100. Alas we lost him when he was 71. I like to think of these special birthdays.
ReplyDeleteThank you Shirley and welcome to my blog. You father in law was born the same month as my mother! It is amazing to think a whole century has gone by. I like to think of what was happening in the world at that time - like that Monet was still alive and painting. My mother passed away at 89 so lived through many historical times and events.
DeleteYour garden plants look lovely. I wish we had things like that in winter. I had commented I think on Mr. Cardinal's fall and am glad he is strong minded enough to put up with the inactivity for so many weeks. I wish him well. Your mother has such a sweet face.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jenny. I enjoy the Winter flowers because in Summer it is too hot to grow any traditional blooms. My big adventure every year is to raise a daffodil or two - if we don't get a bit of cold, that won't happen!
DeleteHi Patricia...
ReplyDeleteYour Mom looks lovely...I’m sure you must miss her.♥️
Sorry about hubby...so annoying to be laid up...get well wishes to him.
Hope it cools down for you...a change of Season is always welcome...
We are still sweltering up here...I’m sure your daughter is getting lots of rain, but not for me here in Mississauga...dry!
Cheers!
Linda:o)
Hi Linda, thank you from hubby; at least now the pain has dissipated so he is smiling again :) Daughter has been at Lake Nipissing, with the kids all swimming and having fun. Guess it is hot there too... Not sure about the rain in Ottawa, must ask her! Cheers.
DeleteHi Patricia hope your hubby is feeling better. Oh i love the pics of your beautiful flowers and what a beautiful pic of your mum xx
ReplyDeleteHi Shez, yes he is feeling better as the pain dissipates. Only two more weeks of non walking, and hopefully a different regime. Mum's photo is a family favourite. x
DeleteWell 1st, a Happy Birthday to your beautiful mum, Trish. She could have been a fashion model! And to Mr. C, a speedy recovery. Thank goodness, he was sensible to take a fall one day after returning from Europe and not a day before your planned trip. When we have such accidents, isn't it a reminder of how precious life is. I'm always struck by how quickly something can occur. In the morning one is walking ... a few hours later not for a while.
ReplyDeleteAnd finally, I could learn to love a Brisbane winter. The flowers never die and the colorful, strong headed birds still come around. It must take a bit of work to tend to your lovely greenery and gardens. They don't trim themselves. What are those lovely forest green trees in the background?
Thank you Debra. We are certainly reminded how precious life is - we thought we'd go right back to work etc.
DeleteYes, winter is just a blip here, usually cold for a few weeks, but enjoyable. We do have help in the garden which covers our quarter acre lot. The trees behind the birds are part of the garden, and there is a large fig tree (non fruiting), and a red flowering native callistemon (bottle brush) tree. We also have a large gum tree beside the house - I know, dangerous!
Hi Patricia, I've been missing some of your new posts lately for some reason. Sorry about that. Happy birthday to your mother, she was beautiful and sounds like an interesting and talented woman. I'm amazed at how warm your winter has been. I hope you will still get daffodils in spite of the warmth. I was just thinking of you this morning because my son was asking me about cockatoos and whether they can "talk" like parrots. I didn't think so, but I remembered your many avian visitors and thought I'd ask you whether they can talk or if they only making calling sounds. I hope you have a good weekend!
ReplyDeleteHi Jennifer. Blogger has been causing trouble lately, but I am so non-technical I am clueless about it all. I have been onto the 'help' section, and re-installed a few things. I am glad to see you back :) Still hoping for a daffodil, and yes, the cockatoos can be trained to talk, although we don't do it. The lorikeets less so, but some people manage to get them talking. I think you have to keep them in a cage to have much success, and we don't like to do that to birds. Happy Summer Jennifer.
DeleteThank you Val, I will pass on your wishes. At least he is smiling again now! Well done re a rogue tomato - we never seem to manage that. However, the parsley is going well :)
ReplyDelete