Another pile of feathers

Just as I was about to go outside and fill birdfeeders, I noticed this fellow dining al fresco. From the remains (just feathers), it looks like dinner was something small, like a sparrow or junco.


This crow also paid the backyard a visit. I think that is the first time I have seen one at the feeders.

(From the quality of these photos, you can see why I would like a new camera, preferably one with a zoom lens.)

In the photos above, you will see a pile of arborvitae branches in the background. That is what I have been working on when the weather allows: lopping branches off the trunks of the downed shrubs and creating brush piles for the wildlife. Otherwise, I am (im)patiently waiting for spring.

Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits

Ordinarily, I don't like to prune my shrubs much, preferring their natural shape, but the burning bush is so unruly this year.



It swipes at cars that get too close. It swipes at me when I try to get past it. It crowds the barberry and gold mop. Time for a trim.



Burning bushes have very interesting bark (which I neglected to photograph), and pruning it up reveals the striations.



But now I have another brush pile.



(I was not convinced the trash picker-uppers would pick up the brush I left for them this week, but they did. Whew!)

Remember the bee balm I transplanted a while back? It is now blooming, some purple and some white.



I thought there was a third color, but I must be mistaken. Still not much bee activity. There was one sitting on unopened milkweed blossoms, looking lethargic. I jiggled the leaf and it fluttered its wings, so it was alive, just not very perky. What is going on?

The coneflower continues to mature.



I remember the first time I planted coneflower. And replanted it. And replanted it. I kept yanking it out of the ground because I thought it was a weed. Then I would jam it back into the dirt and throw some water on it. It survived and even thrived.

This tomato doesn't look too happy, though. We have been having some very cool nights.



Last night's storms split to the north and south, but we did get 0.5" of rain. Now it is clear and cool.

Early Bird

When I awoke this morning, I could hear rumbling, but once I struggled out of bed, the skies cleared. Today's chore: attack the brush pile.



Backyard habitats are supposed to include a brush pile, but city residents are not. Technically, someone could have reported me to Neighborhood Code Enforcement for this little mess. Wielding my new clippers (which I discovered do not hold a candle to my little Cutco pruning shears that I abused so badly they need a major overhaul), I literally cut the brush pile down to size.



I saved the larger branches for burning in my fire bowl. That's another city thing: no open burning, but we can have fire bowls and chimneas.

My daughter stopped by when I was done, and I proudly said, I got rid of the brush pile! Her response: Now it's in the front yard.



The city trash picker-uppers will not haul away yard debris unless it is bundled or in bins or in bags. I am frequently tempted to buy a shredder/chopper of some kind, so I can recycle this kind of brambly yard waste more easily (and buy less mulch too). Maybe someday.

Anyway, it's a good thing I got an early start, as around noon the skies darkened, the rumbling returned, and we received a good 0.5" of rain. Now the weeds will be easier to pull.

This is only the second year for this Avant-Garde clematis.



The plant is like an adolescent, tall and gawky, and the blooms kind of ratty looking. Unfortunately, it will have to be moved if/when the new room is built. That will delay its settling in.

Proof of snap peas.



It won't be a bumper crop, but should be enough for some fresh eating.

And more tiger lilies.

Spring Is Sprung

The nights are still a bit cool for setting out tomatoes, but we are definitely enjoying some springlike weather.

Now, where was I before Blogger started misbehaving and would not upload photos?

Here is my nascent woodpile, what the tree service left behind for me. I don't use my fireplace very often, so this should last me a while. Last winter, a co-worker gave me some of his wood, since he had been removing dead trees from his property, and I have since added the last of that to this pile.



My yard usually sports a brush pile of some sort, and here is this year's. Technically, residents of our fair city are not supposed to have brush piles, but no one has complained to Neighborhood Code Enforcement... yet. The brush pile also provides fuel for my fire bowl, for when we get a hankerin' for roasting hot dogs. This pile is now a bit bigger, because my son trimmed back the privat that runs along the back of my lot so I can mow behind the fence.



Speaking of the mower, it's self-propelled and last Friday, it stopped self propelling. I took it to a new lawn equipment place that is relatively close to my house, but they have not yet called me about it. The claim ticket does not have their name or phone number on it, and they are so new, they are not in the phone book and I can't remember the name to look it up online. This morning I will be driving by, on my way to the dentist, so I will have to take a gander and at least get the name of the place. In fact, I may just stop by.

These blossoms are on the chokeberry viburnum, the poor thing. Its first winter in my yard, it got chewed up something fierce, so I put chicken wire around it. Something - a chipmunk? a groundhog? - still keeps pruning it. Now that it is blossoming, it seems to be safe, but once the berries set, watch out! I planted it for the wildlife, but they are supposed to take the berries, not whole branches.



This is viburnum sargenti, aka onondaga sargent viburnum. It, like several of my shrubs, is a little scrawny, thanks to rabbits and the dry weather we have experienced two out of the three summers since I planted them. I think it could use more sun, too.



And, finally, the bleeding heart continues to amaze. I wish these bloomed all summer long. I am enchanted by the lovely shape of the flowers.



I'm still not caught up with this blog, but today's entry is a start. This is the best way I know to keep a gardening diary, but ya gotta write stuff down on a regular basis. More later.