Wake up!

Now that it is officially spring, things are happening. The weather itself is still on the cold side, but the grass looks greener and some perennials are popping out of the ground. It won't be long now.

Cup plant

Rattlesnake Master

Goldenrod

I dismantled the dead hedge and relocated the branches to a somewhat hidden area, between mature shrubs and the privacy fence. May they rot in place.

I think the sparrow has finally ceded the bluebird box to its rightful owners. An employee at Wild Birds Unlimited commented that she puts a empty tuna can in the bottom of her bluebird box, to discourage the sparrows. I didn't have a tuna can, so I tried a plastic sour cream container. That worked against the sparrows, but it also seemed to spook the bluebirds - too white? I replaced it with several layers of corrugated cardboard, and now I think all is well.

A pair of mallards appeared in the backyard, apparently interested in the rain garden which was full of water on that day. They didn't stay long, but it was fun to see them.

My SO reports bees at his birdbath. I found a busy one at the witch hazel.

I've been transcribing my journals and am currently on year 1979. Back then I was just as itchy to get into the garden as I am now. Back then I had more energy, though. Hopefully, the arc of the yard is bending toward less labor-intensive activities as I ease into my later years.

Bird wars

The sparrows have not lost interest in the bluebird house yet. I read here about how the male sparrow is more attached to a nesting site than he is to his mate. The bluebirds have tried to oust him (bird fight!), I've cleared out the bit of nesting material he built, and I've left the door to the box open to discourage him, all to no avail. Meanwhile, the bluebirds have tried every other birdhouse in the yard, but can't fit through the entrances.

I moved the cat birdhouse to the backyard, hung the flamingo birdhouse where the cat one had been (but took it in for the interim because of high winds), removed the metal plate around one of the wren houses so the sparrow could use that (I never get more than one nesting pair of wrens at a time), but so far that booger maintains his ownership of the bluebird box. Jerk.

While not watching the backyard birds, I've been puttering in the yard. A stop at Home Depot yielded some supplies for one raised bed. I'm going to build the filling from scratch (more or less) per this site, then top it with the bagged soil. Since some settling will occur, I wanted to get it started as soon as possible.

I tried locating the bed near the oak tree, but didn't like it there. Now it is next to the "meadow" near a redbud, where I am building the dead hedge. It still really stands out - all that *white* - so I will probably plant something or position some containers to block the visual glare.

Speaking of the dead hedge, I don't like it. For some reason, scattered piles of yard debris don't bother me, but the big pile of branches does. I'm letting it grow on me, but all that is growing is irritation. Expect to see it relocated in the near future.

Inside, the lettuce has sprouted, so the boxes have been relocated to the top of the freezer where they are happily reaching for grow lights. The germination was a bit spotty (probably due to gardener error), but there should be plenty just the same.

The vultures are back, the "Tommies" (Crocus tommassinianus 'Roseus') are up, but the grass is still khaki colored. This is a weekend of high winds and thunder storms, so even the pets are hunkered down inside.

On the cusp

Despite some snow this week, it is beginning to feel like spring. The birds are starting to gather nesting materials (and unfortunately, a pair of sparrows are interested in the bluebird box) and my earliest daffodils have broken through. I expect to tackle fall cleanup this week.

I am still puzzled over the differences between the witch hazel bushes. One I purchased in 2016 from Riverview Native Plant Nursery (which is no longer in business), the other four were planted by Sanctuary Native Landscapes in 2022. They are not alike, even now when they are just starting to come back to life, despite both being "straight" species. Maybe someday I will figure it out.

(I just did a Google Lens on these photos. The reddish one may be 'Boskoop'. I will have to investigate further.)

After cleaning out one wren house and the bluebird house, I decided to hang the cat birdhouse in the Japanese maple out front, on the east side of the house, away from the weather. When I am lying on the living room couch, I can watch it for activity.

I am not growing any seedlings this year, but I did decide to try growing leaf lettuce inside (because the stuff in the grocery store is a gamble). Today I filled a couple of the plastic containers that the grocery greens come in with seed starting soil and planted some seeds.

On the left is the Burpee 'Looseleaf Blend', on the right High Mowing 'Gourmet Blend Lettuce'. Beneath the containers is a seed starting warming pad; extra plastic containers form domes over the future seedlings and capture the condensation.

I'm loosely following instructions I found here. We'll see how this works out.

In like a lion...

When I picked up my 14-year-old granddaughter the other day at school, we were experiencing high winds. I said, "In like a lion, out like a lamb." She had never heard that expression before. *What* are they teaching (or not teaching) kids today at school?!?

Just as I feared, as soon as I purchased some lettuce seeds locally the ones from Burpee arrived in the mail. The new ones are from High Mowing Seeds and are called "Gourmet Blend Lettuce". We'll see.

This weekend was the local Home and Garden Show, which we always attend even though, after over thirty years of living in this house, there is not much left to do to improve it. The past couple of years I have purchased metal yard art, but this year none of it called to me. This birdhouse, did - the birds fly into the cat's mouth.

I've been trying to talk myself into doing *something* outside today. It's not windy but it is a bit chilly, just enough to cool (no pun intended) my motivation. I did bring in the plastic (sorry) wreath that hangs on the front porch all winter, before the sparrows start building a nest in it. And as the snow melted, I've been picking up pounds of dog poop.

Speaking of dogs, the past few years I have had my lawn treated organically, with applications of biosolids. There are now studies about the presence of microplastics in biosolids. What has me concerned is one of my dogs (Watson) developed a tumor in his sinuses about a year ago and died (sinus tumors are next to impossible to treat in dogs). Perhaps I should limit the lawn treatments to just the front yard? I've already paid for this year's treatment, but I'm at the lowest rung of their payment scale, so it would cost the same whether they did just the front yard or both. I'd hate to lose another dog before her time, if that was a contributing factor.

Clio and Watson in happier times

Leaving paw prints

Usually by February, I am sick of winter. The gray. The taupe. The blah. This year, however, we had some snow (never enough) that has actually stuck around for a while. It's so nice to see white, especially in moonlight.

Animals leave tracks in snow. These were on my front walk. I am guessing it was a fox, but it's difficult to tell, as each print is a double; the animal stepped into the same paw print with its hind leg that the front leg made.

I was hoping that Burpee would send my lettuce seeds ahead of the plants I ordered, but apparently not. I'm anxious to try growing lettuce inside. I may purchase some seed locally, just to get started.

I came across the following graphic somewhere (FB?) While the idea of growing plants in water is intriguing, I have questions.

I have taken cuttings from plants and rooted them in water, but then always transplant them into soil.

Step one (or two?)

This weekend we have been experiencing freezing rain. The following week it will be just freezing - single digit temperatures overnight. So let's order some plants and seeds.

I guess step one of placing gardening orders is to decide what to order. Step one-point-five is figure out where to order from. Step two is to actually place the orders.

It is very easy to get carried away, but now that each plant feels rather expensive, I find it easier to rein in my impulse to purchase one of everything. So these are the (restrained) selections:

From Burpee (I grabbed these photos from the order verification email, so the quality is not the best):

Echinacea Sombrero Hot Coral

Garlic, Early Italian

Lettuce, Looseleaf blend

Strawberry, Evie-2

From Bluestone Perennials (again, photos from the verification email):

Asclepias Soulmate

Heurchera Electra

There are a couple of other possible addtions to the backyard, but I'll ruminate on them before purchasing from a local nursery.

Growing lettuce indoors

The lousy grocery store strawberries and garlic has me thinking about growing food again. Another food item I complain about is salad greens - they always seem to get stinky before I can use them up; sometimes they are stinky right from the get go. A friend told me the lettuce she buys at the local farmers market lasts two weeks in her fridge, so that is an option. OR I can grow my own.

These instructions showed up somewhere along the line in my Internet browsing: Growing Lettuce Indoors Year Round. From purchasing greens at the grocery store, I have a couple of proper containers as well. I worried about how the leafy greens would get enough sun, but then recalled the bamboo mini LED grow light garden box on top of the freezer - perfect. Once I get some seeds, the experiment will commence.


What I like to refer to as Oobleck is falling from the sky this afternoon: a mixture of snow, sleet, and rain. My location is right at the junction of all three. I put out extra birdfeed, but those of a feather are hunkered down somewhere, hopefully warm and dry.