Thursday, April 30, 2020

The birds and the bees and the flowers...

...and the trees.

Once again I've struggled to find the time to whip my photos and ideas into a coherent post. Each passing day makes the coherent part harder. An acceptable title is more than half the battle; when this one came to mind (and stuck, being the earworm that it is) I could sit down and write.

My Japanese maples have leafed out in all their perfections of form. I do believe their spring colors are as arresting as their fall finery!
The fruit tree blossoms are fading fast; these are on my Braeburn apple tree.

And look! My baby fig tree, still in its pot awaiting its permanent position on our place, has two wee figs forming!!!

Other flowers are busting out all over. The Pink Walloper rhody that Brian and I got Rick one year for Father's Day is covered with an embarrassment of riches:

This morning I noticed that the first iris of the year was unfurling, and hurried over to get a picture. It was quickly photobombed by my sidekick; I pulled her away before she ate a bud. Then she proceeded to check out the perennial bachelor's buttons, and ate the head off a blooming volunteer crimson clover.









Tuesday was a bad day for birds here. Without amy prior red flags, Brian found one of our olive-egger hens dead in the run (turns out it was the one who laid brown eggs), and not too long after that I spotted something in the middle pasture just over the fence from the yard. When I walked over to investigate, I was heartbroken to see it was one of the bluebirds that has been hanging around this spring.

A sweeter discovery was this fresh nest I found on the lawn, woven from horsehair:

No photos of bees, but there is this "B," now officially registered for his freshman year of college: 😱

He wanted to have a campfire this evening, so we roasted veggie weenies and vegan marshmallows to go with our quinoa tabbouleh salad.

There's that photobomber again!

So that's it for April. It has surely been an unusual month; it would be nice if things start returning to 'normal' (whatever that is) in May. But "Que sera sera' (another earworm!); whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see; que sera sera."

That's it for now from . . .

14 comments:

Retired Knitter said...

That Poppy - she is a scene stealer. They say never share the stage with an animal or a child! :-). Of course some just steal the stage!

Kristin said...

everything looks gorgeous there! We're just at the beginning stages of things coming to life here on the homestead. I was gifted a fig tree and it has to stay in the pot since we live in zone 5b and I know nothing about figs. Apparently it needs to be repotted and that takes some major research. Anyway, it overwintered fine and I have 2 figs forming too! But my leaves don't look as good as the ones on your tree.

I'm sorry to hear about the hen and the bluebird. We've seen a couple of wild birds that didn't make it through the winter. I suspect they flew into the windows, but it's hard to say.

The campfire sounds nice. And congrats to your college freshman!

Florida Farm Girl said...

Your earworms are as bad as flowers on the wall. Hehehehe.....now get that one out of your head. :) Love all the pretty flowers. Its sunny here today but still in the low 50's and very breezy. I'm ready for the warmer days forecasted for us. Take care.

Jeanne said...

Your little photo is such a cutie! I got such a chuckle out of her inspecting the iris! She and my daughter's Rico would make quite a pair! I think Poppy must be bigger, though.

That rhody is so gorgeous! I don't think I've seen one like that. Our lace-leaf maple is beautiful and has gotten huge!

The picture of Brian is a good one. I pray that he will do well in college.

I'm sorry about the loss of your hen. However, I'm with you feeling heartbroken about the little bluebird.

I wonder what bird made that beautiful little nest!

Jeanne said...

P.S. I'm frustrated with my Kindle - it reuses to say what i want it to do! That first sentence was a struggle. It refused to do photobomber!! Of course NOW it'll do it just to show off!

Michelle said...

Elaine, since I have no desire to take center stage, it's fine with me if Poppy steals scenes. She's MUCH more photogenic than I am. 😉

Kristin, the "zones" say figs are iffy here, but my tree is a cutting from a friend's huge, healthy tree so I'm hopeful that it will do as well.

I like oldies eagworms, FFG, so no problem!

I figured out what you were saying, Jeanne; these devices sometimes have a mind of their own. Poppy is over 20# now, and I expect her to reach at least 30#.

Mama Pea said...

Sorry about the bird losses. Ugh. Poppy is the most inquisitive little pup. I notice in the picture with the campfire that she seems to be very interested in the roasting hot dogs. That picture of Brian is a great one!

Okay, now confess. You have a full-time gardener at your place, right? Oh, the blooms and blossoms!!

Tim B. Inman said...

So, tell me about veggie hot dogs. I'm not vegetarian, but there's no reason not to like a good hot dog that might be made with less fat. Do they taste like 'real' hot dogs? Tell me what I should know, please! I'm eager to try new things. AND, if I don't like it, Annie is the ultimate winner. She is non-selective! Cheers

A :-) said...

. . . and the moon up above . . . :-)

Everything is so beautiful. You're definitely ahead of us here. The trees are just trying to leaf out now.

Michelle said...

Oh Mama Pea, I think I've FINALLY stopped laughing for long enough to type a reply! It's all in the camera angle, doncha know; the weeds, they be EVERYwhere!

Tim, there are lots of different brands; my husband's favorite are Lowfat Big Franks, made by a 130-year-old sustainable foods company called Loma Linda. But I've been introduced to several other brands at our local Grocery Outlet, where they tend to be more affordable. Since most contain soy and the vast majority of soy is genetically engineered, I do look for non-GMO or organic. And we don't have them often. It's been so long since I've eaten a beef hot dog (the only 'real' kind I've had), I couldn't speak to a taste comparison. But we like 'em!

Pretty much everything is busting out here, A!

FullyFleeced said...

love the fig tree photo. I think those little immature figs are so cute! ours isn't that far along yet this year, looks like you are maybe a couple weeks ahead of us-

Helen said...

Thank goodness the flowers have been fantastic this spring, yes? In my yard too, in spite of a narrow miss with hail!

MiniKat said...

Congratulations to Brian! May college open his mind to new possibilities.

Poppy is the best photobomber!

Poor birdies.

I don't know about you, friend, but I'm ready for this crazy 2020 ride to calm the heck down. Much love to you and yours!

Michelle said...

Denise, I'm trying not to get my hopes too high that either fig will make it to my mouth. 😋

Yes, the flowers do seem especially beautiful this year, Helen!

Good to hear from you, Kat! Love back, and hang in there!