Friday, April 26, 2019

Spring on the Bayou


I am about to let April get by without my "spring is here" post. 

I don't know if you can fully see the coating of pollen on the bayou that I captured on Easter Sunday morning or not, but the bayou had a layer of yellow dust all across it. I walked out Sunday morning and thought everyone will be sick next week. Paul Allen has been for sure. He and Mama are the worst for the sinuses.


Also you might note the tree across the way that the leaves look bare. That is a southern live oak. They loose their leaves in the spring. 

Our drives and yards are covered in the small leaves.

Here is the top of one right next to my deck that I took Sunday morning as well.


Sometimes the deck feels like you are in a treehouse.

Anyway, rather than the usual green lush tree that you will see 11 months out of the year, April brings the leave drop and seedlings. IT all happens rather quickly. Almost too quick to notice in our fast paced days.

If you look closely at the above pictures you can see the golden brown seedlings that I like to call worms. I knew they would drop this week and that rain would follow almost immediately. 
That is the routine.
I have watched it for decades. 

The trees are the most lovely trees of all time to me.
Here is where they grow.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_virginiana

I actually remember the first time I noticed the lovely trees. I was about 6 or 7 and we were headed to the commissary on Pensacola NAS. I know that is a very random thing to remember, but I do. They were simply amazing and still are on the drive into the base. Loaded with Spanish moss and their twisted trunks they are really quite a sight.

Here is the entrance to our cul de sac with my house on the right...tile roof. You can see that they are somewhat bare. My retired neighbor makes it his mission to get up the leaves for the month of April.


I just decided to share that because I doubt most people know that in Florida we have to pick up leaves. It happens so quickly  that one even might not notice it. 
I am not kidding that it seems like overnight they have brand new leaves.

This was taken early this morning. Most of the seedlings fell off yesterday followed by heavy rains last night.


There are new leaves everywhere and very soon they will be so very green.

I guess I should have walked out to take a picture of the drive covered in leaves and those seedlings because it is covered!

I have schooled you up on the southern live oak, so let's move on to birds.

I see every kind of water bird imaginable from the deck. Mallards are definitely my favorite followed by herons, but I see various geese, wood ducks, osprey, gulls, pelicans, and even an occasional eagle to name a few. 



I love little birds though and get so excited about them. We have had an abundance of robins much earlier this year. There are no pictures of any of my birds because I am not a photographer. I long to be, but haven't had time to take up the hobby.

I see lots of cardinals and they have really been blessing me lately.
Blue jays and mockingbirds abound.

Last spring a bluebird visited the cul de sac. I have not been lucky enough to see those often so I get completely giddy about them.

He is back this spring. He was two feet away from me on the driveway yesterday. I was doing cartwheels in my head. Trust me I have never done one in real life. I get so excited over things like that because they are rare. I have loved birds forever. I have no clue why.

Anyway, they love the live oaks and magnolias that line our yard. 

The magnolia leaves are dropping like crazy as well, but they are about to be exploding this year with blooms. We get those in May along the Gulf Coast. There are tons of blooms all around the neighborhood.


Between us and the neighbor is a line of both trees and a few others and the birdies just love them. My sewing room window looks out to this and I often see them in the trees when it is all quiet in the early morning in there. 
The sewing room window is not far past the picture below.



I am hoping the geraniums will fare better throughout the entire summer when the 90s are the norm for daily temperatures. 

This month has been cooler than most and I am loving it. 80s are arriving this week. 

I have more posts coming soon, but I have just not had time lately, but I am going to make some.

Tucker is almost sitting up all on his own. He works with a pillow and is eager to be sitting.




Spring is coming for y'all because it is here.












17 comments:

  1. Our pollen has finally gone away. I think the rain we got helped with that. I love those live oaks...we see them in Savannah as well. I don't think they live up this way. And your flowers are always so pretty. My hostess are huge. I think this fall they will need to be divided. Give Tucker and big hug and kiss for me. I would just love to squeeze that sweet baby....he is precious.

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  2. We are in the throws of pollen season here. I watched a river of yellow run down the driveway about 30 minutes ago from the pop-up storm. Your geraniums look fabulous. Enjoyed learning about the live oaks! Tucker is adorable. Enjoy your weekend, Sandy!

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    1. I hope that pollen settles after the rains. IT may be the only bad thing about spring. Tucker is growing up so fast and I am thoroughly enjoying him.

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  3. How pretty, Sandy! It amazes me to see the kinds of things that grow in different parts of the US. The state bird of Idaho is the mountain bluebird. I used to commute 56 miles to work (each way), crossing a mountain summit, and the bluebirds loved to hang out up there. They are so bright blue that they are impossible not to see. Even though they are our state bird, seeing one is not common and is always a thrill.

    Tucker. Is. SO. Cute! Oh, what fun. Look at those cheeks! :-)

    My son Thomas and I were in the car the other day and we saw a mama Mallard duck leading 13 or 14 little ducklings behind her. Thomas pulled out his iPod and took a photo and a short video. I want to see if he can send them to me so I can post them on my blog. Adorable.

    Happy spring!

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    1. I just love watching mallards. I guess the trade off for no bluebirds is lots of cardinals. I think our country is truly amazing and beautiful all the way across and from north to south.

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  4. Happy Spring! Yes, we had five live oaks in our yard at our old house and I don't miss the mess AT ALL!! They are beautiful and give us blessed shade in the summer, but they are dirty and cause that ugly yellow pollen that covers everything. We only have palm trees here in our new home. Great pictures! Happy weekend!

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    1. There is stuff that drops from them pretty much constantly:) I love the shade though. Palm trees are brought in here. They actually start growing naturally a little further east of us.

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  5. I just watched 6 baby bluebirds fly out of their nest today!!! All from the chair on my deck!
    They build nests every yr in a purple Martin box we have up at the lake. I like to think it’s the same family coming back each yr!
    Your landscapes are beautiful

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    1. Thank you! I love bird watching from the deck. I read that bluebirds like Martin boxes. Now, I don't see Martins here along the bayou.

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  6. Sandy, I love seeing the oaks with the moss hanging from them. Thank you for schooling me, I had no idea they shed their leaves in the Spring. My favorite tree is White Birch, do you have them in your area of Florida? I didn't realize you were such a bird lover. I have always loved birds, in fact, I took up photography when I retired so I could photograph them. I finally got the needed lens to do that. Ijust love seeing pictures of Tucker, he is growing so fast!!! Have a great weekend. Mary

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    1. We don't have white birches here along the coast...further inland yes. That is one reason I love going to Auburn. All the trees are completely different. I could just walk along and collect leaves as well as bird watch. I really need to add a photography class to my list of things to do once Tucker starts daycare which I don't even want to think about. He is so sweet and is growing incredibly fast.

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  7. Thanks for the lessons on the Live Oaks, things this westerner did not know. We love 'em!

    Cardinals -- never saw them in Colorado. But here, we enjoy them almost daily. We are thrilled!

    Bluebirds, we got jays all the time in Colorado, as well as other birds with blue feathers.

    I enjoyed this post. Your bayou is really special.

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    1. Don't you just love the cardinals? I thought I had the comment thing worked out, but not so. I am still working on it. I don't think I am the only one and it is happening to others as well. Hopefully someone smarter than me will figure it out.

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  8. What a surprise that the oak sheds it’s leaves in the Spring... It's never to late to learn, Thanks... YES..The birds are so delightful . I think that's why I love Spring so much ... just to hear them singing or watch them flitting around makes me happy... I can well imagine you wanting to do cartwheels( hee hee) ..Just make sure that somehas a camera when do ... Whishing you a Happy Week-end.... Hugs

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  9. Sandy: Thank-you for this lovely post, we have green trees for about five months of the year, I love trees and birds, we feed the birds all winter, we have ten feeders part of the year due to most birds head south, we have pine trees with loads of Cardinal nests in them.
    Tucker is getting so big what a sweet face he has.

    Happy Spring
    Catherine

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  10. Hi Sandy! Gainesville is known as the "Tree City" because of all our live oaks. They are gorgeous but they also cause a lot of my allergy problems. The pollen has been just terrible this year and like your son it makes me very sick too. But the oaks are gorgeous. We have the biggest oak right in the center of our cul d' sac. It is such a beautiful site to see each day. And, the several more in our backyard. Our builder put a magnolia on each the front of lawn of each house which is so pretty too.

    We have been visited by so many cardinals this year. I call my husband whenever I see one...we love to watch them.

    The photos of Tucker are beyond adorable...he is growing so fast. RJ@stitchingfriends

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  11. This was fun to read, Sandy. I learned a lot that I did not know about live oaks.

    We love cardinals ... they are here in our area but we do not see a lot of them here in the woods. A couple weeks ago we were visiting a friend and saw several cardinals at her home.

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I am so glad you stopped by my little blog. Drop in again anytime.
Sincerely,
Sandy