@CarolDustinsMom

Hay bales in the farmer's field. Snapped this photo inside my car while out running errands. Many of the farmer's fields nearby are making these hay bales from the tall grass that was cut, to store in the barns for food for the cows and horses. They call it hay harvest season. I remember growing up teenagers would work after school baling the hay. The bales would be square or rectangle in size. They didn't have the large machinery they have now to make the job easier and faster. Teens today would be insulted if they had to do manual labor like that. #AlwaysOriginal

Day Lily buds in my garden. A few more days and the buds will be bloomed. I enjoy seeing these blooms. Usually they start blooming in May. Each day will bring a new bloom to enjoy. Always something new to see and share this time of year. Hope you all have little things you are enjoying in your life as well. #AlwaysOriginal

FIVE baby Bluebirds in my backyard bluebird house! They are two days old. First family in two years. I am so very excited. The tree swallows took over the house last year. And nothing the year before. These bluebirds are the main reason I started Dustin's garden. His presence is felt with these bluebirds. A long story. Hoping these babies will be healthy. Did I say how excited I am. Oh never mind I know I did. ©CarolDM #AlwaysOriginal

More roses to share with you from Dustin's garden. A blue sky today with lots of sunshine. You can see the roses are doing great. Many buds are ready to bloom soon. Always something exciting to see this time of the year. Enjoy your Friday and weekend everyone. And don't forget about the little things along the way. #AlwaysOriginal

Baby Mockingbird in my yard. I thought the babies had all gone with their parents from my yard. But I saw this one behind my holly bushes just now. He was really small, only a few days old. Perhaps there was another nest I missed. I am not surprised. So many birds to see this year. The parents were in my polar trees talking to me, so I snapped a photo and came inside. I want them to take care of him. Very exciting to watch the process. #AlwaysOriginal

A photo snapped from inside my car today. Out taking care of a few things on this beautiful Thursday. Lots of blue skies. A warm day but a nice breeze all day. Hope you enjoyed your day. #AlwaysOriginal

Hibiscus is blooming in the deck. Waiting on butterflies and hummingbirds. I love these saucer sized crimson blooms. The hummingbirds are visiting every other day or so. I hope to see more as well as butterflies very soon. #AlwaysOriginal

Red Velvet cupcake with rich cream cheese frosting. What a delicious dessert my neighbor shared with me. She had a party for her daughter and called to invite me over. A favorite cupcake she offered. Very much enjoyed. Do you have a favorite? #AlwaysOriginal

Roses from this morning in the garden. My favorite time to visit is when the dew is still on the roses. The sun was just starting to shine. Enjoying these little things every day. #AlwaysOriginal

Dew covered cobwebs in the garden. Not sure what you may call these. But we always said they were dew covered cobwebs. Some will say a spider builds an almost invisible web, then when the dew settles overnight, it will make the web more visible. Either way I found it very cool to photograph in the garden this morning. More little things to enjoy. #AlwaysOriginal

Baby Mockingbird on my deck. They are so cute. This morning the mockingbirds and robin babies both fledged their nests. A busy time in my backyard. And there are other nests almost ready to fledge. One more robin, a thrasher, doves, and more blackbirds have nests. And more I cannot see in the tall trees. Bluebirds will start hatching soon as well. Cannot wait for that. I have to be careful going out to the bird bath. They get very protective of their babies. I wore a hat this morning. Good thing. I was dive bombed by a mockingbird. All is well. They are only protecting their babies. #AlwaysOriginal

Enjoying fresh roses inside. Have appointments and errands to take care of today. A beautiful day so far. The weather is very nice. I wish you all a wonderful day and week. #AlwaysOriginal

Eurasian Collared Dove on my deck. Black and white seems to work for him in this photo. I love seeing the doves visit year round. I hear a pair in the front yard and that probably means they have a nest. Would love to see baby doves. Maybe that will happen. We will see. These are different then the common Mourning Doves we get. They are a tan-light brown color. These are a light gray, almost white with a black band part of the around the neck. Another bird to share for my yard with you. #AlwaysOriginal

Rose of Sharon bushes are starting to leaf out. The blooms will be here soon. Noticed this little ladybug visitor yesterday. Soon there will be tons of blooms to share. The butterflies and bees will enjoy too. More little things to enjoy in my yard. These three bushes are in the front by the driveway. #AlwaysOriginal

Roses full of raindrops this morning. Had a thunderstorm overnight. The wind and rain took out some of my roses, but I still have many to enjoy. I enjoy the raindrops early in the mornings. Enjoying the little things. #AlwaysOriginal

My two cats Brendel and the Dude wish everyone a Happy #Caturday.

Found a baby Robin nestling bird on the ground in my front garden just now. I was so sad. But it started moving and chirping. I found his nest but it was about 20 feet at the top of my cedar tree. So, I made a new nest for the baby out of nearby material. I put him in the nest safely, and I hope the parents will find him and take care of him. It is all I could do. And it doesn't matter if you pick them up, the birds don't care about the smells you might leave on the baby. If they find him, and they should, since he was chirping very loud, they will take care of him. I hope he makes it. From his feathers, he looks like he is about 8-10 days old. He has a good chance of surviving. This is why many call me CBL (Crazy Bird Lady)! I love these birds. #AlwaysOriginal

Japanese Honeysuckle blooms growing on my fence. A few inches to the right is where I found the latest bird nest (chipping sparrow) with the tiny blue egg. I will check today for more eggs. Snapped this photo later yesterday while walking around the yard. The honeysuckle vine started out a small eight inch vine and it has taken off. Enjoying the blooms and the sweet fragrance on the fence. Birds do as well. #AlwaysOriginal

Sunset from the front porch. As the season progresses, the sunsets will be seen from a different view point. Instead of my deck, like most winter sunsets, now the spring and summer photos will be from the front porch and yard. #AlwaysOriginal

Tulip Poplar trees are very common in my state of Tennessee. It is actually the state tree for Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana. There are two in my backyard. I snapped the bloom yesterday to show you how they are shaped like a tulip. Amazing fact about this tree. It is actually a member of the magnolia family. The blooms only appear after the tree is 15 years old. And if you don't look closely, many will not notice the shape of the blooms. The birds enjoy the blooms as well. Another treasure to share from my backyard. #AlwaysOriginal

Chipping Sparrow nest egg in my Honeysuckle bush. I found this little treasure while out snapping flower photos in my yard. The honeysuckle is growing on my fence, and the nest is attached to the vines. I hope to see more eggs and also hoping for safety as well. I get afraid for these nests I find out in the open. Fingers crossed for a successful nest. This egg is so small, about the size of a tiny jellybean. Updates soon. My yard is literally filled with surprises this year. *No edits were done. These eggs are blue. Also, the Bluebirds are incubating five blue eggs for about another week. Here is the beautiful male bluebird post.... https://noise.cash/post/l69m6p7r #AlwaysOriginal

I know I know. Another rose from Dustin's garden. But you gotta see this. A red rose growing on the same branch as the pink ones. How cool is that. Have you ever seen this happen before? I was told by rose experts it is rare but when it happens it has something to do with the ph in the soil. I will enjoy it. Amazing to see this one, as all of the others doing well in the garden. Made my day and I had to share with my friends. #AlwaysOriginal

Caramel pie anyone? Dessert is always a favorite of mine when I go out to eat. A few days ago when I ran some errands, I stopped for a bite to eat. And I could not pass up their homemade Caramel pie. So rich and delicious. I only have this many once or twice a year. It is that rich. But oh so good. We have to sometimes enjoy the little things in life. Don't you agree? #AlwaysOriginal

Male Eastern Bluebird chilling on the pole in my backyard. He is on lookout for any predators. I used to hang a hummingbird feeder on this pole. But when the bluebirds started their nest, I moved the feeder to the deck. I don't want any interruptions with the bluebird family. So far there are still five eggs in the bluebird house. The female is incubating the eggs. She turns the eggs with her little feet. I had a camera setup inside the house one year and it was the coolest experience to watch on my tv. I will try that again one day. #AlwaysOriginal

Rose from Dustin's memorial garden. Yes, another rose to share. I did a little swirly spin on this one. Just to change things up a bit. I have so many roses to share, and I know many are probably saying, not another rose. So, this one is a little different. Makes me a little dizzy. Enjoy! #AlwaysOrigianl

Ruby Throated Hummingbird at my deck feeder earlier. Love seeing these tiny birds. I hope to see more as the weather warms. I make the nectar fresh using sugar and water. You have to be sure to get the ratio correct, as you don't want to give them too much sugar, or not enough. I use 1-4. One cup of sugar to four cups of water. I heat in on low until the sugar melts. Let it cool in the frig and fill the feeder as needed. Another bird to take care of for a few months. Then he will be gone until next year. So exciting to do my part with nature. They need our help. #AlwaysOriginal

Started my day off today with lots of roses and sunshine. The roses in Dustin's garden have enjoyed the last few days of rain. Seems like an explosion overnight of the blooms. Always look forward to the pink blooms. I hope to see other flowers blooming soon as well. Enjoying a beautiful Sunday with lots of sunshine. I hope you are all doing the same. #AlwaysOriginal

FIVE Bluebird eggs in my backyard house. I am so very excited today! Yesterday there were still four. They always lay one egg a day. For some reason, maybe the weather, they skipped a day. And to my surprise, Happy Mother's Day to me perhaps, we have FIVE eggs. So, any bets for six eggs? It is possible. Fo now I am enjoying this excitement in my backyard. Hoping for a safe family. #AlwaysOriginal

Brendel is snoozing, as the Dude is as well. A little cool this weekend. They are both on their blankets and pillows inside. I cannot blame them. Snapped this photo of Brendel in between her naps. I am enjoying this nice cool air. I know it will change soon when the heat returns. Happy #Caturday from my two cats, Brendel and the Dude. #AlwaysOriginal

M&M chocolate candies. These are a favorite. I eat them in moderation of course. I have some chilling in the refrigerator for later. Funny, when I see the bluebird eggs (in the backyard house) they remind me of these tiny candies. About the same size. Nature is truly amazing. I continue to watch the bluebirds. The female has started to incubate the eggs. Fingers crossed for a safe brood. In the meantime, will enjoy the day and look forward to these chocolate peanut M&M's later. #AlwaysOriginal