Blue Sky, Bluebirds And Shrinking Snow

There was a magnificent view of blue sky and bright white gleaming snow out of the living room window this morning.  I was delighted to see a sunny day, but I could also see that it was frigid and frozen by the way the light gleamed off the icy crust on the snow. 

 We had just finished breakfast when I spotted a bluebird atop one of the bluebird houses.  He saw me when I went to the window for a closer look and flew to the Norwegian spruce behind the house.  I was not to be denied and got my chance to watch him with the binoculars from the bedroom window.   I got  a close look at him.  The feathers on his bright blue head and back, his red chest and his white tummy were all puffed up against the cold.  His color was brilliant in the bright sunlight and I was thrilled to see him.  In the afternoon, when the sun had a chance to warm things up, I ventured outside with the camera.  I found that I couldn't get a close look at much outside.  I could see that the snow had melted over the septic tank and a little of the stone wall that borders my kitchen garden .

I walked down the driveway being careful to stay on areas where the gravel was showing.  The buds on the oak tree that grows along the drive are closed up tight and will be for some time.  Oaks don't like to have their leaves frosted.

I saw more bluebirds on my walk which made me very happy.  I also saw a large woodpecker and several beautiful red cardinals.  However I had no chance to get a picture of them.  I had lots of chances to take pictures of melting snow.  I thought this one was interesting.  I have a great imagination so I think it might look like a bird, perhaps a chicken or a duck or a swan?

Black Friday In The Garden, Photos by Amy

  After a busy day with terrific food and family time yesterday, I awoke very early this morning.  It was not to hop in the car to go shopping.  I don't do that on the day after Thanksgiving.  I was feeling dizzy and queasy and thought the day was going to be a disaster. Then while sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast, I noticed brilliant flashes of blue outside the kitchen window.  I immediately thought of bluebirds, but that seemed like wishful thinking.  A few minutes later a bird came back and sat on top of one of the bluebird houses.  Both Amy and Ed saw him.  The brilliant blue, reddish throat and white tummy made it definite.  Bluebirds on November 24 would have to go down as something special in any garden journal!  Just seeing them made me feel a little better.

 Bluebirds and beautiful blue skies called for a walk in the garden with the camera and Amy.  Actually she did most of the walking and I spent a lot of time sitting on the garden bench in the sunshine. Here we have  the backside of a sunflower.  What an interesting place to leave your sunflower seeds.

Howling winds have blown most milkweed seeds away,  but these two pods are still waiting for these seeds to have a chance to fly away on their silken fluff.

This milkweed seed is hung up in the top of a catnip plant.

Cold has turned the hens and chicks a lovely red.  The prickles on the end of each leaf are perfect for snagging milkweed fluff.  I don't see any seeds here. Perhaps they have been eaten or maybe I will be pulling tiny milkweed plants out of the hens and chicks in the spring.

This unknown Sedum was a stowaway in the pot of another purchased plant.  I planted it on top of Ed's curved wall.  It shows an interesting tangle of textures, shapes, color and light. 

Prickly and soft, red and white, light and shadow make this photo a favorite!

Moss and lichens adorn the top of this stone wall.  Hazelnut catkins add a little more interest! 

The side view of the same rock adds another dimension.  There are always interesting things to see in the garden. Walking there with someone special who notices is perfect!

Signs Of Approaching Spring

There are signs of a change in the weather everywhere.  The ice coated lane is now mostly soft muddy gravel.  Bluebirds were seen feeding on the sumac berries yesterday.  They will not stay here long as they are only scouting out suitable nesting sites.  We were drawn outside to sit on the garden bench by incredibly bright and warm sunlight.  Our first plant order has been placed.

Active maple sap lines and collecting containers now line the road.  This is the third year that an attempt to harvest a natural product here has been tried.  Unusual weather has ended the sap run early for the past two years.  All of the work that went into establishing the lines and setting up an evaporator have produced nearly nothing.  A sap run must have freezing nights followed by warm days.  Cold drives the sap toward the roots while warmth draws the sap up to the branches.  Sap can be collected only when it is moving up or down in the trunk.  In past years several continuously warm days stopped the sap run.  When leaf buds begin to swell the sap acquires a bitter taste and is unusable for making table syrup.  The first sap flow can be seen in the bottom one third of the  container.  Following last night's freeze, the sap should really be running today.

Arbutus leaves are emerging from the snow cover.  Both the dark coloration of the plant leaves and the stones capture warmth from the sunlight.  That heat melts the snow creating clear circles around the stones and exposed leaves.  On a day like today it is easy to see why arbutus leaves are eaten by animals.  Where else can bright inviting green leaves be found at this time of year?

Walking about on soft snow is hard on old arthritic joints.  One never knows if the snow will partially support a foot or if it will drop to a jarring halt.  More warm days will further compress the snow and we will venture farther away from home.  It is much to early in the year for daytime temperatures that reach well into the fifties.  We can do nothing about that so we might as well enjoy the pleasant time outside.

Bluebird Housecleaning And Eviction Service

This morning there were robins all over the grass that is  now uncovered by the snow.  More thrilling than that, I noticed two birds perched on a cage and a post in the garden.  I thought they looked like bluebirds so I got my binoculars to check.  Not only were they bluebirds, but they were a male and a female. Time for procrastination is over.  The bluebird boxes needed to be cleaned out today.  After lunch Ed  headed out with two buckets, one for the contents of the houses and the other with the necessary tools to make repairs to the houses if needed.  I tagged along with the camera.  Sometimes we clean the boxes out in the fall.  The two in the garden down by the road were still empty and ready for use.  The rest of our 15 nest boxes were anything but empty.  Bluebird nests are made of grasses, tree swallow nests are sticks and feathers, chickadees use moss, wrens fill the nest box to the top with sticks.  White  fluffy stuff is chewed up pieces of milkweed and it means just one thing....MICE!

"Don't look at me like that with those black eyes or wiggle your whiskers and cute little pink nose. This is a bluebird house and you have got to go."  Of course I talk big, but furry little critters make me  go  EEEK!  It is Ed's job to actually evict them from the houses.  He deftly flicks the sticks and fluff into the bucket and whisks the mice onto the ground.  They scurry off into the tall grass in a hurry. I don't ever remember a year when there were mice in almost all of the boxes.  This year some of the boxes were filled with fluff and had two or three mice.  One could hardly expect the bluebirds to select a house under those conditions.  Now all the boxes are empty of old nests and mice.  One house in particular smelled way too much like mice to my nose.  I hope it will air out.  Certainly today's sunshine and brisk breeze should help.  While we were working a pair of red tail hawks circled overhead. It's great to have them back.  We invited them to catch as many mice as they could find.  Moles, voles and rabbits are on the welcome back menu as well!

In the bed down by the road the icy snow is finally retreating.  Lemon thyme and my King Alfred  daffodils are now making a welcome appearance.

Tiny tips of my Dutch iris are now pushing up through the mulch.  Beautiful flowers won't be far behind.   The garden is still slightly chilled, but Spring is here !

Bluebird House Hunting

Yesterday we got our first rain for the month of March. It's been awhile since I have smelled the rain, or is it the worms? I have to be honest after so many beautiful sunny days working in the garden, I was ready for some rain. The robins were happy. They were all over the garden looking for worms. The plants look happy too. The plant growing in my new pet stone seems to have loved the rain. I didn't think it could be a wall stone, but Ed made a nice place for it in the top of the shade garden wall. I also got my first bug bite of the season that gave me enough of a reaction to send me looking for the Benedril.




The bulbs are responding to the rain. This giant glory of the snow was hardly visible two days ago, and it will bloom soon if the weather holds. The bluebird houses that can be seen out the kitchen window had their first bluebird visitors this morning. He perched on the box on the left, and she perched on the box on the right. I hope they get it all worked out before the tree swallows arrive. Their appearance is just 4 days earlier than last year. There were other spring sightings while we were out this morning. We saw a blue heron, the river is high and running brown,and we had to drive 5 miles an hour behind not one, but two manure spreaders. Starlings, cowbirds, tricolor blackbirds have all made their first visit here. The garden is coming alive!

Wow! What A comeback For Stefan!

Back in January when Stefan had his surgery we were not too hopeful. He really looked like he was dead. Now he's growing again, looking very healthy, if a bit strange.




Son of Stefan is looking pretty great too although he is not quite as green and gorgeous as Dad. A second cutting now lives with Amy. The remaining two have been stuck in the top of an aged compost pile. Ed just didn't have the heart to toss them just yet.

We started the day outside in the garden. Ed was working on the shade garden. I harvested the spinach and pulled a few weeds before the rain started again. Now we are inside watching the birds look for lunch in the garden. The bluebirds love a short lawn and a rainy day!