More Firsts

The first flower bloomed in the yard today.  It will be quite a challenge to ensure now that there is always something in bloom until next winter.  I can’t find many other things close, but there are many more of the snowdrops to come, so perhaps others will catch up. 

There have been robins in the yard for a week or so, and the cardinals are singing spring songs.  Juncos are still here, but I bet that won’t last long.  Many flocks of geese going North, and some ducks are sizing up the creek for nesting spots.  Still waiting to hear a redwing blackbird, though others have said they are around.

The pond is now completely thawed, and the fish seem happy for the ability to swim around more.  It seems they have made it through the winter quite well. 

 

Yesterday the temperature approached 60 degrees, with more warm temps headed our way.  Today is lower, around 40, but much nicer because the wind is diminished and the sun is out. 

Clean New Snow

A light snow overnight has made everything pretty and white again.  Still not really much on the ground, but at least it looks like winter.  The birds are everywhere lately.  Lin next door gave me her peanut butter suet recipe, and we made a couple of birch log suet holders.  Many different birds seem to like them a lot, including the chickadees, a nuthatch, and woodpeckers. 

 

 

The favorite suet feeder in the yard seems to be the ceramic feeder in the gazebo.  It’s never worked well with seeds, because the holes are too large.  But stuffed with suet it attracts all types.  Looks pretty gross, but birds do seem to love it.

 

A group of English Sparrows has taken over one of the feeders, and they are also occupying the forsythia bush near the deck.  Don’t really want a sparrow tree in the yard, so I may discourage them. 

 

The new snow was pretty for sure.  I don’t love winter, and I don’t love snow.  But if I’ve got to put up with winter I would like some of the beauty of snow, especially in January. 

  

 

 

The gargoyle is still guarding the hole in the pond created by the aerator and sometimes the heater.  I haven’t been able to see the fish for awhile since the snow covered the ice over most of the pond.  Hope they are hanging on.  Looking forward to the melt in another month or two. 

 

Peanut Butter Suet Recipe:

Melt ½ pound Lard

Stir in 1 cup chunky Peanut Butter (or creamy PB and fine ground peanuts)

Add 2 cups yellow corn meal

2 cups quick oats

¾ cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

Store in Refrigerator or garage in winter.

OK, May is the Month of Spring!

This week has been the first that has really been spring-like around here.  But OH! what a change we have seen.  The radishes and lettuce are both up in the new raised beds, along with the broccoli plants.  I also planted the onions and potatoes in two other beds.  This was the first year that the garden centers sold onion plants in stupid little three packs, with three or four plants in each pack.  Geez!  Had to hunt all over town to find something worth the purchase price.  Ended up buying two of the three-packs, one sort of better square flat, and a pack of pulled and banded plants.  I will compare the results for next year.  But they were all far more pricey per plant than ever before.

We did get all 8 yards of mulch spread around the yard, and Bill finished the new compost bins.  So, when the weather finally seemed to stabilize, and the yard bloomed with daffodils and tulips, it was wondrous! 

This morning was a bird-watcher’s heaven.  I awoke and raised the window shade in our bedroom to look out on the evergreen garden.  There were many birds out at the feeders and birdbath there, including three Indigo buntings.  I’ve only seen one of those since we moved here.  Gorgeous.  But it got better.  A little later we watched three pairs of rose breasted Grosbeaks around the yard.  The three males were dramatic, and the females blended in, but were obviously there.  The usual Goldfinches, Housefinches, Song sparrows, and Cardinals were around as well.  There is a troop of three or more Brown headed Cowbirds serving as the bully gang in the yard, along with the Crows who are making life miserable for the Red-tailed Hawk in our neighbor’s Spruce tree.  I have little doubt they will hide their eggs in one or more nests of the others.  Mid-morning, the Cooper’s Hawk made an appearance, and everyone else vanished for a few moments.  But they all came back. I’ve seen a hummingbird already, and there are Orioles around, though they have not been to our feeders.  There are two or three birds that I can’t identify for sure.  About the size of of a large finch, smaller than a Robin.  Most obvious feature is a white eye-stripe, and crest, with black stripes between. Front is greyish, back more to brown.  Short tail.  At first I though they were the female Grosbeaks, but then saw them together and they are different.    Help, friends, please. 

Snow Ducks and Garden Beds

After getting home following a morning and noon of meetings, today’s major activity was keeping the two Mallard Ducks who have been hanging out around our yard out of our pond and our neighbor’s. 

It is snowing again, with 6 to 10 inches expected before it is all over.  Just when we thought Spring had arrived, and just a day before Lee and Lin are due home from Florida, this happens.  I’m sure the ducks are just looking for a place to nest, but I really don’t want it to be in my tiny pond.  There are 40 or 50 small fish in there, having survived over the Winter.  I didn’t keep them alive all winter to provide food for ducks! 

This is the day after I saw a Turkey strut through our yard.  A single turkey, which I think is a rare occurrence, especially at this time of year.  She walked through along the creek, very deliberately, and I haven’t seen her since.  It is the first time we’ve had one in this yard that I am aware of. 

Yesterday I went out and cut a vase full of not quite open daffodils so that we can enjoy then outside.  I fear that there won’t be any more after this heavy snow.  Also cut some forsythia branches, fearing that the shrub outside would also be crushed by the heavy snow.  It will be a bonus if I’m wrong. 

Bill got the raised garden beds finished this morning, and in before the snow started.  I won’t get much chance to see what he’s done til all this snow melts though.  Here are the first two, finished last week.  We almost ordered 10 yards of bark mulch yesterday, and now I’m pretty glad we didn’t have it delivered.  No way we’re going to be able to truck it out there for a week or more now.  Spring work is on hold for awhile.

Then and Now

Here is last year on March 15th in Sunnyview Gardens.  

 

 

 

 

 

And here is this year on March 23rd. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a difference a year makes.  I hope we catch up eventually.  The 12 inches of snow we got yesterday and the day before were discouraging for sure, especially since most of the previous huge snowstorm had melted and I was beginning to see the whole yard and begin planning.  It is melting again quickly in the bright March sunlight even though the temperatures are still way below normal.  The robins and redwing blackbirds and sandhill cranes that arrived last week are not the happiest birds I’ve ever seen.  Robins gather around the few places where there were deep puddles before and the grass still shows through.  I hope they can find at least enough worms to keep them alive til the rest of the yard thaws. 

We have more birds at the feeders and under them than we’ve had in a long time.  Even the redwings are coming close to the house for whatever food they can find.  The chickadees are consuming much of the seed, but also hanging upside down on the limbs of the evergreens picking at something I can only guess is small bugs hiding there.  A song sparrow, who we haven’t heard in many months, is sounding more mournful than joyful as it sits atop of the dwarf Alberta Spruce. 

I was ready to start the yard work this week.  We have a lot to do getting the new raised beds built and installed.  Also want to move a bunch of perennials around.  Gonna have to do everything quickly this spring I think. 

Second Half of October, and Still Beautiful

The weather this fall has been unbelievably fantastic.  Day after day of perfect, warm, sunny days.  And with the amount of rain we got this summer we can handle the dry fall.  The yard is gorgeous even as it declines.  And it is so nice to be able to work on it an hour or two at a time instead of spending entire weekends doing essential chores.

Today a flock of Cedar Waxwings descended upon the spruce in our evergreen garden to savor the ripe berries there.  Two or three bold Robins joined them.  I expect that all of the berries will be gone by tomorrow or the day after.  The Waxwings are such dressy birds, like men suited up for a formal event.  Not flashy like the Cardinals, they are smooth and green, with a yellow border at the end of their tail and a small crest.  I noticed them earlier as they gathered at the top of one of the Ash trees along the creek.  They flew away then, but I suspected that they had identified the Juniper berries as a feast.  An hour later they were back, devouring the berries.  Couldn’t get any really good shots, but had a fun time watching.
 
Been cleaning up this fall more than usual, and have every good intention of being more disciplined next year.  This summer was so wet and hot, and I couldn’t get out into the yard very much when it mattered.  The vegetable garden was pretty bad, even though we did harvest at least 20 pounds of potatoes and 10 of onions.  Tomatoes died early, peppers never got going, great cucumbers for the first half of the summer, and must admit I let the zucchini get overgrown.  Next spring we will build raised gardens, with bark chip walkways between, and try to civilize the area once again. 

The pond was cloudy all summer this year.  But late in July I became aware that somehow the three fish that survived the winter had passed on their genes and created at least 30, maybe 40 offspring.  Some of them are almost two inches long by now, and I hope they survive the coming winter.   Working now to stabilize the Ph levels before we put in the aerator and heater for winter.

Spring Work Resumes

Oh Boy!  We worked pretty hard the last couple of days transitioning the yard from Winter to Spring.  Many of the things that had been bent and broken by the first snowstorm back in early December were just so obtrusive now that the snow cover had receded.  And it was a dramatic melt for sure.  A week ago it was Winter, and snow still covered most of the yard. Yesterday and today it has seemed like mid summer.  And the snow is almost totally gone from everywhere except the front porch, where the piles left from shoveling are protected by the shade of the house.  

Yesterday and today we worked a few hours each day to begin the cleaning up process.  I cut or pulled the dead old stalks and shoots of perennials around the mailbox, around the pond, around the gazebo, and in the Evergreen garden.  Bill spent the days cutting down about 20 or 25 Green Ash saplings, which could have become nice trees but which we feared would become just more that we'd have to pay to cut down once the Emerald Ash Borer made its way into Outagamie County.  As it is, There are still 15 or 20 that are too large for us to cut down ourselves, and some day they will cost us a pretty penny.

We have a pile of stuff that needs to be burned soon, but have to go get a permit first, and also let the warm air dry things out a little bit more.  And then wait for a calm day of course.  We put most everything that we can in the compost, and put out the woody brush to be shredded.  but there is still this stuff in between.  Some of the neighbors have trailers and cart theirs away every couple of weeks.  I don't really like to burn, but what else?  

The pond is now completely ice free, and fish are beginning to be visible.  We took out the aerator and the heater, and cleaned up around enough to start up the pump.  It took a little cleaning and a little pushing of water through with the hose, but it's working now, and should be able to keep an open area unless the temps fall below 20 for more than a few days.  The water isn't as clear as I wish it would be, and the fish are hard to spot.  But I've seen at least 6 or 7 at a time, and I'll find a way to clear the water soon, I hope.  

In the last couple of days we've seen Robins, Bohemian Waxwings, red-breasted Nuthatches, heard Sandhill Cranes overhead, and of course, the usual Chickadees, various Finches, Mourning Doves, etc.  The Juncos are still around, but I imagine they'll leave any day now. There have been many ducks in the creek over the last week or so, and small groups flying overhead.  And the Cardinals are certainly sizing each other up and claiming territory.  I'm still waiting for the first song of the Red-Winged Blackbird - the true sign of spring.  

Oh, and the first flower of the season has bloomed - the Winter Aconite.  I looked for it yesterday and found nothing.  But today, there were two new emergences, each with a simple yellow flower.  More will come over the next week or two.  This bloom is about 9 days earlier than last year, and it signals the beginning of the challenge I have each year to keep something in bloom from the first bloom in spring until at least the end of October. 

Ducks, Hawks, and new Sprouts

The snow is receding from any thermal retentive surfaces, and the sun is stronger and stronger.  There is an almost 3 foot wide open space along the south side of the house for Kate to explore, and it expands outward in a few places under trees.  She is in heaven, but she is sharing the space with another cat, a visitor who appears to be well cared for but who has been around for several days.  We see  tracks all around the neighborhood that are clearly cat tracks, and we have seen the butterscotch tabby itself almost every evening for awhile.  It runs when we open the door, so we haven't been able to check for a collar or an ID tag.  Hope it finds its way home soon.

Today was the first day I actually found things growing outside, Though I'd not be surprised if I've missed a few things lately.  Because of my surgery, I haven't felt safe walking around out in the snow, so I haven't gotten out to the far reaches of the yard.  But near the deck today I found the first allium sprout, a couple of mushrooms, and the first growth of the hardy amaryllis. 

We've been seeing ducks in the creek, at least two males and one female, maybe more (I find it hard to recognize ducks as individuals...)  The Cardinals and Chickadees still dominate the bird feeders.  My neighbors said there was a flock of robins in one of our trees two weeks ago.  I didn't see them, so I can't count them.  Waiting for my first of the spring.  Should be any day now I think.   

Haven't been here for awhile....

The blog, I mean.  I've been home a fair amount, but not writing in the blog.  And not really around the yard a whole lot.  We've gone from summer to late fall so quickly, I don't know what happened.  Oh Yeah, WLA happened.  And a lot of very rainy, gray days.  The last month has been almost entirely gray and wet and cold and dismal outside, which is not terrible since I've been confined to the inside for a variety of reasons.  But today was glorious!

The sun came out, and lasted for the entire day, almost completely uninterrupted.  I had to go to Rotary, and also to an event at FVTC in the late afternoon, but the morning and the mid-afternoon were wonderful.  Managed to rake the worst areas of leaf-fall on the lawn after Rotary. 

And also to take a few photos of the last remaining flowers.  They could be considered pitiful, but I think of them as eternal optimists.  Still blooming when all hope is done.  My goal is always to have blooms from early April until late October.  So I leave things that others might cut back, just to enjoy the last flowers.  Hardly any of these are native Wisconsin plants.  Those are smarter, and they have all set seed and died back by now.  I leave most of them standing, because the birds love the seeds.  The Juncos have arrived, and the yard is full of them and of Chickadees and Cardinals and all kinds of finches.  Most of what you see here are introductions, but some of them are hardy, either as perennials, or as ambitious re-seeding annuals. 

 

Not sure that I even recorded in the blog the Heron that took up residence in the neighborhood this fall.  He (she?) terrorized the fish in our pond and our neighbor's for a couple of weeks.  Hard to believe that a heron could even notice the tiny ponds we have, but we both lost fish (or parts of them.) 

Mid May Flowers and Birds

We've had a fantastic assortment of birds in the yard in the last few days. An Indigo Bunting came to the thistle feeders several times last Friday, though I have not seen him since. There are Oriole's, Hummingbirds, and two male and one female Rose Breasted Grosbeak. Plus the usual assortment of finches and Cardinals and Robins, etc. It is a colorful yard these days.

Flowers blooming also add to the color. Difficult to include them all. Tulips of course. Daffodils are fading, but some still going. The Serviceberry came and went in the last week. Apple Trees, despite our hard pruning, are pretty now. The Magnolia still going strong. The white Iris on the west border is spectacular. Lilacs coming in. Prairie smoke at its best. Wild Geraniums, May Apple, Jack-in-the-Pulpits everywhere. The Shooting Star is perfect now. And the Astilbe is putting up flower spikes - thankfully not fully up as of Saturday eve, when we had a light frost. Most of the tree flowers are done, but a few still going. Generally unspectacular, but important.

Just beginning to show themselves, but giving hope for a beautiful June and July, are the Butterfly Weed, the Asiatic and Oriental Lilies, the Liatris. Peonies that I thought might be dead are now, two weeks later, over a foot high. I'm happy to see the Heuchera finally relaxing, and some are even putting up flower stalks. And I'm thrilled that the Hibiscus plants that I bought and planted late last year are showing signs of some growth. They certainly seemed totally dead until about a week ago, and even now I can't fully trust that they will come back. But it is looking possible at this point - they each have a couple of small sprouts coming from the very bottom of the old dead stalk. I don't know this plant, so I don't know what to expect. We shall see.

Cleanup Time

Today I really began the cleanup that will need to be done before the yard can come out of its winter doldrums.  Cut back old stalks of coneflowers, yarrow, sedum, clematis, and more.  Created lots of piles of stuff around the yard that we'll have to move to the garden for burning in the next couple of weeks.  I wish it would be easier to let it degrade. I suppose it would be possible if we had a huge chipper/shredder of some sort.  But we don't, and I hate to remove it from the property entirely.  So we burn it on the garden and then dig in the ashes when we roto-till in a month or so. 

Tonight when I went out to see the results of the work, I noticed a very large bird in the trees along the creek.  As I looked closer, I realized it was a Great Horned Owl.  As I watched, one crow after another arrived and they began to harass the Owl unmercifully.  there were at least 8 or 9 of them and the noise they were making was unbelievable.  Once in awhile one of them would dive down onto the Owl, seemingly trying to topple it from the branch it was sitting on.  Once or twice the Owl took flight and landed on another branch nearby.  The Crows were unrelenting.  After about 10 minutes they finally drove the Owl away, to my regret.  I would much rather have an Owl in the yard than 9 Crows, even if the Owl is more dangerous to Kate when she is out. 

40 Degrees and Rain

Yesterday sunny and "warm", today still 40 degrees and rain instead of the "wintry mix" that was predicted. Now we can only hope that the predictions of very cold weather tomorrow are wrong also.

The birds are going wild in the yard. And I saw two Robins this afternoon! I think I might even have heard an Oriole, but I couldn't spot it, so I may be wrong. I think I'll put out some grape jelly just in case. A flock of hundreds of starlings just flew in and landed in the treetops.

The Birds are Really Singing

The morning cacophony of birdsong is just amazing, especially on these warmer days. With temps above freezing already at 7:30, there is so much singing it is almost hard to hear the highway noises in the distance. What a shame.

My friend Janet has helped me realize that I have a huge flock of Pine Siskins around here as well as the various Finches, Juncos, Chickadees and Sparrows. Together with the crows, the ducks testing flight patterns, the many Cardinals, and the Mourning Doves, the yard is certainly active. Wish the snow would go so I could get out there easier. I take the occasional walk around, but it's tough going and hard to see much.

Note for this spring (when it really comes): consider pruning the lower branches of "Charlie Brown" to allow more space and light for plants underneath. But move the sedum clumps that are there now to the west edge of the garden under the bedroom windows. Kill the clump of New England Asters there, they always flop by August.

A Nice Warm-up and Melt-down

   It has risen above freezing for the last several days, and is likely to continue doing so for several more.  Might even hit 50 degrees tomorrow.  It is hard to walk around the yard, as the snow has become wet and soft, but it is still deep in most places.  The paths we use frequently are beaten down so we can walk on top of them, but every now and then you break through and sink down to the ground.  Yesterday I lost a boot in the snow while checking out the creek. 

It has been beautifully sunny and gentle.  We even went out for a bike ride Saturday.  The buds are swelling on the lilacs and a few other bushes, and the creek is beginning to flow a little. 

Rabbit damage continues to grow.  The Bridal Wreath Spirea will likely have to be cut back to the ground in spring, so there may not be flowers this year.  It will be fine, though in the long run.  The Cooper's Hawk is around daily, but seems not to be reducing the number of rabbits or squirrels much. 

There are so many finches and chickadees and juncos around the feeders that it sometimes seems to be just churning with life. 

Birds are Everywhere

Walking out on the deck today I was instantly in the midst of an overwhelming cacophony of birds.  Finches and Chickadees and Juncos and Cardinals, Crows and Mourning Doves and a couple of Sparrows.  They were everywhere.  Flying in and out of the Arbor Vitae (White Cedar) shrubs and trees, consuming almost all of the birdseed in our feeders and the neighbor's, coming often to the heated water dish we put out for them. 

During the cold weather that we have been having lately, the water dish couldn't keep the water unfrozen over night.  It did manage to melt a couple of small holes in the middle of the day, and the birds appreciated it.  Our new cat Grace had a very hard time controlling herself while watching them.  She gets very excited looking out of the windows, though she never really makes a break for an open door.  Pretty sure she was an indoor cat who must have either escaped or been abandoned before we found her. 

Somehow Things Survive

It has been a harsh winter so far.  Almost the all time highest snowfall for any month ever fell in December.  If we get just "average" snowfall for the rest of the season we will have the third highest annual snowfall in recorded history.  The bird feeders are emptied in very short time, and Bill fills them regularly.  I even did it once this week, as they were more depleted than normal by Thursday and there is severely cold weather coming. 

I find it interesting that no one seems to have much interest in the brightly colored berries of the Viburnum bushes that are so plentiful along the creek.  These bushes are often billed as having berries that are tempting to birds.  But obviously not all that tempting when compared to fresh sunflower and thistle seeds. 

In the morning, the birds generally come to the feeders in d roves just after sunrise on days when the temperature is above 10 degrees or so.  Huge numbers of goldfinches, lots of house finches, chickadees and juncos, 5 or 10 mourning doves, and two pairs of cardinals are the regulars.  Some sparrows are also around, and there could be others I'm not picking out.  Occasionally a small woodpecker makes its way up the honey locust tree nearby.

Rabbits and squirrels are plentiful also.  There are many tracks and trails through the yard, mainly running from the willow/ash edge to the "bird" feeders and back.  Evidence that I should have protected some of the shrubs is clear.  Maybe I'll try to get out and do that this weekend, though it could be too late to save the "Burning Bush" Euonymous near the feeders. 

The Beauty of the Declining Days Always Surprises Me

Haven't written in awhile, but fall has marched on. I do take the time to observe and photograph the yard every couple of days, and it is beautiful as it dies - well settles down for the long sleep. I hope that most of it will come back next year. Here are some shots that I like.

The euonymous 'burning bush' in the tricorn garden is quite a star for the last two months of the season, and I like the contrast with the grasses on three sides of it. They don't bloom every year, and this year has been a close call, but it looks like they will actually be able to push out their flowers by the time the season truly ends.

The Juncos are back, I think they've been here for a week or so, but today I was able to see one for absolute sure. Mostly just been seeing the white flashes of the sides of their tails, and it should be totally clear, but I like to have a close up view. Today they were having a bath and a drink in the pond, right below the window I was sitting at reading the Sunday papers. So, along with the zebra grass in the last photo, they comprise a full annual circle for this blog.

Bill managed to roto-till the garden last weekend - I really didn't think we'd be able to do that this fall. It does make it so much easier in the spring though, so it is good to get done. I suppose ideally we would do it a little earlier and be able plant a winter cover crop, but it is always so hard to be able to just get it done between all the other tasks and the vagarities of the weather.

I think that I have been able to successfully identify the unknown tree that has established itself just east of the birches in the front yard. It is pretty certainly a choke cherry. And another young one is growing at the far south eastern corner of the yard, just next to the creek near the bench in the woods. They are edge dwellers, and also common along creeks. As the sandbar willow recedes the natural succession includes them. There are also a couple of black walnut trees, one of them at least 30 feet tall already, that I never noticed establishing themselves until the last couple of years. Planted by squirrels most likely. They will change the area under them, as they are known to discourage any growth within their umbrella.

We are almost done with the conversion to the winter season. Today I cut back and boxed the cannas finally, after letting them settle in the garage for a couple of weeks. I have four boxes full of rhizomes, and one of elephant ears. Hope they all make it through the winter. There are still a couple of pots that need to be emptied and stored in the garage for the winter. And the patio furniture is still out - it seems so final to take it in. Plus we need to move the plastic liner pots off of the deck before the snow flies. But it really isn't more than an afternoon's work left to be ready.

We do have to gather vines from the creekside to add to the holiday tree on the front porch. We made it into a rather tacky ghost for Halloween. But it does need to be spruced up and filled in before we add the holiday lights.

It was one of the best Halloweens we have ever had in this house. The neighborhood was turned out, with people out in every front yard. And the kids were able show off their costumes without any coverings to ward off the cold or wet conditions that are usual. The street was full of multigenerational groups - for the first time I saw multiple tiny tots in strollers and cool costumes. We had over 100 treat seeking visitors, and the mood was festive throughout.