for the birds...

All throughout the day yesterday, both I and the Mister knocked down the robin's start of her nest in the carport many times. I used the broom, he used the leaf blower. She sure packs one with multiple types of material, but she is not allowed to nest up there, as persistent as she may be. There are a couple of reasons. The first one being that we let it happen several years ago, the babies were born and she flew in and out regularly to feed them. It was a pleasure to see - UNTIL I saw a crow fly in and snatch a baby robin. Word got out and soon all of the babies were gone. I said, NEVER AGAIN will I watch this act of nature and since then we have always knocked down nests over the beams in the carport. Now we have placed bricks and bent-up pie tins in any spot that we think she will try again.

We went to the farm market and picked up some geraniums, portulaca, and pink begonias for planting next week. We are supposed to get some snow inches Saturday so they will remain in the car trunk area as they were in a large greenhouse before today.

Surprise! I saw the first hummingbird fly through the porch and hovered, searching for the feeder. It realized it wasn't there so flew to better places for its drink. Well, It didn't take me but a few minutes to boil up some water, retrieve the already-sanitized feeder, fix the nectar and get it hung out right away! I KNOW it was looking for a drink. I KNOW it will return. I HOPE I'll see it drink. SOON! Excited here.

Our family in Philadelphia keeps busy in different ways and this photo tells me they have a rock fence garden. Neat!

P.S. my leaf from last year is now officially a blooming tuberous begonia. This makes me happy - very happy.

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My new fermentation pot now has a sliced onion concoction brewing. No peeking! In two weeks I'll let you know how and what and IF!

Delight!

Last year in early May I purchased a red tuberous begonia plant at our farm market and "Henry" nurtured it to become a real beauty. He just loves taking care of his foster flowers. His most appreciative one was the Martha Washington Geranium way back June  2016. See below.

Well then last year, the red begonia became our favorite. It loved living here, but autumn soon prevailed and I had an idea.

May 16, 2019 purchased

Planted

 August 12, 2019 

September 7, 2019

I nipped one of the leaves off at the stem and brought it inside. I  put it in a glass of water and set it in the window. This was just before our first frost.  It grew roots. It grew tall, and it grew more leaves. It grew too tall! I finally cut it down in February 2020 and put the remaining top section back into a glass of water. It again grew roots. 

On April 3, 2020 I planted it into a clay pot and.........  hold your breath.........  I SEE A BUD forming!!!!

Remember this is a TUBEROUS begonia. One year I tried to save the tubers in a brown paper bag with an anti-fungus powder but they just shriveled up and turned black. 

Henry will be so happy!  Story to be continued at a later date.

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#1497 Autumn is on the Horizon

The trees and grass are still green, but other signs forecast that summer is starting to terminate.

The Sedum are in full bloom, turning bright pink and falling over.

Soon the porch swing will be covered and the boat taken down.

The spread of the stems reveals spider nests.

Portulaca grew way too tall due to the wetness this year and is finished pushing out the pretty multicolored blossoms.

You can see the true color pink in the porch shadow.

A closer look is nicer.

The fern did well with the wetness but is turning brown now.

No more hummingbirds have been seen for three days. The pine cone wreath needs to be refurbished as the other birds have plucked it for nest materials early in the spring.

Beauty at its best.

The pollinators are hard at work.

I see many doing the job and that is a very good thing.

Henry stands proud but his contents are drooping and falling off more than usual.

I'm going to slice off a couple of leaves and try to root them for next year. It might work. I'll talk them into it!

James stands undressed waiting for his preservation treatment.

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Green Green Green!

It's time to plant my Portulaca and the Mother's Day Tuberous Begonia, even if it is going to rain more in the next days ahead.

I love the feel of the warm soil in my hands and never wear gloves. "Henry" my rooster is happy now.

The little colorful blossoms will soon bud and this tub will be a flashy, splashy and vibrant sight!

The Martha Washington Geranium now sports the trellis that the bully hummingbird loved as his lookout stand.

It is a painful process for me to wait for the daffodil leaves to die out and wither away before I can cut them off but it is a necessary process in order to have blossoms again next year. As you can see clearly, the Hosta and the Seedum plants are doing well in spite of being crowded.

 The sunshine brought out a daughter and her dog, a fisherman, and a sun bather!

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