Erysimum Bowles’ Mauve late on a  November day.

I had to write about this plant, Erysimum Bowles’ Mauve, as it has been flowering all summer. Even now in November it is still showing off.  Apparently, it likes to do that!  It is an evergreen perennial. I think that it just brings a lovely bit of color to the garden.  I’d have a hard time picking a favorite flower, but this one is really up at the top.

Erysimum Bowles’ Mauve.

I was in the yard today with my littlest one.  She was in such a happy and playful mood, just wanting to be with me in the garden. I had to capture that!

Our littlest one.

While we were outside (taking pictures of the Erysimum), a flock of birds flew overhead.  With camera in hand, I snapped away.

There they go!

Just a few of the flock that were flying overhead!

I thought it was a little funny to get to photograph them this afternoon.  You see, this morning was a gorgeous sunny morning.  So I headed outside with my camera completely intent on capturing birds!  That is just what was in my head, so I was going with it.  I waited. And waited. And waited.  And then I saw that Lucy was waiting with me…

Lucy waiting with me … for birds!

O.K., that explained a lot.  Although I am thankful to say she is a much better mouser than a bird catcher.  Here is a picture of the only bird I captured:

Yellowhammer bird, found mainly in the east and south of Ireland.

It is beautiful!  But this leads me to confessing that I had no idea what this bird was.  I know about 5 Irish birds and this one didn’t look like any of them!  It is mainly yellow with some brown markings.  So I turned to an Irish gardening forum which I had just joined, called Garden.ie.  First off, the warm welcome I received upon joining last week was wonderful! What a great group of gardening enthusiasts. So today I put up this picture and asked for help identifying it, and within minutes I had my answer of a Yellowhammer.  How cool is that?  And what a pretty bird! I wish I didn’t have to compress the pictures to upload them, because it was much easier to see before … (note to self: add better zoom lens to wish list.)

Erysimum Bowles’ Mauve (with my pumpkins in the background!).

As the sun was setting I took some more pictures to compare to the morning ones from today.  I love seeing how the light changes.  I’m still seeking that perfect angle in the yard, too.

Cherry trees in the morning.

Cherry tree in the evening.

Lucy keeping me company in the yard.

What a lovely day it was.  I even managed some time trimming the hedges. :-).

For my American friends and family, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.  Enjoy this very special holiday. We are looking forward to celebrating on Sunday with another American family living in Ireland!

For my non-American friends and family, Thank you for visiting!
Dana