Going Bananas!

Wow! I guess spring has officially arrived at my house. My garden is going absolutely banana cakes! Roses are busting out all over and I can't get them cut fast enough! All the critters have started to show up too. In just the last week I have seen a possum, frogs, goldfinches, mockingbirds and more bees than I can count. I have been getting up early to sit in the garden, have coffee and "commune with nature" as my mom always says.

Speaking of my mom, just last week she called in a panic and said that a possum was in her garden laying upside down on her back and giving birth! I could hear my dad in the background mildly freaking out and instructing my mom to "tell her this" or "tell her that!" You see I have become somewhat of an animal expert in my family simply because I read so much. But back to the story, so mom is trying to figure out if everything is alright with the possum because she is lying on her back. I explained to her that opossums or possums as they are more commonly called, are north America's only marsupial. Meaning they are in the same family as the kangaroo and koala bear. She was laying on her back because as she gives birth her babies instinctively climb onto her stomach and find their way into her pouch where her nipples are. This process can take several hours depending on how many babies she has.

Once inside, the babies will continue to grow and nurse for some time before they are ready to leave the pouch. Finally, when they are old enough they climb out of the pouch and onto mom's back until they are ready to go off on their own. I could hear the relief in their voice once they realized that the possum had things under control and would not be needing any help. My parents are however, taking their self-assigned duty of watching over this little gal possum in the interim. They throw cut apples into the yard where she is nesting snugly inside an old tire. You just gotta love nature!

Toad/Frog pond complete with

overturned half-log homes.

Fred is one the pond's more permanent

residents.

I grow over 40 different varieties of roses

in my garden.

These are one of my favorites. David Austin English rose

named Abraham Darby.

Another English called Crown Princess Margherita.

Here is a situation I am not too thrilled about! I fill up

4 humingbird feeders a day because the bees drain them as

fast as I put them up.

This rose is powerfully scented with antique french fragrance.

The sprays are a bouquet in themselves when cut.

Just look at all those buds!

The brightly colored Mardi Gras rose.

Birds and butterflies visit the fountain

all day long.

Windermere is another David Austin rose.

Probably my favorite English rose of all is

Golden Celebration. Just one flower can

scent an entire room!

I enjoy the garden early in the morning

before it gets to be too hot.