An empty nest, burgeoning green and lupines!!

Does this constitute dappled?

Maine is an amazing place in more ways than one but one of the most amazing things is how winter lasts forever, spring is barely recognizable as such, nothing is growing, nothing is growing, no leaves are out, there's just a hint of a bud here and there, it's cold and dreary and then BAM it's wildly green, the grass is a foot high and the world is blindingly GREEN - chartreuse, glowing vivid bright green!! Today was the day IT happened and today was the day our little robins flew the nest and started on their new adventure - our nest is empty - bye bye little guys - safe travels - all four of them took flight and we wish them well - so sad looking out the kitchen window and not seeing them there but maybe they'll be back next year?

Awwww - it's empty!!

 Is this green enough? SOOO many ballerina poppies to come - just one is showing a little of her tutu right now - when will we see the other layers - I LOVE these poppies and am so glad to be on the side of looking forward to them once again - yea!!!

I've never really paid mind to these Bachelor's Buttons before but today their colour just glowed against the humming greens - what a splendid pallette above - I should do a textile design in these colours - now that would stand out but I don't know how I would create that ultraviolet!

 How elegant - it looks like a thistle!

 

And the lupines yes the lupines - they grow wild everywhere - hello friends!!

 

And last but NOT least the poor maligned dandelion - how can you not like the flowers which give us these wonderful dandelion clocks! You tell the time by how many puffs of breath it takes to send the little parachutes on their merry way!

Signs of Spring and some Maine sayin's for when you come visit the Pine Tree State!

The magnolias are blooming and smelling divine!

A new bird's nest being made right outside our back door - we're pretty sure it's a robin's nest but haven't actually seen the birds there.

Pretty flowers out in the Enchanted Forest - I don't know what they are - look like some kind of cowslip to me.

...and daffodowndilly's nodding by the front door.

An Eastern Bluebird espied near the forsythia - nice colours together wouldn't you say?

And many more daffs to come in the Enchanted Forest - yea!!!

Here are some Maine colloquialisms for you gleaned from a wonderful article in The Bangor Daily News "Everybody’s heard about the (Maine) words" by Emily Burnham, BDN Staff
- they sound so English to me - the Brits do love their colourful sayin's!!

Dooryard: The area immediately adjacent to the front door of a house; “Take your boots off and leave them in the dooryard.”

Wicked: Synonym for ‘very,’ to a high degree, extremely, exceedingly; “That movie was wicked cool.”
 

Ayuh: Yes, affirmative; “Ayuh, it’s spring in Maine — 35 degrees and cloudy.”

Stoved, or staved: To be in disarray or fundamentally messed up; “That lawn mower doesn’t work, it’s all stoved up.”

Teeming: Heavy rain; “It was teeming wicked hard last night.” Growing up in England we would say it was teeming down too.

Yee yaw: To wiggle something to make it work; “You’ve got to yee yaw the handle after you flush.”

Glob around: To relax, or chill out; “We went up to camp and just globbed around all weekend.”

Laury: Referring to overcast weather; “It’s been laury out all week.”

Rig: Flamboyant personality; “His grandfather was a bit of a rig, always the center of attention.”

Scrid: Tiny portion; “All that was left of the soup was the scrids. What a ripoff!”

Drove right up: Busy; “At Christmas we’re drove right up, so it may take longer.”

Sprills: Dropped tree needles, “The roof’s all covered in sprills.”

Riley: Used to describe the color of the ocean after a big storm; “The bay was all riley this morning.”

Stivering: To walk unsteadily; “She was stivering down the street, so I got out of the way.”

Barvel: A fisherman’s apron made of leather or oilcloth; “They measured the lobsters, water splashing against their barvels.”

Money cat: A calico cat, especially one with at least three colors; “Aunt Kathy’s new kitten is a money cat; she’s good luck.”

Short: An illegal, undersize lobster; “They got fined for not throwing the shorts back.”

Eighteen-hundred-and-froze-to-death: the period of 1816-17, one of the worst winters Maine ever experienced; “Jeezum, it ain’t been this cold since Eighteen-hundred-and-froze-to-death!”

Fog mull: a heavy, stationary fog bank; “That fog mull rolled in wicked fast, and now I can’t see anything.”

Groaners: a whistling buoy or foghorn; “Those groaners are freaking me out so much I can’t sleep!”

Ploye: traditional Acadian buckwheat pancake; “Ployes with butter and maple syrup are totally delicious.”

Seems like a wicked good day to be making Ployes and after go globbing around in a fog mull before you stiver down the street in the teeming rain for a scrid of food with your rig friend at the lobster shack!!

AYUH!!!!!

The robin chicks are growing apace.....

Now the little sweet peas look more like birds and here they are having a relaxing moment in between snacks from Mum and Dad....I am glad they are quite well camouflaged in their nest and no-one, other than me, seems to be bothering them!!

Awwwww...look what I found!

We have a live Christmas tree near our house, his name is Nigel...a Robin couple have decided to make a lovely home in Nigel's branches...the nest is so beautifully constructed but it worries me that it is actually lower than my eye level, I don't think our cat, Harry, will be able to make it up to the nest as the needles are REALLY sharp but we do have racoons about and they can be mean......there are two bright blue eggs in there.....

...and here is Mum or Dad keeping those little eggs warm...as you can plainly see there are the Christmas lights too! I'm hoping to be able to get pics when the chicks are 'born' but I also don't want to frighten the parents getting too close with my camera. Good luck Robins!!