it's a bluebird day!

Well, "a bluebird day" is supposed to mean a beautiful day. I can't say it's that today. Low temp was 16F last night. Still snow on the ground. The magnolia blossoms that were just opening have turned mushy brown. And I don't think the forecast is looking very good. But, yippee for the bluebirds! They are beautiful. (So are the gold finches that are turning bright yellow now.)



I'm hoping a bluebird pair will nest in one of my bird boxes this year. Last year I had both my boxes up against the woods on my garden fence. Not a good location for bluebirds, who need at least 80 ft of open area all around their box. So I had house sparrows. This year, I moved one of the nest boxes out to the center of the yard. Not quite 80 ft from the woods, more like 50 I think. But I'm hoping it will be enough. If not, maybe a swallow will like the box.

The bluebird in the picture perched on a post on my patio. I was able to take his picture from the kitchen window. It was the second time I saw him perch there today. The first time I got so excited that the dogs started barking and he was gone before I grabbed my camera. The second time I was very calm and quiet. The dogs didn't know anything was up.

sustainable farming

Here's an interesting article about sustainable farming in Cuba: http://theconversation.com/cubas-sustainable-agriculture-at-risk-in-u-s-thaw-56773

spring and then winter

We've had crazy weather for April. I was ready for spring. Well, the flowers and birds and my garden were ready too. Now we have 6 inches of snow on top of the spring plants. And icy temperatures in the 20sF. These are my photos, first of spring on April 2nd, then the return of winter on April 3rd.

My peas were sprouting, so I covered them with old oak leaves.


My garlic is 6 inches high. At least the snow will insulate it.


My winter tunnel will be fine. I pulled up both layers of covers. The snow just makes it hard to harvest the greens.


The spring flowers were beautiful. These photos were taken during a mild rain. I suppose they'll all be mush once the snow melts.


Here's the view of my garden and the pond beyond. One day apart.


Snow covered forsythia.


I only went out to clear the driveway yesterday, but today, I'll need to go out in the backyard to tend the chickens. I'll walk down and see what the garden looks like. I'll check for those swallows. I didn't see any from the window. I think maybe they've gone back south.

the swallows are here!

The swallows are here!! We got 3 inches of heavy wet snow overnight and everything is white. But there are swallows all over the place! I love to to see them swooping and soaring over the pond.

Someone asked for pictures. So I did my best a couple days later. It's pretty hard to photograph a swallow in flight. And it was too cold for me to try too long. This is what I got. One of the blurry swallow photos caught the mute swan pair in the background.

my seedlings

spring is coming

This week: forsythia, magnolias, chionodoxa, and daffodils are beginning to bloom. Lilac leaves are opening. A pair of chickadees is building a nest outside my window. I hear their spring song "dee-dee". I hear "old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody". The swan pair on the pond is chasing Canada geese and little ring-necked ducks have gone on their migration further north.

my seedling shelves today

My shelves are tucked in the corner of my garage this year. It stays about 60F out there. I think this low temp will be good for the seedlings. I'm thinking they'll grow a bit slower and end up a bit stockier and less leggy than when they were indoors at 70F. We'll see.

Here's the list of what I've planted so far: my 2016 planting list. I'm having more trouble than usual with failed germination this year. It's the old seed. I'm noting the ones that don't come up and throwing out the packages. Mostly it's the ones from back around 2009. (I suppose that's pretty old - I love to save seed.)