I hope you enjoyed last week’s safari pictures. Seeing those animals up close in their natural habitats was thrilling. But the truth is, you don’t have to travel across the world to find lots of wildlife. I think I’ve written a newsletter before about a game we play with the kids outside called “Sit-Spot.” You pick a spot up in the trees, and you just stare at it. Almost every time, what starts out as an empty branch or bunch of leaves becomes a moving menagerie of birds, squirrels, and insects. Especially at this time of the year, with the oak trees a little bare, you can really see the plethora of wildlife that exists all around us.

Recently, Kim was playing this game from the new upstairs window at our house. With the weather as beautiful as it has been lately the windows were wide open, and as she took in the view of our backyard, a little bird came to join her on the sill. Kim has an app on her phone that plays bird calls, and after figuring out what kind of bird it was (a house wren), she played its call from her phone. The bird responded right back. For a moment or two, they had a fun back and forth. But then another bird showed up. And then another. Pretty soon a whole family of wrens was peering in the window to see what all the fuss was about. It was when the first bird decided to fly in that Kim decided it was time to say “wren” and turned her bird calls off. We’ve already had a few birds get trapped in our house over the years, and she didn’t want to have to run around trying to shoo another bird out.

So the little wrens left, and Kim went back to gazing out at the backyard. It’s that time of year, isn’t it? A time for garden dreaming and garden planting. The nursery is bursting at the seams with beautiful flowers, sturdy shrubs, and tasty fruit trees, and they’d all love to become a part of your backyard paradise. And don’t forget that we are always here to help. If you are new to Florida or just new to gardening in general, you’ll enjoy this Saturday’s seminar on New to Florida Gardening. I’ll give you the ins and outs on what makes gardening in Florida unique and teach you what I’ve learned on my garden journey to overcome the challenges.

And don’t forget that Spring Fling is only ten days away! We’re celebrating our 43^rd birthday and the beauty of spring. Join us on March 11^th for a day of garden learning, melty sandwiches, gift card giveaways, and a fun kid’s planting activity. Click here for more information. Now get outside and enjoy spring in Florida.