Today I am linking with-
Today's Flowers hosted by Denise
Wild Bird Wednesday hosted by Stewart M.
The Bird D'pot hosted by Hootin' Anni
Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma and Mystical Magical Teacher
I Heart Macro hosted by Laura
Now that we have had killing frosts, I am going to feature flowering houseplants that give me nearly continuous bloom indoors. Blooming now is my Thanksgiving Cactus, some other blogs have this same plant blooming now. The trick to getting them to bloom for me is to have them in my basement by a south-facing window where they don't get artificial light at night. If they are behind a curtain it can shelter them from light so that they can bloom as well. Taken outdoors a couple of weeks ago-
And in the house later-
Speaking of birds, I finally got a few shots of birds eating black sunflower seeds on my deck, here is a raucous but timid Steller's Jay, even though they are a big boisterous bird they fly away if they even see me in the window-
"I've got my eye on you!"
"Don't point that thing at me!"
Today's Flowers hosted by Denise
Wild Bird Wednesday hosted by Stewart M.
The Bird D'pot hosted by Hootin' Anni
Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma and Mystical Magical Teacher
I Heart Macro hosted by Laura
Now that we have had killing frosts, I am going to feature flowering houseplants that give me nearly continuous bloom indoors. Blooming now is my Thanksgiving Cactus, some other blogs have this same plant blooming now. The trick to getting them to bloom for me is to have them in my basement by a south-facing window where they don't get artificial light at night. If they are behind a curtain it can shelter them from light so that they can bloom as well. Taken outdoors a couple of weeks ago-
And in the house later-
The flowers make me think of bird spreading their wings to fly-
Speaking of birds, I finally got a few shots of birds eating black sunflower seeds on my deck, here is a raucous but timid Steller's Jay, even though they are a big boisterous bird they fly away if they even see me in the window-
"I've got my eye on you!"
"Don't point that thing at me!"
Cracking a seed- Oof, you can do this!
It's fun to see the birds come for the seeds, they seem to be a little less cautious over time. What birds visit your yard? Hannah
or cameras are macro
©Weeding on the Wild Side, all rights reserved. I enjoy visiting your blog and commenting, but can't if google + is the only option, so will comment here.
My Christmas cactus is not blooming yet which is unusual but it has been stressed this year. It is a a passalong from my mother-in-law 20 years ago and she had for at least 10 years we think maybe longer. Love the Stellar's Jay.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Donna, it's great to have Christmas cacti blooming. My other one was upstairs and not budding yet so I put it downstairs where it won't get light at night. I like how easy they are to root new plants.
ReplyDeleteI love the stellar jays, we saw them on our trips to British Columbia. Had the odd bloom on the Christmas cactus so far, but then I gave it a good trim back last year.
ReplyDeleteThe Schlumbergera make it as a houseplant for me since they are pretty easy to keep alive. I like your great close-ups of the blue jay and especially the woodpecker.
DeleteBeautiful flowers and lovely Blue Jay.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bob, I'm glad you like them.
DeleteGreat photos of both Stellars Jay and your beautiful blooming cactus. Thank you for sharing and I wish you a very happy weekend :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Denise, I like your bird photos and collage of flowers from paintings. Thanks for hosting.
DeleteHannah, I'm used to seeing this type of cactus with red blooms rather than pink, but it is called the Christmas cactus...probably related. Love the jay.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda. The one I have that blooms red doesn't have flowers yet. Someone explained the Thanksgiving Schlumbergera has pointy edges on the leaves, while the Christmas one is rounded.
DeleteBeautiful pictures Hannah !! Macro?? I'll have to try that..My "Christmas" cactus is blooming now..Probably forced by a nursery..They have them in all sorts of colors right now..
ReplyDeleteThanks, Missy, I hope my other cactus will be in bloom for Christmas, that would be nice. It is more of a red color.
DeleteI love your cactus. My cacti have had a few flowers as well. The jay is gorgeous. I really like your photos. Have a wonderful weekend!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gunilla, hopefully my other cactus will bud out now that it is downstairs away from lights. I like your duck photos!
DeleteYou cactus has lovely soft blooms...mine is just about finished now as well... I don't think the second one will do much..it has some buds...tiny and not doing anything...
ReplyDeleteI've only had one Blue Jay at the feeder.. lots of sparrows... a couple of nuthatches and the other day ...some little woodpecker type of guy...must try to find him in my bird book after I upload the pic so I can a good look at him...and, a couple of big Flickers hanging off it doing chin ups to get some seeds...
I sometimes get a nuthatch but they are fast. Once I saw a woodpecker on a suet feeder. I love Flickers, I would like to see some of them too
DeleteI love that macro of your Thanksgiving cactus!!! It is so gorgeous!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Judy, I cannot look at them without seeing birds spreading their wings.
ReplyDeleteLove the delicate pink of the cactus.
ReplyDeleteBut that stellar jay in all its glory just steals the show today.
Thanks, Anni, I thought to look for a movie on You Tube as an afterthought.
DeleteNobember cactus are like birds, and the blue bird is wonderful :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Villrose, I'm glad you can see the bird too!
Deletewow, that was a beautiful Jay. Great shots you´ve got. :)
ReplyDeleteThey are pretty, I made a little blind in my house to hide behind and had better success taking a photo.
DeleteYour Thanksgiving Cactus is a pretty color..And I love the Jay photos.. I see a lot of Blue Jays in my yard.. Have a happy week!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Eileen, Blue Jays are pretty noisy too.
DeleteLove that jay. There is a Orchid Catus with longer bracts that is fun. I set mine like this in a cooler room to get them to bloom.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I like your blue jays too. My basement is cooler as well as darker, buds do develop better there.
DeleteThat delicate pink is just gorgeous. They do look like birds, the fully open Schlumbergera blossoms. It's great when they don't all open at exactly the same time, so you can enjoy the different colors at different times.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jean, there seems to be quite a range of color. I'm hoping the red blooms for Christmas.
DeleteThanks, I like your Blue Jays and woodpeckers too. The basement is cooler as well as being dark at night, and they do set buds there a lot better.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful cactus and jay shots.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Janice. Perks of the season, I guess. Your storm video is scary, once I was alone at night with my baby daughter, my husband was off working on the Skylab team, in Huntspatch Alabama, while a tornado had caused a black-out and was roaming around. I relied as always on El Shaddai, Almighty God.
DeleteVery nice captures :)
ReplyDeleteAndy
Thanks, Andy, yours was perhaps the cutest bee I've ever seen.
DeletePretty flowers. These photos of the bird are excellent!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Leovi, I'm glad they are lured by my sunflower seeds. Next year I am going to grow some red sunflowers with edible seeds.
DeleteAmazing blossoms! The birs is such a beauty! Great shots!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mary, I was so happy to finally get photos, they were so shy.
Deletemy mother always had great christmas cactus. :) love the beautiful stellar's jay! great shots!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Theresa, I am happy when I can keep a houseplant alive and have it bloom every year.
DeleteWhat a funny looking bird ! I think I have never seen one like that !
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gattina, the Steller's Jay ranges from Alaska down through western USA to Mexico. I looked up European Jays, there is one, it has a buff brown body, a white and black crest, blue on the shoulders of its wings, and black and white on the rest of the wings and tail. Perhaps they live where you do. North America has 10 kinds of Jays and relative Magpies and Clark's Nutcracker.
DeleteYour Christmas cactus is beautiful. I've been looking for a red one myself.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Freda, I checked the buds on my other one that is red, they are only 1/4" / 5mm. Maybe they will bloom for Christmas, I don't know.
DeleteThat bloom did indeed look like a bird! How beautiful. And the Stellar's Jay is a handsome fella. Great shots. I guess all Jays are skittish birds. The Blue Jays here are loud and boisterous, but scared of their own shadow.
ReplyDeleteWhat a splendid looking bird - Jays of all kind are great to watch.
ReplyDeleteCheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
Thanks, Stewart, I was noticing that while some bird groups are not very big here there are quite a few Jays. Locally there are 2, and some Scrub Jays actually showed up here this year after I put out the black sunflower seeds, though I didn't get a good photo yet.
DeleteDear Hannah,
ReplyDeletethat bird is amazing - those blue feathers! Your Thanksgiving cactus is called Christmas cactus here. Killing frosts? Sounds terrible. The birds will need your help.
Have a nice week!
Yours, Sarah
Thanks, Sarah, I just learned from another blog that what people call Christmas cacti is really the Thanksgiving cactus, the real Christmas cactus is not grown much anymore and has rounded leaves instead of pointed. Anyway, it seems to be the usual problem with common rather than scientific names. Your snow scenes are really great.
DeleteThanks, Gail, I enjoy the cactus blooms but they don't last a very long time. I agree all Jays seem to have that personality. They are funny birds.
ReplyDeleteYour Thanksgiving cactus look gorgeous and it absolutely brings some delight inside the house.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mari, I hope you are staying warm. It is very cheery for a while.
DeleteYour Thanksgiving cactus is rewarding you for taking such good care of it!
ReplyDeleteAh, I wish such was the case. The houseplants that survive for me are what is known as yellow line plants, they would survive on the double yellow line of highways as long as no one ran over them! But it is a generous and forgiving plant, being a cactus.;-)
DeleteThose pink blooms are beautiful. I love the Stellar's Jay.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pat, I wish they bloomed more often. At least the birds will be around.
DeleteYour pink Thanksgiving cactus looks beautiful. I also really like your photos of the Stellar's Jay.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christa, I look forward to the other one blooming too. The Jays are fun to watch.
DeleteGorgeous cactus and stellar's jay!
ReplyDeleteWhat a handsome bird!
ReplyDelete~