GGBD and GBBC: Blooms and Birds

Welcome to a very cold Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day here in the heart of the Midwest.  The thermometer said 9 degrees when I woke up this morning, but the windchill was minus 2.  At least we don't have the 30-mph winds we had yesterday, or it would be even colder!  Yesterday I went to my grandson's basketball game--if you can call what second-graders play on the court basketball:)--and the wind swept right through my heavy coat and sent a chill through every bone in my body.

Needless to say, there is no gardening outdoors right now.  I took this photo of the arbor bed a week ago, but since that time most of the snow, other than a few patches here and there, has melted. Compared to last year, we haven't had much snow at all this year, which in some ways is good, but I worry what the fluctuating temperatures this winter might have done to many of the plants without the benefit of snow as insulation.  As you can see, there will be lots to do in the garden once warmer weather arrives.

Although nothing is blooming outside, I finally have a few indoor blooms to share:

Ta-da!  Two of the amaryllis I showed just barely growing last month have bloomed!

I don't remember the names of either of these, because I've had them for a few years.  But considering none of the them bloomed at all last year, I'm just as happy to have nameless blooms.  The third amaryllis has done next to nothing, but two out of three isn't bad.

There are also two new additions indoors:

After admiring orchids on so many blogs for several years, I finally broke down and bought this

Phalaenopsis a few weeks ago while spending the day in Indianapolis with friend Beckie.  I found it at a big box store there much cheaper than I have seen them anywhere around here.

In fact, I was so taken with it that when I found this miniature one, I had to have it, too.  Isn't it cute? We visited several garden centers that day; to my surprise, we weren't the only people crazy enough to be thinking about gardening in late January.


This weekend is also the Great Backyard Bird Count, and I was hoping for some snow cover to bring more of the birds to the feeders where I could spot them more easily.  Despite the lack of snow, we have had quite a few different birds visiting outside my window this past week.

The Red-bellied Woodpecker has been a much more frequent visitor than in past years.

The suet feeder has been attracting all kinds of birds, including throngs of sparrows and even, to my dismay, starlings. I am terrible about identifying the "brown" birds--I think these might be goldfinches in their drab winter plumage, but I'm not sure.  Whatever they are, the Downy-headed Woodpecker doesn't look too happy about sharing with them, does he?

The white-breasted nuthatch likes to hang around here, too, though a little out of focus.

A frequent visitor lately has been the Tufted Titmouse.

He enjoys the suet block, too.

But he also enjoys the window feeder and is one bird who is brave enough to ignore whatever lurks on the other side of the window.  Sasha finds him very appealing:)

Unfortunately, someone else is brave enough to use this feeder, too.  I've had trouble keeping this feeder attached to the window lately . . . I wonder why.


The Great Backyard Bird Count runs through tomorrow, Feb. 16, so you still have time to participate.

For more blooms across the country and world, stop by Carol's at May Dreams Gardens where GBBD is going on its ninth year!