Turkey dinner anyone?

Nice weather returned this week with high's back into the 60's.

This mom and her two baby turkeys have spent their summer away from the flock and in our yard. Don finally got a picture of them. As you can see (click on the picture) they are just learning how to scratch the ground to forage. They clumsily scratch and actually cover up more seed than they find, but hey, who's keeping track?

After they're done feeding, they go to the dirt pile and dust themselves, which is hilarious to watch. You can barely see them with all the dirt flying. Then they'll just law down in the grass and take a siesta in the shade if it's hot, and in the sun if it's cool.

We've named the babies Flopper, and what else, Scratcher. Once likes to flop on the ground to eat, and the other one gets carried away scratching looking for food.

One day I looked out and there must have been 30 turkeys in my yard, and I know who to blame for squealing! You can only see a few of them in the picture, by the time I got out to take the shot, many had retreated into the woods.

Unfortunately, I couldn't pick out mom and her babies, and it was shortly after this they rejoined the flock.

All I've got to say is, Turkey season opens soon, so they better take cover. I'm actually glad the family left, because if the babies showed up without mom, I'd know she was going to be someone's dinner . . . how awful would that be!?!

The draught is taking a toll

First week of September turned very hot with highs in the mid 90's.

Still very little rain, our neighbor's pond that's damed is dry, so no more water in Mill Pond Creek. I have no idea where the animals are finding water to drink. After an entire summer of trying to keep the lower half of the yard watered, Don and I have decided to put in sprinklers.

It's not just the price that gave us pause, but the damage it's going to do to our entire yard. They will have to run the ditch witch from the front of the house where the water supply is, to the lower yard. This means they will not only bring up rocks, but will cut existing water pipes.

So, since they're making such a mess, we decided to put sprinklers in the back flowerbeds as well, so even the back will be torn up. I can't tell you how much I am NOT looking forward to this process.

Gorgeous Day!

After some MUCH needed rain on Monday and Wednesday, 2 inches in total, we actually had a COLD front move through bringing highs only in the 60's. Wow, what a difference a week makes!

Once again I took advantage of the nice weather:

• Sprayed trees and shrubs with an organic mixture for bugs and fungus
• Cleaned all the fountains, again
• Mowed Tiers E 2 & 3
• Raked upper yard from yesterdays mowing

Had dinner on the deck to take advantage of the weather and to look at the results of all our hard work. The only good thing I can say about the draught we are going through this summer is, no mosquitos . . . yeah!

After dinner I walked the yard to look the flowerbeds over and noticed how pretty the decorative grass was with the sun hitting it, so I snapped a picture.

Getting "close" to finishing -

After a week of nice weather, of course the high temps returned, and this week it's been in the high 90's with high humidity.

I mowed and raked on Friday so Don and I could plant this weekend. We ended up getting 12 Happy Trails Daylilies and 1 Highbush Blueberry in on Saturday, and 2 more Highbush Blueberries planted on Sunday.

Then the real fun began, as we moved the last of the 5 cu yd mulch pile into the BFB (back flower bed). Once we'd moved the mulch, we moved the last of the rocks that were left over from the patio being built. These were the largest of the rocks, and could only be rolled and shoved into place.

We even went to Pro Landscape Supply and bought 6 granite stepping stones to put in the flowerbeds. Three lead to one set of birdfeeders, and three lead to the other set of birdfeeders. We would have needed seven, but we used a granite rock the excavator couldn't get out of the ground as a stepping stone. Boy are we going to feel the pain tomorrow!

This flowerbed runs from East to West across more than half of the backyard. You cannot imagine how many leaves pile into this bed in the fall.

What's really sad is, the thing we're most excited about is the fact we can use the top of our driveway again!

I'm making progress . . .

Cold front came through and cooled us down, temps stayed in the high 70's for a week!

I definitely took advantage of the cooler temps and weeded, which had gotten out of control while I was on vacation. It took me a week, but I got most of the weeds in the flower beds as well as the deadheading done.

Also this past week we had quite the bird event. The baby Goldfinches were brought to the feeders; there must be 20 to 30 babies in my yard and trees. They are so sweet and not timid at all, you can walk right up to them and look them in the eyes. You can't imagine how much noise that many baby finches can make all wanting to be feed at the same time.

One morning I looked out the front window, and I had 3 Bluejays sitting on the rim on FFB#3's birdbath, with 1 in the water taking a bath. As I watched, each one would wait patiently for the other to finish bathing, then take it's turn. Afterward, each one would fly off to sit in the tree branches to shake of excess water, before flying away, how precious.

This is the second year my Turtlehead flowers have been in the

ground and they're looking quite pretty. I think I'm going to start planting smaller flowers among the larger perennials.

While this flowerbed is a very pleasant place to sit, and I'm really glad I put it in, it's really challenging to keep weeded!

Wow, am I feeling spoiled!

As predicted, the warm front has moved in, high of 90.

I was out watering this morning when an UPS truck backed up the driveway and left a package by the garage door. I took it in the house so Don and I could open it, and to our surprise, inside was a very pretty yellow rose bush, sent to us by my father. Yellow is not only my favorite color, but is also my favorite colored rose. You could not tell it was delivered, it looked instead like we had just picked it up from the nursery.

I promptly watered it and set it in the sun, then Don took a picture of the flowers with Punkin and I on the deck beside it. We'll enjoy it in the basket for a while, then I'll probably plant it in a real pretty spot in the garden this fall. I did this a lot when we lived at the Couture home, and they do great in the garden.

Then after lunch we took Punkin on a walk down to the mailbox, and found there was an anniversary card from Don's parents, with a check for dinner out. Wow, I'm feeling pretty spoiled about now!!

Also during the walk down to the mailbox, we ran into our turkey family (mom and the two young-uns), this time they were hanging out by the dried up vernal pond. Later on I saw mom sitting in the loam pile, something she has absolutely fallen in love with. I wonder how much longer the twins will be with her?

More mowing before the hot front moves in -

A nice morning gave way to increasing clouds along with higher humidity, high of 85.

Don and I went out to mow after lunch and the first thing I ran into was more frogs, this time a Wood Frog, which live in the grass, go figure why they're named "wood" frog. So, since I talked about the Leopard Frogs, I decided it wasn't fair not to talk about the Wood Frogs.

Wood frogs have a very different song than leopard frogs, and I find them more in the grass by the tree margins, rather than in, or by, the wetlands or ponds. They seem to be less prolific than leopard frogs, or are just smarter at staying out of the way of mowers.

Usually by this time of year I'm stopping the mower 4 to 5 times a mowing session to move either a leopard or wood frog. Sadly however, that number is down to 2 to 3 times per mowing session this year. I'm guessing because of the drought, frog numbers are down.

My favorite "sounding" frog is the Spring Peeper. They start singing early in the spring and continue through May and sometimes into June. They start up at dusk and sing until at least 2AM. In fact, their chorus can be so deafening, if you have the windows open it's hard to get to sleep.

Spring peepers are nocturnal and in cold weather like ours they will hibernate under logs or loose bark. They belong to a family known as "Chorus Frogs" and their distinct call is a sign that spring is underway.

The grass is looking SO good after rain & fungicide;

A cold front came through last night and brought low humidity with a very nice day of 78 degrees.

What a difference a day or two make after nature delivers 2.5 inches of rain. Don and I will be mowing today and tomorrow. For today at least, no watering!

I saw some really pretty wildflowers down by what used to be Mill Pond Creek, and thought I'd go get a picture. I've no idea what they are, but we have them is several different places in the hollow.

Also by the stream, are two dogwood shrubs the builder planted to hide the culvert and to hinder further erosion. They are now in full bloom and once again are taking over the poor PJM Rhodos beside of them. Every year I trim the dogwoods back and every year they grow even bigger.

I would say in this instance the builder did good. The plantings did stop the erosion and the dogwoods do hide the culvert.

We're mortified, and in our neighborhood to boot!

Sunny and nice, high of 85, and the humidity is gone, do the dance!!

Everything looks so nice after the 2.6 inches of rain we received yesterday. Not only do we have water in our pond again, but the frogs were in it croaking . . . can you say pathetic? Poor things. On their behalf, this pond was actually dry by June 1st - a 1st!

With a cold front coming through, the temps were dropping and there was a steady breeze. Because it was so nice out, we decided to sit on the deck for a while after dinner. Of course by now the Bluejays had gone through their allotment of peanuts, so we gave into their screeching and put more out.

Out of 14 Bluejays, some of which are young ones, all have learned to land on the hanging trays. All but one that is, a young jay who cannot overcome it's fear of the four tray wires. So what does it do? It actually chases other birds, (and it doesn't have to be a Bluejay), to steal "their" peanut.

It was then we knew the grizzly truth, we have a mugger, a juvenile delinquent that lives in the "hood".

DO THE DANCE . . . 2.6" OF RAIN, YES!

Cloudy and humid, in fact, by the time we reached our high of 85 degrees, it was down right oppressive!

With temps in the high 80's and with dew points in the 70's, after watering in the AM I did nothing more in the yard. We had a 40% chance of rain which was high for us, so we figured just another Hazy, Hot and Humid day with no precip.

I happened to be blogging when about 3PM it started to rain. I didn't think much of it because we often get a few sprinkles that really don't amount to much. After 10 to 15 minutes it was still raining, and I started to get my hopes up. After half an hour I was getting down right giddy.

Then the clouds opened up and really let loose, and we had us a downpour for about an hour. Afterwards, when the sun was starting to peak out at about 6:30, we went out to check the rain gauge and we'd gotten 2.6 inches of rain!

While the downpour did not help the trees all that much, we did have water in our pond again. So we're hopeful the downpour filled enough low lying areas for the wildlife to find water again.

So, I don't care what kind of dance you do, but you have to do a dance.

5 Birdbaths plus 1 fountain and it's barely enough -

Sunny and hot, high of 93.

Every time I look at one of my birdbaths there's either a bird, squirrel, or chipmunk getting a drink of water. I seem to be the only source of fresh water for miles, or so it seems. This drought is really starting to take it's toll.

I know birds love fresh water, so I clean my birdbaths weekly and fill them daily. Just one more reason why Fodor's lists Mill Pond Hollow as one of the best values for the money as well as a "must see" ;-).

Our imported fountain from France is in FB#7, on the East side of the deck. The fountain is considered the "Evian" of all the drinking facilities and is used exclusively by the Goldfinches. They like to land on the top frog and get a drink straight from the "source".


Birdbath #1 is by the birdfeeders in the woods. This one is really popular with the squirrels, Bluejays, Mourning Doves, Nuthatches, and woodpeckers for quick drinks of water.





Birdbath #2 is in the FFB (Forest Flower Bed). This one is deep, perfect for Bluejay baths.









Birdbath #3 is in FB#3 in front of the living room bay window. This one gets a lot of sun which really heats the water, again I've caught Bluejays bathing in this one.








Birdbath #4 is in FB#5 which is by Don's office windows. This one is really popular with the chipmunks, Goldfinches, Chickadees and Titmice, because of the birch tree that gives it cover.







Birdbath #5 is in FB#1A, and is just big enough for chipmunks that live in the rockwall behind it.

More weeding, pulling, trimming . . . Ugh!

Partly Cloudy but nice with a high of 84.

Since I was in the groove, I decided to just keep going. Remember those Spireas and Stellas I was blogging about earlier? Well, it is now time to pay the pied piper for how beautiful they looked earlier. They are now out of bloom and have to be trimmed and deadheaded. I finally finished the 9th Spirea before lunch, and started in on the Stella's (all 12 of them) right after. Three 55 gallon contractor bags later, I'm done . . . stick a fork in me. I've finished weeding and trimming FB's #1, #2, & #3.

Also, remember those frogs I was blogging about? I was cutting back some Cottoneaster's by the Stella's when a large Leopard Frog jumped onto a Cottoneaster branch and gave me "the" look. If looks could kill, I'd be out cold. It was not at all happy it's home had been ransacked. I must have really disturbed it too, because I keep running into it now by the sidewalk, and I never knew it existed before.

This is the same type of frog that live in, or near, the vernal pond that is now dry.

That's for the birds, hummingbirds that is -

Fog in early am turned to sun by mid morning, nice day with low humidity, high of 82.

After several different attempts to find the perfect hummingbird feeder, we have finally found success with one from the Audubon Society. I never really thought about it before, but with all the wing flapping and fighting that goes on with hummingbirds, they must get tired.

This feeder has 6 stations with perches by each one, and they love it! They will actually sit and drink for up to 5 minutes. That is until the hummingbird wars start. They adore fresh nectar, and will literally fight for two straight days.

We currently have four Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, 2 male and 2 female. What became apparent last night while we sat watching them from the deck, is the fact the females have formed a tag team. While the male chases one female, the other slips in to get a drink of water. We have to wonder if they don't take turns at this game, could they actually be that smart?

You will have to click twice on the picture to see the female hummingbird. It was sheer luck we got this good of a shot.

Those turkeys!!

Another gorgeous day thanks to the cold front that moved through, sunny with a high of 78.

Earlier in my blog I shared a picture of a turkey dusting itself. I have to wonder if this is the same turkey that now visits with two babies in tow. I can't believe how fast they are growing. We started feeding them corn, and they have since become permanent residents.

We have a pile of loam in the woods we use for planting purposes, and because it's been so dry, mom's been teaching the babies how to dust themselves. One baby in particular has really taken to dust baths and scratching. Which is kind of funny to watch, because the dirt doesn't always go where it should, and the scratching usually covers more seed than uncovers.

Something else we didn't know about birds until we moved here, birds love to sun themselves. All of them do this, and I can only guess we see it here because of the natural habitat which makes the birds feel safe. The baby turkey who loves to take dust baths, also likes to sun itself afterwards.

Sometimes I feel like I'm running a resort. Between the food, lodging and spirits (fresh water), what more could a bird ask for.

More weeding, pulling, trimming . . .

After 3 days of 90 degree temps, a low has brought a cold front through, high of 79.

The Rose of Sharon are also in bloom. I watched several bees flitting from flower to flower gathering pollen. Their bodies and legs were so heavily laden with yellow pollen I did not know how they could possibly gather any more any fly away.

Unfortunately, the Hibiscus (Rose of Sharon) have also outgrown their designated areas, so I really had to cut one in particular back. I planted it in front of the meters and it had done it's job, so well in fact, I was afraid I was going to get a notice from our utility company.

As I trimmed the Hibiscus back the bees just went about their business of gathering, seemingly oblivious to me.

I'm so happy when I see bees, frogs and butterflies in my garden, it means I have a thriving ecosystem and must be doing something right.

It's really getting dry, boy do we need rain!

Sunny and hot with a high of 90, at least the humidity was down.

After mowing sections 1 and 2 of the yard, I fungicided both. The heat is really starting to stress the yard. Plus, man-made-water (in-ground-sprinklers) just isn't the same as nature's water.

We just got a call from our water company to tell us we are under a voluntary watering ban. They asked us to only water in the morning, and to water deeply less often, all of which I do of course, it's just good gardening practice.

Last night we went to our next door neighbors to warn them about the bear. When we got there we couldn't believe our eyes, the pond behind the dam was virtually empty. This is a "fairly" good sized pond the kids play hockey on in the winter . . . it really takes you back.

BTW, the water in the bucket is what our water looks like right now. Can you believe they can charge for something that dirty? Unfortunately, this isn't the first time for us, we had to put an expensive water-filtration system in last winter. If we hadn't, that water would be in our house, yuck!

Okay, I'm officially waging war on all weeds!

Sunny and nice with a high of 83.

After being lazy over the weekend and having a 10 day hyatus from yard work, I decided it was time. I weeded, cut back shrubs, (Goldmound Spirea), and took a picture of my Kousa tree.

A Kousa is a Japanese Dogwood that blooms in June, and boy has mine grown this year. This is the second year it's been in the garden, and was purchased quite small at Lowes last year. While I've not yet seen any blooms, I'm hoping this is only because of it's young age. It's supposed to be shade loving, and it gets sun about 40% of the day. If it doesn't show signs of blooming next year, I think I might start getting worried.

The picture to the right is how it "should" look when in bloom. It's supposed to get approximately 20' tall by 20' wide, but I've not seen one as full as the one pictured. I see them a lot planted in yards with limited space and shade. The white really pops in the shade!

Unfortunately, a naturalized tree beside it is dying because of the changes going on around it, so I'll probably be replacing it next year. I'm thinking a pink dogwood of some sort would be nice . . .

Now for the really big news, our bear showed up for the first time last night. Punkin was looking out the family room window when she started barking. When I went to look I saw a black bear just rearing up and reaching for one of our feeders. So out we went with air horn in hand to rescue the feeders. On the way back to the garage I saw it cutting across the driveway by the stream going to our neighbors. Poor guy, I'm sure it's hungry and thirsty with the ongoing drought.

Look what I came home to!

Hazy, Hot, Humid, high of 91.

I got home late last night and what did I see first thing this morning? 5 tomatoes, 3 on the Big Boy and 2 on the Beefsteak, ripe enough to pick . . . my very first! I plan on having them with bacon sandwiches , yumm!

I must admit the yard looks really nice, Don did a terrific job while I was gone. I told him he was hired, and he told me he wasn't interested in the job, oh well, I can't say I don't blame him.

The tomato on the left is the Beefsteak and the tomato on the right is the
Big Boy.

Unfortunately, the weeds kept growing while I was gone, so it's going to take me a while to get them eradicated . . . they're everywhere!

Time for a review or recap:

Sunny with a high of 90, very humid until a downpour cooled things off, for a little while anyway.

Well, I guess it's been 30 days so it's time to revisit my Gardening To Do List.

• Trim shrubs and Bradford Pear - tree yes, shrubs no
  
• Fertilize the Rhodos - yes
  
• Spray the back-hill with Roundup - yes
  
• Cut trees out of the pines on the back ridge - no
• Weed the flowerbeds, again - yes
  
• Spray the weeds in the grass - no
  
• Edge all flowerbeds - no
  
• Plant 6 maple trees - one
  
• Plant 5 fruit trees - yes
  
• Plant 6 fruit bushes - no
  
• Plant Magnolia - yes
  
• Plant 12 daylilies - no
• Fertilize yard - yes
• Fungicide yard - yes
• Mow, trim, and water - YES

Considering I'm about to leave for 10 days and there's a moratorium on digging, I don't think much else is going to be added to the "done" side of the list.

But there's always a bright side, my little Stella's in the back are blooming and looking quite pretty!

The drought is starting to become quite real . . .

Very dry and hot this week, with temps in the high 90's.

It's just too hot to try and plant anything. The red maple is struggling, I have to water it deeply every two to three days. So I'm calling a halt to all digging until it gets cooler.

Plus, with my better half putting his back out and with me getting ready to visit Iowa, virtually all yard work is on hold.

Except the watering, which is becoming a real issue. It seems like my day is spent trying to keep something watered. Thank goodness James of Gates Landscaping came out and moved two sprinklers that are now covering the orchard.

I don't envy Don trying to keep up with this yard . . . .