Felt Critters for April and Some Gardening

Here are the little critters that I worked on this month....a deer and a little scamp of a fox.  Notice how his little head is cocked to one side.....just thinking up mischief. I had a lot of fun doing these two. The deer is the hardest that I have done so far. The legs are so skinny and hard to work with. I ended up laying a line of glue down each leg to hold in place while I stitched.
I had some trouble linking up with the felt along party....I'll let you know later if things work out there.

I have lost many things in my gardens this past winter. Four rose bushes, 4 lavender plants....one that has been growing for 10 yrs. here, my sage plant that came with me from Hampshire and several other perennials like my many years old mums across the front. They are all on the same side of the house and received the same winds and cold. The 2 rose bushes in the back are fine. Everything that I planted by the new bird bath...late last year are gone. So, I have had to replace some things. No more roses will be planted. I ordered some bare root perennials and they came yesterday. With the coming rains....I knew that I had to get them in the ground right away. So, I worked for several hours clearing out the dead things and planting the new. The hardest part was getting rid of the rose bushes. I couldn't dig them out, so I just clipped away at them and had to leave the thickest stumps of branches at the bottoms of two of them.These (stumps) will be not so noticeable when I put my new focal point there. (my surprise) I put a few things in my big containers...just to hold, till I know where I want them.I finished just in time to get relax a bit and then get ready for Mass. Today, my body aches, but I have a feeling of accomplishment... doing this work. It won't look the same here this year. I always liked the roses and mums blooming together. The colors blended so well. Well, can't cry over spilled milk and it's on to maybe a new color scheme. Oranges, yellows, and blues...oh my! There will still be the pinks and lavenders...sounds like a mess. Isn't that what gardening is all about...trial and error? Joe will be happy with more color going on. I always loved the pinks and purples :(  I do have a surprise for the focal point in the front garden. I'll tell you later. 
Stay tuned.
Balisha