I took advantage of the quiet today and did way too much around the house. Now I am aching all over.
I washed the walls in the empty room upstairs in preparation for a coat of paint. Since the walls are canted (this is a bungalow-style house and the second-floor is actually the attic converted), washing the walls was a little tricky and a lot of up-and-down on the stool, and a lot of crawling along on my knees. But I got it done and I’m ready to paint. Except I can’t decide it I want to paint the baseboards white or paint them blue like the rest of the room? If I leave the door and door frame white, shouldn’t I paint the baseboard white? And what about the window sill?
Enough of that. It was another stunning day in the Pacific Northwest: high thin clouds, warm air, lots of sun breaks. I washed the sheets and hung them out to dry on the clothesline, all the while listening to the many birds. The song sparrow is the most vocal, but I could hear robins, a pileated woodpecker, the bushtits, a band-tailed pigeon, and grosbeaks. I looked for the grosbeaks, but they were in the tops of tall fir trees several houses from me and never flew my direction. But I know that’s what they were.
I planted sixteen more glads and covered the new plantings with the dog/cat repellent. Murphy will walk on the stuff, but he won’t dig in it.
I did my normal Sunday housework and watched the birds in my feeder and around the front yard. So many birds this weekend! Yesterday I noted two pine siskins! Today I was visited by an occasional traveler through here: a chipping sparrow (adult non-breeding, probably an immature bird). The house finches are back, too. We changed suet brands and worried that our suet eaters wouldn’t like it, but the Northern flicker (female) and two red-breasted nuthatches came and dined off of it.
I took my camera and tried to capture some of the more dramatic changes out in the yard.
The brilliant red stems of peonies unfurling. Not all of the peonies have red stems and the leaves will change color as the mature.
This peony is already leafing out.
And this peony has BUDS! I’m so excited! I will have peony blooms in March!
The Dragon Flower is sending up spikes. It won’t bloom until the first of June, but it looks like we’ll have several stinky blooms then!
I am going to be moving slowly tomorrow while my body works out the kinks from all the work I’ve done, but I think it was well worth it!
Jaci Dawn 
Ohhhhhh, all the birds and blooms! I think we have a Dragon Flower, except we call it a Black Lilly. Does yours get a HUGE black/purple flower that stinks to high heaven?
Also, just my opinion, but I’d paint all the trim white. It makes the room bright, crisp, and clean. When the trim is the same color as the walls it all tends to run together and can be very boring. Just sayin’…
I keep forgetting to reply to this, Jodi. YES – the Dragon flower gets a huge black bloom that stinks like rotten meat. It attracks flies that pollinate it. Despite the small, I love it. 🙂
I agree with Jodi. Pale blue walls and all white trim. It will be beautiful!
I’m glad that you had a productive day, and a beautiful day to be outside. Especially since the previous day must have been somewhat emotionally draining. I hope that you can finally get that room set up as an art studio for yourself now.
I enjoyed reading about, and listening to, all of the bird species links you posted. And I love your garden plant photos, too. It sure does look like spring has sprung in the Pacific Northwest!
Thank you Jodi, Deanna & Laurelle. I was already leaning toward the white trim, I just wanted someone else’s perspective. White trim it will be.
Glad you enjoyed the birds, Laurelle. The robin was up this morning before daylight, singing some long love ballad. He was still up there in the same tree when I came home at 5:30, and still singing. He must be one love-struck robin. 😉
Beautiful pictures!
I break with convention. Paint trim in any color you want. If you are not going to do true wood trim then it can be anything. If it weren’t for Jerry I would do murals on walls and the trim would end up being part of the mural. Engineers are soooooo boring!
It’s not just engineers, Mary. Donald is just as boring. But my walls may eventually end up with a mural because once I get paints in my hands…