Baby Bluebirds

I put up a bluebird box a few years ago. A pair of bluebirds took up residence almost immediately. I watch them feather their nest in March and watch the babies fledge the end of April. Some years have two and sometimes three broods. It’s heartening.

For a while there the number of Bluebirds in the United States was declining. There were too many different species of birds competing for the same nesting sites. Bluebirds are not an aggressive bird. They were booted out of their nests and left out in the cold.

Their numbers are climbing again. Birdwatchers across the country started catering to the needs of the bluebird. Bluebirds have specific requirements but they’re fairly easy to adhere to.
Click on the link and see how easy it is to put up a bluebird box.

The Eastern Bluebird is a beautiful bird and their song is so sweet…

Attracting Birds to Your Yard

The other day a friend of mine stopped by. We sat down on the patio intent on “catching up.”
It wasn’t long before she was distracted by the number of birds fluttering through my yard. She said she could sit on her patio for hours and not spot a single bird. Her yard is just a yard. She has a birdfeeder but….

Attracting Birds to Your Yard is fairly easy, but it takes more than a single birdfeeder hanging in the middle of a patch of grass.

Birds, like all living things, need food, water, and shelter. I have a large backyard (which was a pain to mow) so my husband and I turned half of it into a bird sanctuary. Basically we quit trying to get the grass to grow beneath the trees. The ground is now covered with a layer of leaves and pine needles. We planted a couple of bushes and added a couple of birdbaths. We already had the birdfeeders.

Since that day we’ve added a couple of Bluebird boxes and birdhouses, but little else. I love to get up early in the morning and sip my coffee out on the patio. I watch the sun rise and listen to the birdsong. Life is good…

Have a beautiful day.

LizzyJean

My First Tomatoes!

I love gardening. Putting a meal on the table that features vegetables from my garden is immensely satisfying. My peppers are doing well. It won’t be long before they start to turn. Red peppers are a nice touch to any salad. I love the peppers and the beans, but it’s the tomatoes are my favorite. I have baby tomatoes on several plants, but it will be a few more weeks before they start to turn.

I’m not a patient person. I don’t want to wait until the middle of June for fresh tomatoes. That’s one reason why I always plant a few cherry tomato plants. The tiny tomatoes start ripening long before the regular tomatoes. I picked my first cherry tomato yesterday. Obviously there wasn’t enough to share…so I ate it myself.

Are you a gardener? I know space and time are factors for most people, but a little Kitchen Garden is a nice compromise. They’re smaller than the typical garden but with a little planning, they will produce a lot of vegetables. My garden is so small that it doesn’t even qualify as a kitchen garden. There are pepper plants in with my irises and a row of beans wrapped around my azalea bushes. And then there are the tomatoes…..

Have a good day,

LizzyJean

Pretty Flowers to Color

When I first started college (a million years ago) I majored in art. After the first semester I switched to teaching. I liked to draw and paint but when compared to my classmates, my efforts were amateurish. Making a living was important to me. Art was not a viable option.
Over the years I continued to draw, but expressed my artistic side through crafts and handmade gifts.

My interest in drawing rekindled about six months ago. I don’t have a lot of time to devote to it, but my skills are returning. I draw and most of my efforts end up in the trashcan, but every now and then I turn out a nice picture.

This weekend I took several of my favorite pictures of flowers and built a Squidoo lens. I’m quite happy with how it turned out. If you’re looking for some new pictures for your kids to color, check out my lens, Pretty Flowers to Color.

I’ve started working on a new set of pictures. My goal is to build a lens of bird pictures that can be used to teach children how to identify birds. It’s a challenging goal but one that will be extremely satisfying.

Wish me luck!

LizzyJean

Weed Your Garden

The sun is shining and the temperature is climbing. I’m torn between getting what I want to do done on the computer, and going out to work/play in the yard. My little Kitchen Garden is doing great, but the yard has more weeds than grass, there are bushes to trim, and I want to plant some annuals. My gardens need a little color.

Unfortunately I’m behind on my writing. (Nothing new there.) According to my “master plan,” I still have to build a Squidoo lens, write three more blog posts, and another article for Buskia by the end of the week. Today is Saturday….


The house is a mess…

I have laundry to do…

Lesson plans to write…

Tests to grade…

Sleep…

And now I want to heed the call of nature and spend the afternoons picking at the weeds.

A few years ago our principal used the theme “Weed Your Garden” as a theme for starting off the new school year. It really hit home even if I haven’t taken it to heart. I need to get rid of all the unnecessary junk that clutters up my life. Twenty-four hours in a day is long enough to get what really matters done. So, why do I have such a hard time accepting that fact?

Part of it is my nature. I’m not a workaholic but I’m far more productive when I’m teetering on the brink of overwhelmed. I’ll reset my priorities, Weed my Garden so to speak, but the weeds will pop up again, and I’ll still be running the treadmill…. That’s life and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Have a good one,
LizzyJean

Writing Book Reviews

I stopped at the library on the way home from school yesterday. I needed to pick up a book they were holding for me. I’m behind on my book reviews ... again. I like writing book reviews, but that means I need time to read.

It’s frustrating. I like to read, but finding the time to read is next to impossible. There are new books, like Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward that have caught my attention and older books that I haven’t found the time to read. I try to limit the reviews to books published in the previous six months.

Does that mean I have to pass on a really good older book?

What about the books I love and want to re-read?

What about the books on writing?


I picked up this book, Pen on Fire, last week. It’s a motivational book geared toward busy women in search of writing time. It was published in 2004 and its nonfiction … Does that mean it goes to the bottom of my reading pile?

Not in your life! I need to read this book. If Barbara Demarco-Barrett has the key to finding more writing time, I want to know what it is. The only thing I can think of is extending the day to thirty hours and I don’t think that’s going to happen.

I’ll find the time to read it, even if I have to forfeit sleep…

LizzyJean

Growing Tomatoes

Fresh tomatoes are one of the sweet treats of summer. I no longer have the time for a big garden but I always put in a few tomato plants. There are tomatoes tucked in with my flowers and in pots on my patio. The key is to make sure they are planted where they will get a lot of sunlight.

The tomatoes need well drained soil and daily watering. A layer of mulch will help maintain the moisture. Water daily, but don’t over water. Too much water can lead to root rot. Watching your pampered tomato plants wither and die is disheartening.

Stimulate your tomatoes into blooming by mixing two tablespoons of Epsom salt in a gallon of warm water. Use the mix to liberally soaking the soil around your plants just as they begin to flower. You will be rewarded with lots of blooms and oodles of tomatoes.

I Love Irises

I love irises and I have a lot of them. Unfortunately they are all pink. Every spring I vow to buy some new rhizomes in the fall. But when fall rolls around, I’m so busy with school that I forget. The following spring I’m kicking myself again.

Well I just finished planting some new rhizomes. Spring is not the best time to plant Irises, but they should survive.

They’re the double bloomers. They will not bloom this spring but I should see blooms this fall.

Time will tell.

Have a good day,

LizzyJean

The Color Red

Do you have a red car? I’ve never even considered a red car. Red cars are flashy. You can’t poke along. You have to drive twenty miles over the speed limit. It’s a rule. Only the young and the reckless are allowed to drive them.

I’m not young and I’m not reckless.

Do you have a red dress? Own a pair of red pants? Red dresses have to be slinky and red pants are always skin tight. If you weigh over a hundred pounds you might want to consider black instead. Tuck a few extra pounds into those pants and it will look like you’re dragging a caboose.

Red heads have tempers and red hearts bleed. I will never earn the Red Badge of Courage and forget to mark the red letter days. I even fall asleep on the red-eye.

So why do I like The Color Red?

It’s one of life’s little mysteries.

Have a nice day,

LizzyJean

I Hate Mosquitoes

I spent some time in my garden late yesterday afternoon. I had received some new Iris Bulbs in the mail and wanted to get them planted. I managed, but I picked up a dozen mosquito bites in the process.

I don’t like mosquito repellent and an occasional mosquito bite doesn’t bother me, but when we have a wet season, the mosquitoes are overwhelming. I started thinking about how best to control the mosquitoes. There are foggers and repellents, but neither are environmentally friendly. After doing some research, I came to one conclusion; Bats.

Think about it. Bats are nocturnal hunters and their primary prey is mosquitoes. Seems like a logical solution to me.

Something to think about,

Have a good day,

LizzyJean

Bird Walking

I had a great day at school yesterday. We got off topic and started talking about the birds. Okay, I sort of led the topic that direction. Bird watching is one of my passions and I need to share it once in a while.

Saturday I walked down to the library to drop a book into the return slot. I never return books when I go to pick up new ones. I always drop them into the return slot when I go out walking. It’s a ¾ walk from my house and once I’ve walked that far, it’s not so hard to keep going. I hate paying the late fee, so having to return a book gives me the push I need. I need to walk.

Well anyway, there was a dead animal alongside the road. It was all squished and bloody and nasty looking. There were close to a dozen vultures feeding off of it. It was a nasty sight, but when I walked up to the library yesterday, there wasn’t a scrap left behind. Vultures are awesome garbage collectors.

The birds have little to do with Physical Science, but it’s my job as a teacher to expand their horizons. Once I had them all pumped up and happy, I handed back their tests….

Fledglings

The Bluebirds arrived back in the area in March. I knew they took up residence in the bluebird box by the side of my house. They like the location and have used it for several years now. I used to watch them come and go all the time, but it’s not as easy this year. We put up a new fence last year. There’s no longer a gate (easy access) to the north side of the house. They hear me coming and disappear. Getting pictures is nearly impossible.

Well the babies have fledged. They hung around my backyard for a day or so before disappearing. While I didn’t get many pictures, it’s still nice to know that the brood survived. For a while the number of bluebirds was declining but more and more home owners are putting up Bluebird Boxes. It’s making a difference.

Do you have a bluebird box in your yard? Bluebirds are fun to watch, even if they’re camera shy.
Have a nice day,
LizzyJean

Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward

Lover Unleashed is the ninth book in J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I picked it up on my way home from school on Friday and finished it before turning off the light. It was a fast paced, entertaining story…fantasy fiction at its best.

I loved the book, but I gave it a four rather than a five. I’ve been reading the series since its inception, and have re-read some of the books several times. There were inconsistencies…. They were easily overlooked but annoying just the same.

Click on the link to read the full review.

Lover Unleashed

Have a good day,
LizzyJean

I'm Carving out a Niche, One Word at a Time

My name is LizzyJean and I am the author of the widely acclaimed humorous novel, My Mother’s Shoes. Widely acclaimed may be stretching the truth a bit, but I write fiction so it’s allowed. If someone asked me what I did for a living I would have to say I’m a teacher, but writing is in my soul (although I didn’t realize that until a few years ago.)
I am a teacher, author, free-lance writer, wife, mother… The list is endless. I’ve published one book, My Mother’s Shoes, and have considered writing another. I spend a great deal of time writing online. I have two websites, 252 Squidoo lenses, and two blogs.

So why am I starting another one?

The answer to that is simple. I started writing six years ago. I was responding to a dare when I sat down to write my first book. I had no illusions. I’m a science teacher, not an English teacher. My grammar is atrocious and the meaning of most four letter words eludes me. I can spell them—sort of.

In any case, I had a ball. I didn’t realize how much fun writing could be. You know the saying “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” is a bunch of malarkey. I went back and learned all the things I should have learned in High School English. My grammar has improved and my spelling… well if it wasn’t for Spell Check I’d be in trouble.

The point is writing was fun. I wouldn’t spend what little free time I have doing it if it wasn’t.

Reading is fun.

Writing is fun.

And every third Monday and fourth Thursday, teaching is fun.

I want to keep it that way. I would like to say that teaching is fun, but it’s not. For it to be fun the student have to want to learn. It’s easier to force-feed a baby squashed beets than to force-feed knowledge to I-know-it-all-already teenagers. After all, they’re smarter than any adult living on the planet today. (One student told me Einstein had to be stupid. Why else would he use a capital C to represent the speed of light?)

So I write….

and I write…

and I write…