All messed up

The temps have moderated here a bit, but many trees and shrubs are still confused. My FB feed showed some pix I had posted before on this date - the 'Golden Spirit' smokebush and 'Lemony Lace' elderberry, both fully leafed out. They are nowhere near this state today. The redbuds are *finally* starting to leaf out. Many trees in the neighborhood look half dead, not because they are but because they are still so leafless. At least my Japanese maple has recovered from last year's attack of the sparrows.

I've been sadly remiss about keeping the area behind the privacy fence to the west trimmed, so I took a look the other day to see how bad it was. I could tell the neighbors that own the privet beyond my fence had whacked the hedge a bit, but I assumed they had also cleaned up the trimmings. NOT. That kind of thing doesn't bother me - my backyard is in a constant state of flux - but I will try to trim around their leavings... sometime.

My SO and I attacked the raised bed that last summer contained a big wasp nest. (I wanted to believe they were bees, not wasps. I was wrong.) Then we moved the main birdfeeding station to that spot. It's a better location for viewing. I continue to weed, weed, weed elsewhere.

Several so-called neighbors on Next Door have reported seeing hummingbirds and orioles at their feeders. I was going to replace my unvisited oriole feeder with the hummingbird feeder, but instead I have both now. Remember the lonely Maytag repairman? I feel that way about my nectar feeders. At least the wrens are here, blasting away. There is a nesting box in the front yard and one in the back; hopefully both will soon be occupied.