heavy clouds all day, but no more rain yet.
plants have lept up out of the ground since yesterday: foxgloves are a foot high with multiple flower stalks, some of our garlic is waist-high, lettuce is ready to eat, bachelor's button rows are visible from a distance now.
male purple finch spent the afternoon frantically courting a lady who wanted nothing to do with him. tail up like a wren, crest as puffed up as he could manage, singing his heart out. a little bit pathetic, with the female so relaxed and dismissive.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Primary Birds
bluebird returned today, coveting tree swallow's house. spent some time getting a feel for the neighborhood, sitting in the apple bough that our feeders hang from. when he finally flew over to get a closer peek at the birdhouse, the swallow promptly swooped down and ushered him away. before he left, we had male cardinal, male bluebird, and male goldfinch in the tree all at the same time - "primary birds," as my husband stated.
current owner:
prospective owner:
visitor:
current owner:
prospective owner:
visitor:
Monday, June 2, 2008
Weeds
worked in two of my beds today, preparing them for the flower seedlings i started indoors a couple of months ago. grass, clover, and gil-over-the-ground have set up shop all around the perimeter of the beds. gil & clover are easy enough to pull up from dry soil, but the grass has deep roots and holds fast. life creeping in from all sides, during the seasons when it grows. reminds me of when i was in mexico and they told us (and we subsequently saw) that the land was so moist and so fertile that when they placed newly-cut branches in the ground as fenceposts, the posts proceeded to sprout leaves and grow.
grass is thick and tall, trees are heavy and lush with leaves, crickets chirping in the dark.
grass is thick and tall, trees are heavy and lush with leaves, crickets chirping in the dark.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Life
we all gathered today for a new babe heading into our world soon. our own little fellow was thrilled to have so many people to interact with. he spent the entire party enthusiastically making eyes at the children, shrieking with delight at everyone who talked to him, and cozying down quietly into me to nurse before reclaiming his social butterflydom.
put tomatoes, basil, peppers into the garden today - market-bought since we've had bad luck starting tomato and pepper seedlings for the past two years. only one of our eighteen beds is left unfilled now, waiting for cucumber seeds. re-started zucchini and summer squash seeds, since i forgot to water the first batch.
our dead little american plum is sending up new sprouts from the root stock that the scionwood variety was grafted onto, the roots reclaiming their original identity.
husband and i took some chairs, some glasses, a nice bottle of chardonnay, and a sleepy boy out under the apple at dusk tonight, and had a couple of glasses as we watched the trees dance and the day end. we talked about our growing plants, our desires for the future of our garden and our yard, our excitement about the possibility of our vegetables carrying us through the winter, and other pieces of our lives. i was holding our little boy in my arms, talking with my love under an apple on our lush earth in the springtime of our little family.
put tomatoes, basil, peppers into the garden today - market-bought since we've had bad luck starting tomato and pepper seedlings for the past two years. only one of our eighteen beds is left unfilled now, waiting for cucumber seeds. re-started zucchini and summer squash seeds, since i forgot to water the first batch.
our dead little american plum is sending up new sprouts from the root stock that the scionwood variety was grafted onto, the roots reclaiming their original identity.
husband and i took some chairs, some glasses, a nice bottle of chardonnay, and a sleepy boy out under the apple at dusk tonight, and had a couple of glasses as we watched the trees dance and the day end. we talked about our growing plants, our desires for the future of our garden and our yard, our excitement about the possibility of our vegetables carrying us through the winter, and other pieces of our lives. i was holding our little boy in my arms, talking with my love under an apple on our lush earth in the springtime of our little family.
Rain
a downpour this morning, accompanied by glorious thunder and lightning. misty some of the day with a couple of sprinklings, and quite foggy now, at night.
indoor day for all of us. put my flower seedlings out for their fourth day of hardening off, up to four hours outdoors now. had to bring them in during the downpour, but put them back out and decided to leave them out all day, the sun being so filtered through the clouds.
birds flocked to the feeders during the downpour, especially grackles and goldfinches. have never seen more than two grackles around the feeder at a time, and today there were six or seven while it rained. not sure if there was a connection.
a little female hummingbird visited her feeder today.
here are some photos of recent visitors: rose-breasted grosbeak and bluebird during its scout of the swallow's birdhouse. both are perched in the apple bough we fixed to our porch for that purpose.
indoor day for all of us. put my flower seedlings out for their fourth day of hardening off, up to four hours outdoors now. had to bring them in during the downpour, but put them back out and decided to leave them out all day, the sun being so filtered through the clouds.
birds flocked to the feeders during the downpour, especially grackles and goldfinches. have never seen more than two grackles around the feeder at a time, and today there were six or seven while it rained. not sure if there was a connection.
a little female hummingbird visited her feeder today.
here are some photos of recent visitors: rose-breasted grosbeak and bluebird during its scout of the swallow's birdhouse. both are perched in the apple bough we fixed to our porch for that purpose.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Trestle Wind
indigo bunting visited briefly today, just long enough for us to identify it, then was off. our first.
one plum has decided to go for it this year, and is sporting pea-sized plumettes under its wilting blossoms.
walked by the old mills with the dog and the boy today, then onto the trail that crosses the railroad trestle. we watched the fish-scale pattern gliding over the surface of the water in the breeze. watched the baltimore oriole fly over our heads and on to the pines, kept an eye on the fisherman, so far below and downstream. the boy nodded off and i started to head home to study, then realized i needed to be on a trestle in the wind a little longer, and turned back to stand for a few minutes more.
he sleepily gnawed on my knuckle with his new tooth, a little rodent tooth sawing away at my finger, and woke himself up. we continued on.
the trees are such a display in the wind, each one contained within its own design, its own shape and shade, height, each with its own particular movement in the wind, its own art.
one plum has decided to go for it this year, and is sporting pea-sized plumettes under its wilting blossoms.
walked by the old mills with the dog and the boy today, then onto the trail that crosses the railroad trestle. we watched the fish-scale pattern gliding over the surface of the water in the breeze. watched the baltimore oriole fly over our heads and on to the pines, kept an eye on the fisherman, so far below and downstream. the boy nodded off and i started to head home to study, then realized i needed to be on a trestle in the wind a little longer, and turned back to stand for a few minutes more.
he sleepily gnawed on my knuckle with his new tooth, a little rodent tooth sawing away at my finger, and woke himself up. we continued on.
the trees are such a display in the wind, each one contained within its own design, its own shape and shade, height, each with its own particular movement in the wind, its own art.
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