Happy Anniversary to US, Back Yard Notes & Getting Ready for Easter

LOTS of pictures today - so please be patient!

TODAY is my hubby and my Happy Anniversary!  We've been especially busy lately and today won't be an exception.  However, he's spent a lot of time (suspiciously) trying to hide the fact he's making phone calls.  I don't know what he has in store, but I do know this - it will probably take place this weekend.

We changed one of our shop booths into a more outdoorsy-looking theme.  I removed the hearts from the arrangements that didn't sell for Valentine's Day and replaced them with colorfully decorated eggs.  There are so many other pictures that will be loading today so I'll show you only this one.  You can see part of our concrete menagerie that we're selling.  A vintage panther is crouched at the door when you enter this area.

This morning, I peeked out the back door (as I always do) to see what was going on back there.  Birds have been building their nests and flowers have been popping up everywhere, so I always get to see something new this time of year.

When I looked toward my biggest flower garden, I noticed that something was dangling from the duplex birdhouse over there.  I slipped on my husband's shoes so I could go outside and get a closer look.  (I guess I really need to get some comfy shoes for outdoors that I can just slip on and off without having to lace them.  Trouble is, they can't be backless because I would slide out of them on this hillside.)  Anyway, here's what I saw!  I think that probably a troublemaking bird (bluejay, mocking bird, etc.) decided to destroy the nest that one of the songbirds had started making.  Hubby said he thinks that one of the songbirds had started pulling out the old nest from last year to build anew.  This is one of those disagreements that won't be solved without calling in the Birdy CSIs.  In other words, we'll never know.

I then proceeded to walk around the patio to see what colors we have going.  It looks like a yellow scheme for now.  A lot of our daffodils are blooming and will continue to do so for at least another couple weeks.

Doesn't this little reader look serene sitting there ?  She has a real secret, though.  She has a splitting headache.    See that hole in the top of her head?  Probably the result of a rock thrown from the mower last year.   Oh - I almost forgot to show you this:   

These were all full yesterday from the raking and pulling of weeds I did from just PART of the big garden.  If I get a chance to go outside today, they'll all be full again very soon.   

This is the whiskey barrel that Mr. and Mrs. Whittle live in.  We bought them several years ago.  In fact, they were the first garden statuary we purchased together.  (Someone, please start humming a verse of "Memories" in the background...")  It won't be long before the iris that surrounds them will be in full beauty.  This shot is immediately in back of our patio.  You probably recognize tulip leaves; the fuzzy-fern looking leaves belong to Oriental poppies.  (These poppies are grown from a root versus seed.) If you look toward the bottom of the picture, you'll see weeds that need pulling.  So, don't look there.   

This is a picture of my hubby's hand holding an old button and pennies.  He was working on this old door he found for the shop and happened to see some change hidden behind the keyhole.  It excites him to find money, even if it is just pennies.  There was one wheat penny in there.  He worked really hard for this 18¢.  Did you stuff pennies in strange places when you were a kid?  I did.  I wonder if the back steps at the house I grew up in have ever been replaced.  Because I KNOW of at least one silver dime that exists down deep in one of the cracks.

And, lastly, I've been playing around - oops, I mean, working - getting ready for the Easter bunny.  Here's a hang tag I made:

...and a paper egg...

...another fabric egg...

...and a styrofoam egg that looks like a real egg, painted.

There's more, but that's probably more than enough pictures for one post.  Take care and have a tremendously blessed day!