Indoor Celery

 At the end of the growing season last fall, I still had some nice celery in the garden. I picked most of it and froze it, but I noticed that some plants had small sideshoots and I decided to pot four of them up.  The two smallest ones rotted out but the two that are left have settled in nicely. The bright green foliage is cheerful, and occasionally I snip off a bit of celery for cooking.

Now that the days are getting a bit longer and the sun a bit brighter, new growth is starting.  By the spring, I will have two substantial plants ready for the garden.

Squirrel-proof Feeder

 I finally have a squirrel-proof bird feeder - Perky Pet brand. I bought it a few weeks ago at Home Hardware and it is perfect for the little birds. As you can see, the chickadees think it is great. I have a steady stream of chickadees, nuthatches, goldfinches and juncos that feed at it, and no squirrels have been able to access the seed. The birds knock some seed on to the ground so the squirrels get a bit there as well as the birds that prefer to feed on the ground like the cardinals, red-poll finches and juncos.

The mechanism is a spring-mounted perch that will close the seed portals if something as heavy as a squirrel lands on it but will stay open when a little bird is on it.  A downy woodpecker was able to feed at it the other day but I doubt that a blue jay would be successful. We were so pleased with the feeder that we bought a second one.
Now I just have to figure out a way to keep suet cakes away from the squirrels.

New Year, New Socks

After a happy Christmas spent visiting with the kids and grandkids, my husband and I came down with colds. So we've been staying cosy in the house, drinking hot drinks and eating soup. The weather's also been pretty cold so that has encouraged us to stay inside. Now we are finally almost over it - it was just a cold.
I thought I would share a picture of my colourful, cheerful new socks that I received as gifts. The two longer pairs are wonderful ski  (not that I ski anymore) socks that are a blend of synthetic fibers and wool. Although they are lightweight, they are super warm, stretchy and comfortable. They will get special care - no time in the dryer. The other socks are special for their designs. They will make me smile when I put them on in the morning and throughout the day when I catch a glimpse of them.
Happy feet, happy heart.