8th - After a week of nice weather in the 60's its amazing how many spring plants came to life and are now blooming; daffodils, hyacyinths, camelias, roses putting out new shoots, onions planted in Jan for Spring or Green onions are filling out, all the pansy plants I planed in the Fall are now really flowering well! Today some much needed rain will help.

25th - I pulled down my martin house today just to check everything was still OK after the winter. I've not seen any martins in our area just yet but it shouldn't be long now. Until they arrive I won't open any doors.
Several hundred robins have been decending on our garden with the past cold temps, stripping the last of the red berries from Yaupons and getting bugs out of the ground. Also at the feeders are a few goldfinch, house finch, junco, cardinal, downy woodpecker, blue jay, mockingbird, yellow-rumped warblers, orange-crowned warblers, chickadees and carolina wrens. A screech owl continues to call at dawn.
23rd - We've had such cold weather I've really not been outside for the past 2-3 weeks! Half way through the month came tons of snow for our area, approximately 12". This amount has not been seen in North Texas for 30 years!
Although not much could be done outside I did manage to move several shrubs and we also had our one large tree removed that was by our pool. This now lets so much more light in and we don't have the problem with the leaves and acorns! However, the amount of snow we did have produced a lot of damage with the local trees who's branches were torn off with the weight, a weight they are not used to. So lots of cleanup in the garden this month and until the weather warms up i'll be staying inside!
2nd - Well, looks like Phil saw his shadow today so more Winter to come.... I'm so ready for some warmer weather! It is such a tease to see new shoots and bulbs emerging from the ground, only to have snaps of very cold temps force you to stay indoors!
Last week we ended up having one of our huge live oak trees removed. It was the one by our pool and although a lovely shade tree, was just too messy and large for that area. However, we shall be planting a new one in its place that is smaller, not so much maintainance, and which gives dappled shade in the afternoon to bring some relief to the pool area. I'm possibly thinking of another desert willow like we have in the front. It does have lots of flowers and its leaves can fall but it will be no where near the problems caused by the leaves and acorns of the oak tree and won't grow near as large. It provides plenty of nectar to hummingbirds and is a very pretty tree. So that is a possibility.

9th - Last night the temperature dropped to 11ºF, the coldest in 14 years! No snow or ice, everywhere is dry and the sun is out. Its as crisp and clear out there as you could get and the air smells so fresh! I'm hoping my palms will pull through this extreme cold spell ok. Any other plant out there should be able to tolerate these temps as most are hardy or native to TX.
Birds are flocking to the extra food I've put out for them, Jays, cardinals, downy woodpecker, white-throated sparrows, mourning and white-winged doves, juncos, Carolina wrens and chickadees.
4th - It is a very sad day for me today - our owl, which we've had here for about 12 years, has died. I found him in our garden this morning :-( He is in the photo above and would use our nest box from November through March, sitting in the entry hole in the afternoon sun. His mate would nest in the hole in the large Oak tree behind us and we have had their young in garden while they were learning to fly. "Rusty", would sit on the chair on our deck many nights and I could just walk out there and he would often just remain still and look at me. He was so tame and trusting. We will miss him so much.
1st - 2010 is here! What a beautiful, clear and sunny morning we have to start off the year. We had a frost last night and everything was white when I woke up, but has now thawed out. The sun feels warm.
Pansy's are doing well and even my roses are hanging onto any buds they have, even with all the freezing temps we've had. Northern Cardinal was the first bird of the year that I heard this morning!