Baby Hummingbirds

This spring was the first time 

I ever saw a Hummingbird's nest.

(see those teeny tiny little leaves decorating the nest?)

Have you ever been so lucky as to see baby hummingbirds?

   

To see them up close... right outside your window?

Right on your patio where you sit every single day?!

I guess momma bird felt welcome...

I do have a lot of cozy birdie decor inside and out. 

(You all know how much I love my birdy decor.)

I watched that little momma bird make her nest, 
sit on her eggs, and feed her babies...

ALL BY HERSELF!

I admit I helped out during a few terrible windstorms
 by tying a guy wire from the branch to the chair. 
I was so afraid they be tossed out or whipped against the wall.

There were even some very cold nights!

One night momma bird didn't even show up to sit on the eggs.

I was a nervous wreck! 

I was sure the eggs were gonners. 

I even felt those little eggs and they were so cold!

Now... don't worry...

 It's not true that you can't touch the nest 

or the mother won't come back... 

because birds can't smell! 

( New research indicates that some birds 

do actually have a sense of smell)

Needless to say the momma returned. 

But in the meantime I had become very attached to them. 

(click on picture to enlarge)

I couldn't help it... 
I named them Tic and Tac.

Then one morning...

Cute little twin Hummingbird babies!

Facing in different directions.

In a few days I found out why they were sleeping like that.

LOOK OUT!

They were shooting out "poop rockets"!!!

I found out the hard way... 

All I can say is be very careful when 

getting  an "up close" look at baby birds!

By the time they left the nest 

they were reaching a distance of 2-3 feet. 

No kidding!

The patio furniture was well within that range 
and even though I cleaned up after them every day 

it just wasn't safe to sit out on the patio.

Then finally sadly it was time for them 

to venture out into the world.

They were even bigger than this by the time they flew the nest. 
I have no idea how they squeezed into it towards the end.
They had to perch on the edge of the nest the last few days.

I enjoyed the experience, however I would rather 
they nest on someone else's patio next time. 

Between all the worrying and cleaning, 
they wore me out!

Thanks for visiting today. 


xoxo
 Bunny Jean

A Quiet Morning

This morning was a good morning. 

Nice and quiet except for my daily visitors.

 
My little birds.

Not sure what kind of bird this little guy is. 
I love his cute little red head.




  He and his wife have nested in the 
Bougainvillea in the front courtyard. 

I will share that another day.

 Mr. and Mrs. are waiting for a table... looks like one just opened up. 

Sometimes it gets so busy that that you can barely see the feeder through the birds.

Momma bird is enjoying a few moments 

before getting back to the little ones. 

They haven't hatched yet... 
Then she will have no time to herself!

We also have hummingbirds that visit our yard. 
Two varieties live here all year round.

This little Hummingbird is one of three or four (or more)

 that are always protecting their territory in the backyard. 

 He/she sits on the fence enjoying the cool morning.
Nothing like the 114 degrees he suffered through the other day. 



I have enjoyed my morning coffee, a pretty view, and pleasant company.

The Mr. has been home all week. 
I hope you all have a wonderful day.

xoxo 
Bunny Jean

I will be sharing at these fun parties:
Rednesday
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday
Outdoor Wednesday
G'Day Saturday

Remember...
The Bunny Hop Party 
will be accepting links at 4:00 pm Pacific time.

114 Degrees is... HOT!

The last two days have been really hot

here in my California desert home.

This little guy came to rest 

in the shade of my front door alcove.

We startled each other when I opened the door 

to water the potted plants in the courtyard.

He soon came back. 

He was panting so badly that I felt sorry for him. 

So I put out a tiny little hummingbird feeder.

I didn't get a picture of him eating... 

maybe tomorrow. 

xoxo

Bunny Jean

Outdoor Courtyard Curtains

Here in the Palm Desert area of California 

we have a LOT of sun!

I would like to share how I solved the problem 

of too much sun on my outdoor furniture and cushions. 

It was jut too bright and HOT! 

 This is a view of my front door. 

It is in a little alcove and there is seating on the left. 

It makes for a nice place to greet visitors.

 In the winter months it gets the morning sun.

So much that it has begun to fade my

 cushions and pillows.

 This picture shows what a difference the outdoor curtains make.

That little white spot on the cement is the sunlight 
peeking through a little crack where the two curtains meet.

 This is the 'rod' we used. 

It is a metal pipe and fittings 

that The Mr. got at the hardware store. 

I sprayed it with Rustoleum's 

Oil Rubbed Bronze.

Then I made curtain out of painters drop cloth.

I also used some buckram on the curtain headers.

Buckram stiffens it and gives it structureand nice folds.

 This particular drop cloth had a looser weave than I usually get.

At first I didn't like it because it had a lot of movement when I was sewing it. And I did a lot of sewing.

 But now I LOVE it!

There were absolutely no wrinkles after washing. 

It is soft and drapes so nicely. 

 I made two curtains so that I could adjust it for different sun exposures. Sometimes it is pulled to one side like in this photo. Other times it is split in the middle.

 This is the view out into the courtyard.

The Casita's (small guest house) sliding door is to the left. 

Soon we will have tall decorative iron gate in the arched entryway.

This is the arched entry to the courtyard.

We have a view of the mountains off in the distance. 

There are more mountain views from the back patio.

I will try to get a few pictures of how I made the curtains. 

Just so you can see the buckram (stiffening  for curtain headers).

That stuff makes the world of difference when making curtains.

I will be sharing at these fun parties:

Thursday Transformation @ Shabby Creek Cottage

Outdoor Wednesday @ A Southern Daydreamer

xoxo 

Bunny Jean

The Courtyard Project

Our Desert Home has a Casita. 

It is a one bedroom guest house... 

really just a detached bedroom and full bath.

There is a space between the main house and the casita 

that makes a courtyard. The first arch is the courtyard, 

the second arch is the alcove to the front door entry.

You can see that I have tried to cover the 

furniture to protect it from the sun.
Sort of... 

Not very attractive, is it?

Since the weather is cooler now, 

we are starting on some outdoor projects. 
The first is an outdoor curtain.

The Mr. is putting up a sturdy curtain rod he 
made out of some pipe and fittings.

I spray painted the pipe using the ever popular 

Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint. 

The curtain rings are a little bigger than I usually 
get because of the diameter of the pipe. 
I will also add tie back hooks.


Hopefully I will have the curtains up this week. 
I am also designing a gate for the courtyard. 
Below are some examples.

This is a house like ours (reversed) that has

a black iron gate. Not exactly what I want. 
Too plain. Too open. Too black.

This is very attractive but way to ornate and 

WAY TOO GOLD!

What I want is something that will keep 

the dogs in and the uninvited out. 

With a lock set and doorbell.

Something with BIRDS.

Yes, I love birds... just a few.

What do you think?


I am sharing this at these parties:

Outdoor Wednesday

Fall Into Fall



Wow Us Wednesday's

Thank you to these wonderful hostesses!


~ ~ ~


Don't forget the Bunny Hop party
is going on right now through Sunday!

Potting Shed with Faux Brick Floor

Transformation Thursday Party...

.

Today I want to share my Potting Shed  

with the "faux brick" painted floor.

This was not a "shed" but an addition that was added

to the side of the house by the former owners.

It didn't even have any electricity wired up.

It was a workshop/storage room with one window.

Then I moved in and staked my claim...

and we put in another window and power!

Potting shed with painted "faux brick" floor,
Click here for more info.

I have to apologize for this picture.

The Mr. must have taken it,

I didn't even "stage" it first!

It was taken before the digital camera era.

I dug it out of the "picture box" and scanned it.

Do you have a "picture box"...
or a bunch of boxes like me?



Here are two more pictures of that yard.

Our Northern California Backyard.

Our Hot Tub Gazebo

I will post more after I dig through the
gazillions of pictures in the unsorted boxes.

I have always been a gardener.

In fact while living in Northern California
I had become a Master Gardener for my county.

I should scan that MG certificate...

and tell you I was 2nd in my class,

but I am not prone to bragging... :o)

 Our Texas Pond

 I never got a MG certificate in Texas.

 However, I did get the yard certified

as a Wildlife Habitat.

Certified Wildlife Habitat Plaque

Mourning Dove on Bench... look hard.

Praying Mantis in our Texas Yard





My newest garden is in the desert.
It has been too hot to do anything here so far.

Mountain View In The Desert

We have a small backyard with only
the builders landscaping so far.
see the little baby plants?

Small Desert Yard



But we like to think that we
have a huge backyard with
a wonderful view of the mountains.

View Of Golf Course And Mountains From Backyard

We do have some pretty clouds.

House Across From Us

Thank you Gina for hosting this party.
The Shabby Creek Cottage: Transformation Thursday
No Minimalists Here: Open house Party

~ ~ ~

Bunny Hop Wednesday Party

I am Hopping for joy!!

I just want to thank all of you new party girls!

I have had a better than expected start to my

Bunny Hop Wednesday.

xoxo 
Bunny Jean