A little springtime prep

I tend to accumulate piles of stuff that are destined for a variety of charity shops, but those piles frequently just sit and sit and sit. This past week I actually cleared out the one for the local Restore store. This included a garbage bin I never used for garbage, just bird seed, that has been taking up space in the garage. Farewell!

That bit of clean-up inspired me to get a few more things out of the garage - flamingos. One holds a pot that over the years has sported a variety of annuals, none of which have worked out very well; I'll try something new this summer. Another flamingo is new to the yard.

A new windchime is gracing the pergola over the deck. It makes much better music than any of the other windchimes I have owned. Delightful.

I finally ordered four low-growing chokeberry shrubs, but I am still having trouble finding some of the other items on my plant wish-list. I also find myself not very driven to work harder at locating the plants. It's not like I don't have a wide variety of green things already in the yard. I'll hit some local nurseries and native plant sales once we get closer to May.

Despite nighttime temps in the 20's this past week, it didn't really frost, so those blooming trees and shrubs look fine. Bluebirds have taken up residence in the bluebird house without being harrassed by sparrows - the upsidedown tuna can I put in the box must be working to discourage the latter.

And I put out the rain guage. It hasn't rained since, but this week looks promising.