Birdfeeding: Friends of a Feather Flock Together

Today is mostly sunny and mild.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a grackle, and a blue jay.  The blue jay sounds odd, more like "cheerup" than "thief" but I saw it fly and there's no mistaking that color.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/16/25 -- We cut brush along the path toward the east edge of the yard.

EDIT 4/16/25 -- I planted a Pagoda Dogwood in the forest yard, covered it, and spread topsoil around it. 

EDIT 4/16/25 -- I put mulch around the Pagoda Dogwood.

I've heard more blue jays and think there are several around currently.

Crabapples are blooming in the forest yard.

EDIT 4/16/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I've seen a blue jay, a brown thrasher, and a robin in the forest garden.

In other news, we're getting the outdoor spigot replaces, so we'll have an outdoor water source again. :D 3q3q3q!!!  I'll need to research what kind of hose I want to get.

EDIT 4/16/25 -- I planted the American plum along the north edge of the prairie garden.

EDIT 4/16/25 -- I put mulch around the American plum.

EDIT 4/16/25 -- I planted a downy serviceberry along the north edge of the savanna.  I spread topsoil around it, covered it, labeled it, and mulched it.

I watered the newly planted things.

I've seen a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

Today is partly cloudy, chilly, and blustery.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a grackle, and a brown-headed cowbird.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/15/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

The first wild strawberry is blooming in the trough pot.  :D

EDIT 4/15/25 -- I planted 2 pots with red plum seeds and 8 pots with sycamore seed balls.

I've seen a flock of grackles and a flock of mourning doves.

EDIT 4/15/25 -- I finished transplanting bergamot from the telephone pole garden to the streetside edge of the savanna hedge.

EDIT 4/15/25 -- I planted 25 gladioli bulbs in the telephone pole garden. This concludes the order from K. van Bourgondien.  Yay.  Yay.

EDIT 4/15/25 -- I built the core for the next bonfire.

I saw the chevron skunk again.  He was ambling along the west edge of the ritual meadow, ignoring me and going about his business.  It's nice be able to recognize him as an individual.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

Today is cloudy, windy, and cool.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/13/25 -- It's too windy to plant above-ground things, but I can plant underground things.  I planted 3 black hollyhock roots in the telephone pole garden.  Then I watered them and some other plants.

I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, several brown-headed cowbirds, and a female fox squirrel with nipples showing.

I also saw a red admiral butterfly.  :D

EDIT 4/13/25 -- I planted 6 mixed hosta roots, 2 in the forest garden and 4 in the log garden. Then I watered them and some other plants.

More hostas are sprouting in the forest garden. \o/

EDIT 4/13/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

One potted ramp and one potted horseradish are sprouting.  :D

I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, several grackles, and two mourning doves.

EDIT 4/13/25 -- I started clearing off the telephone pole garden, where I'll be planting some bulbs later on. 

EDIT 4/13/25 -- I did more clearing off the telephone pole garden, 

EDIT 4/13/25 -- I did more clearing off the telephone pole garden.  It's pretty well cleared now, except for copious amounts of bergamot that I need to move elsewhere so it won't take over the whole bed.

EDIT 4/13/25 -- I started transplanting bergamot from the telephone pole garden.  I'm moving it to the streetside edge of the hedge along the west end of the savanna.

EDIT 4/13/25 -- I transplanted more bergamot.

EDIT 4/13/25 -- I transplanted more bergamot.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

Today is mostly sunny and cool, a beautiful spring day.  Yesterday it drizzled on and off in the afternoon, then rained thoroughly last night.  There's a freeze warning for tonight, though, so I'll need to bring in the seedlings.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a flock of assorted blackbirds, a male cardinal, and a fox squirrel.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/11/25 -- We spent much of the day out shopping and erranding.

I did a bit of work around the patio.
 
My Breck's order arrived.  I have soooo much backlog from getting rained out repeatedly.

EDIT 4/11/25 -- I brought in the seedlings and the pansies.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night. 

I took some pictures around the yard today. These show the house yard. See the House Yard, South Lot, Savanna and Prairie Garden, and Back Toward the House.

( Walk with me ... )

Today is cloudy, windy, and cold.  It rained a little last night, leaving small puddles in the road.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/9/25 -- We went out shopping and picked up various garden supplies among other things.

EDIT 4/9/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I picked up a new wide, flat pan today that I'm going to use as a birdbath.  I scraped the label off the inside, set it atop an old can, and poured in a gallon of water.  Then I added a brick to keep it in place.  Hopefully the birds will like it.

EDIT 4/9/25 -- I took the trays of pots back outside.

I refilled the birdfeeder since they had drained it.

EDIT 4/9/25 -- I started clearing the space where the greenhouse will go.  I filled two trolleys with dead stems and hauled them to the firepit.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

Today is mostly sunny and chilly.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a flock of grackles, several sparrows, a starling, and a brown thrasher which is a summer bird here.

I put out water for the birds.

I moved the potted trays outside and took the cover off the bleeding heart during the day, but will need to protect them again tonight. 

My order from Prairie Moon arrived, so now I'm even more overloaded on plants at the moment, but hopefully I'll get a good amount planted out today.

EDIT 4/8/25 -- I opened the Prairie Moon box, which fortunately just has 4 things in it, so not as much as I thought.

We ordered the 6.7' x 7.6' Yardistry Greenhouse from Costco, which should arrive by Tuesday.  I found the assembly instructions online.

EDIT 4/8/25 -- I potted up 4 black plum seeds.

EDIT 4/8/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I've seen a flock of house finches and a female fox squirrel.

More hostas are sending up shoots. The two 'Deutschland' astilbes from last year are resprouting with gorgeous copper-colored foliage. :D  I hope they rebloom because they had an intense vanilla scent.

EDIT 4/8/25 -- I planted 10 ramps, 2 each in pots on the old picnic table, pots on the new picnic table, forest garden, purple-and-white garden, and wildflower garden.

I've seen a flock of mourning doves.

The first crabapple tree is blooming in the forest yard, and others have buds.

EDIT 4/8/25 -- I brought in the potted flats and covered the bleeding heart.

It is almost suppertime,

EDIT 4/8/25 -- I managed to squeak in one last round of yardening, raking the grass around the telephone pole.  I may need to go back and trim off a few more bits.

I am done for the night.

Today is partly sunny, breezy, and cool.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a flock of grackles, several house finches, and several sparrows.  A flock of red-winged blackbirds are singing to each other in the trees.  :D

I put out water for the birds.


  

Today is cloudy, cool, and wet.  It rained off and on last night.  There are floodles in the fields now.  It's raining again now. 

I fed the birds.  I've seen a flock of house finches, a few sparrows, and a lady cardinal.

EDIT 4/5/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

It is still raining quite steadily, which blocks the possibility of yardwork unless that dries up.

EDIT 4/5/25 -- The rain let up later in the afternoon, so I managed to get outside and plant some Bee Lawn Mix on bare patches in the savanna.

EDIT 4/5/25 -- I planted another black plum seed.

This is the first time I actually managed to get back outside and do more work after supper.  \o/  As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

Today I took pictures around the yard. It's cloudy, so the lighting is bad, but so much is happening that I wanted to capture it. See the House Yard, South Lot, Savanna, and Prairie Garden.

( Walk with me ... )