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.