April (snow) showers

The past week has been wet and next week is also supposed to be soggy and today it was actually *snowing*, but tomorrow should be nice (she typed hopefully). Maybe we will be able to actually do something out in the yard.

Between showers, the contractors worked on the front of the house. There was *more* rot underneath the rotting siding, so that is fixed. Painting will have to wait until things warm up a bit. I'm a little anxious about getting this project done before the landscaping starts.


I learned something new about blue jays this past week: they can immitate red-tailed hawks. Today I think I saw a purple finch at the bird bath, but he took off before I could get a pic; this photo is from the Missouri Department of Conservation. A goldfinch is the best I could do. (Sorry for the poor photo quality.)


I did manage to clean the deck on a dry day. My SO then helped me move potted plants from the garage to the backyard. Everything looks like it survived the winter: two clematis, two butterfly bushes, a potful of penstemon, and English thyme. And I repotted two houseplants, a dirty job but someone has to do it.

Blow me down

The wind continues, but fortunately no tornadoes in this part of the state. Even though I did not even lose power, my Internet went out (horrors!) Frontier tech support talked me through resetting the battery-backed up wall unit, which comically disconnected us. But the solution worked (obviously).

Backyard drama frequently includes this Cooper's hawk. I assume there is either a sparrow or a rabbit in that brush pile.

Coming in for a landing

Anybody home?

Come out, come out, wherever you are!

Grackles arrived on February 26, a robin on the 28th, and a blue bird in that time frame as well.

Angry yellow eyes

When I see finch feeders in catalogs with 20 perches and a bird on each perch, I assume the photos have been digitally altered, but maybe I shouldn't.

Just starting to turn yellow

On the plant front, I repotted the Meyer lemon, the onions continue to grow under lights, and the rosemary cuttings are rooting, but the sweet potatoes are just sitting there. If something doesn't happen soon, I will need to order some slips.

Whew!

The electrician came on Friday, which is another phase in the process that doesn't produce very obvious results but is very important.



Besides the usual outlets and switches, I am having some outdoor outlets and fixtures plus an outlet in the floor, as I expect to light primarily with lamps but don't want cords running all around.

A victim of all the deconstruction and construction has been my phone line. Last week service would mysteriously come and go, and when it was on, it was sometimes full of static. The electrician kindly checked things out and discovered two problems. One was a remnant of when I was self-employed and used the Florida room as my home office. There were two phone lines, one of which was still active. The active jack had the hole pointing up, which left it naked to the elements, i.e. rain, once the Florida room was dismantled. The second problem was a pinched wire. Even though the Amish have cell phones, they must not quite understand that landlines need their current to flow unimpeded.

So, phone service was reinstated, but not Internet access. For some reason, the wireless is hosed, but after about 1.5 hours with Verizon tech support, I am now back online via Ethernet. Better than nothing. My wireless tech support guy is my son-in-law. Guess I will have to cook up a Sunday dinner to lure him over to fix the wireless. Again.

Next week is insulation, drywall, and siding. That will provide some more interesting pix.

Someday, the view will be spectacular, or at least, better than this.



And, just for fun, a panoramic view of the back of my house, in progress.



There is some color in the yard these days. Here is a goldfinch on the past-their-prime coneflowers.



And hardy asters, which look much prettier than this photo shows.



And the brown-eyed Susan that are part of the nascent dye garden.



If I were bolder, I would go investigate my neighbor's yard, as I am betting that is how I contracted poison ivy, thanks to my dog. At least, that is my theory: dog nosing around neighbor's bushes brings home a scourge that is now evident on my hands and FACE. Today I am washing, the dog and the dog bedding and my bedding and towels and clothes. And trying not to scratch.