An Only Child is Best

Nest is left of the chain

Look how he takes up the whole nest.  I thought she'd build in the same bush as last year; she spent a couple weeks banging against the window nearby and scooting in and out of the branches. I'm not sure if her choice was optimal--every time we go to the garage she flies off to the nearby tree and curses us repeatedly.

Three More Columbine/Big Fingers

 It's very hard to hold the ipad with one hand and focus/click with the other, all while trying to keep my dirt covered hands out of view.

This one is so pale pink that it's almost white

All the others of this shape are white

Early Morning Collision

Same window, same bush....

He sat for a few minutes with his mouth open...

then a few minutes more like this, staring at us with those tiny, beady eyes before flying off to the sumac tree

More Flowers and Other Stuff

Enough for a cobbler and a pan of muffins

Bought this for $2 in Bath. I'm trying to switch over to all glass/no plastic.

Grandma B said it wouldn't bloom the first year after transplanting. This is now my favorite plant.

Wild columbine near driveway. Looks like Paul Bunyan's hand!

Wild columbine near the compost area

I got these last year for a quarter, in the "I'm almost dead but please buy me" cart.

Isn't it neat how all three types had different shaped outer petals?

Yes, You Told Me This Would happen

Rusty went straight to the scene of the crime

Apparently he gnawed the rope. The feeders next to the house were already put away for the summer.

Can you see his prints? He was polite enough to step over the plants. He also knocked over the cement bird bath, but at least the balsam wasn't squished.

More Plants and Flying Fish

I knew I'd lost my reign as queen of the faux Tiny Wings game when I saw him sitting on the couch and smirking.

All but two of the perennials came back

It's more orange than it appears

Balsam--Haven't seen this in years

Keeping the dahlias in pots, because I'd forget to dig the bulbs up later

I love these colors

Green Stuff

Finally!

My cuttings from this survived winter--they're  only about 8 inches tall, though

Near the spring--doesn't look like an apple

He's watching a deer across the road

Almost time for pie

A deer gave birth in our driveway yesterday.  The guys saw the baby all wet and wobbly as they drove in.  Right after this photo today, we startled the mom and baby. I think I even heard it mew as it ran off. What you can't see in this pic are all the tiny face-biting gnats that swarm in the shady spots.

Lunar Poppy

     Doesn't our soil resemble moon dirt?

Apple Trees

  It feels so good to see the apple trees in bloom. This time last year the blossoms had all fallen off after being in a deep freeze for over a week. We took a drive yesterday down some back roads to see all the blooms. The next door neighbor's trees are in full blossom, while ours are just barely opening up. There were no pears last year, either, but he told me we could some pick from his tree. He has a huge one up in the woods behind our house, which we found while wandering around. I hope I can find it again.

Best Kid Ever

Country Mice Visit the Big City

 We've been to Elmira three times in the past four days. Today we took Grandma and Carol to lunch.  I've had a stomach ache for a few days, so I told W to eat a lot at the buffet to get our money's worth. Poor kid, he always does what he's told. He ate himself sick- I stopped counting after 3 plates and 4 frozen drinks.

Addison, NY-Petey's Hometown

Grandma calls this a Baby plant(she just makes up names)

Judas Tree( another name from Grandma)

 Carol's Azalea--I always thought these were only in the South

Carol's Bleeding Heart- I dug up several of those blue plants

I'm always drawn to the windows of this barn.

Name That Blob

 I was raking wet leaves out of the ditch that runs alongside the driveway when I found dozens of these blobs. Most were larger than my hand. I think they're black salamander eggs. I read that the mating adults return to the place where they hatched, so I probably should not try to hatch these on a shelf in the laundry room...They must not have a high survival rate, either, or else there will soon be thousands of them crawling around the yard. I'm still trying to figure out how something no bigger than my finger can expel a hand size egg-sac from her body.

Finally Down

He finally got the branch down. It's been dangling for many months--too high for his ladder. Rusty was not trying to help, he just thought Dad didn't deserve such a cool stick.

Perfect Weather

Things I Did Today:
1. Went barefoot!!
2. Opened all the windows
3. Felt thankful I didn't have to do math problems with someone(although the day isn't over)
4. Wondered why it took me over two hours to paint the inside trim of 5 windows
5. Listened to idiot news channels while painting
6. Took Rusty for a long walk
7. Forgot what Mother said about long walks/hungry bears
8. Reminded someone, again, to please not feed the dog chicken any more.
9. Hauled all the winter coats to the basement, hopefully to remain there at least for 6 more months.