March Flowers and Such

March flowers finally arrived here in Robin's Nest! Winter held on longer this year, and there were no flowers blooming at the end of February. I don't think that's ever happened before! I sure am glad to see them. I'm trying to savor each one, knowing that next year we'll be in a new home, and someone else will get to enjoy them. It's hard to leave a beloved garden behind, but exciting too. I'll be building a new Nest, but it will have a smaller footprint. 

In the meantime, I've been working on winter cleanup. But I'm also tweaking the garden so that it will be a bit simpler for its future owner. I don't want a non-gardener to see it and be too overwhelmed to buy the place. I'm removing plants that are testy, and the ones that don't contribute much. And I'll be limiting the annuals that I usually plug into every available space. 

I've already begun writing an "instruction manual" to the new owners, as I did when I left my last garden. I'd hate for them to start ripping things out willy nilly, without knowing what's what.. My main advice is "wait a year", so that they can see each bulb and perennial in season as it arrives. I know, I can't really control what they do, but at least I'll give them some idea of what to expect. Yes, I'll leave behind my collection of plant tags, in case they want to get to know the place. This house was a new build when we moved in, so every single thing was planted by our hands. So we have lots of tags! 

The weather is still all over the place, winter one day, spring the next, then back to winter. So I'm not spending every moment outside like I might in the summer. Indoor pursuits include cooking, crochet, and bit of redecorating. If it seems like a strange time to redecorate, it's because I'm already planning how my new home will look, and using my current home as a staging ground. 

I've caught a few nice sunsets, despite the awkward place it happens at this time of year. I keep wondering what kind of sky views I'll have in my new house. We did purposely choose a home with the back facing south, just like this one, and it's a new subdivision with baby trees that won't block my view. I'll have to find new spots to catch the view, I'm sure. That's half the fun of moving! Mostly we'll be near our family again, which is the point of the whole thing. 

Thanks for stopping by my Nest, as usual! Next year at this time, my Nest will be back home in Michigan, and this place will be someone else's Nest. Life goes on. 

February Indoors

I'm still looking indoors for my February entertainment. Wintery weather continued for most of the month, but here at the very end, it's finally warming up a bit. It's been far too cold to work outside, other than removing the holiday greenery from my planters. By March, I'm tired of looking at evergreen boughs, because they look too wintery to me. Since it's too soon to plant pansies, my permanent planters will just sit empty for the short term. 

I find myself lacking much photo evidence of what I've been up to in February, except for sunset and flower bouquet pix. But trust me, we've been busy. With hubby retired, we're starting to go through the house, sorting and discarding, with eyes on moving our Nest! Nothing is set in stone yet, but it looks likely that we'll be returning to our home state of Michigan, to be near our family. Leaving my garden is going to be tough, but I'm looking forward to starting fresh on a smaller, more manageable nest. This one has gotten to be lots of work! We've decided it's time to take it down a notch, while still growing a few vegetables and flowers. Will keep you posted. 

For the first time since we've lived in Ohio, I found zero flowers in bloom by the end of February. It was a long, cold winter this year, instead of the mild winters we've been used to. Even my earliest bloomers are still sleeping. But the bulb foliage is coming up, so it shouldn't be long. 

With hubby at home, I find myself in the kitchen far more often, and have been surprised to find out how much I still enjoy cooking and baking. We often cook together, but he's usually the one doing the dishes afterwards. I finally figured out the reason that I didn't cook much when he was traveling is because I hate to clean up the mess, so I'm sure grateful that he likes to clean up after me. Here are a few of my photo worthy foods for February. During the cold weather, we made several batches of soup, on this night it was minestrone. I made us a little Valentine cake as I usually do, and admired this chef salad we created. We even made this massive stack of multigrain waffles. Since we are dairy free eaters, we struggle to find frozen multigrain waffles that are safe for us to eat. Instead, we bought a waffle maker and did it ourselves. For now, our freezer is full of waffles. Turns out we didn't need to double the recipe after all! Here's the recipe if you are interested. Multigrain Waffle Recipe Next time, I intend to add a hint of sweetness to the batter itself, probably maple syrup. I also made oatmeal raisin cookies, which I like to fool myself into thinking are at least borderline healthy. 

I'm a big fan of Valentine's Day, and as I said last month, I even decorate my home for it. In all of our home sorting, I found a hidden stash of old Valentine decor that I had forgotten about, so I added them to the mix. 

As usual, when there are no flowers to be seen outdoors, I keep my vases filled. 

My tiered tray had a couple different views this month, once I removed the Valentine look I showed you last month. I get the biggest kick out of changing the decor on this little tray in the middle of my kitchen island. Not sure why it's so fun for me, guess it's just a simple little way to feather my nest. 

I did complete a few crochet projects, since winter is a good time for crocheting. I thought I was done making scarves, but clearance Christmas yarn caught my eye, and I couldn't figure out what else to do with it besides making another scarf. I also completed another cozy afghan for my collection. I call this one my hat blanket, because I saw the color combination in a winter hat pattern. But since I don't wear hats, I translated the color scheme into a blanket instead. 

Took a little jaunt to the Franklin Park Conservatory to see the butterflies, and it was delightful! It's always great to see them again in the middle of winter. 

I'm still watching the sunset skies out the back door, with occasional jaunts down to the pond for a full view. Winter sunsets rarely disappoint. Plus I found a bonus rainbow! 

I hope to see you back here at the end of March. There will surely be a few early flowers to share by then. Can't wait! Thanks for stopping by, I sure appreciate it.