The pond is waiting for Joe's return although that will probably be a month away... if Joe returns at all. Daytime temperatures are just now getting consistent with temperatures in the 70's. The night time lows are still in the 40's. Thus the pond water temperature isn't warm enough to make Joe happy. If you recall, as winter temperature slowly dropped last fall, I was writing about Joe slowing down and all that torpor business. In the spring it works just the opposite of late fall. But it won't be long now. I have my eyes peeled for any sign of Joe or her peers.
In the meantime I've been winning my battle with string algae thanks to a friend of Gingers who stopped by and brought her husband. He is a chemist and his recommendation was to use a product called Cutrine. It sure has made a difference in the clarity of the pond water and certainly is controlling the string algae.
Last week we had the waskley wabbits ( for my international viewers that's what the cartoon character Elmer Fudd calls rabbits) come to the yard. They decided they liked it pretty well and started to dig a den. The bad news is they wanted the den located under a 2 year old tree. I wound up putting chicken wire and plastic mesh around the tree mound. So far that has discouraged the rabbits from digging.
All of the bird houses now have residents and they are busily building their nests. It's kind of comical to watch some of the birds try and get a stiff piece of grass or reed through the bird house entrance. The entrance is just a hole I drilled that is 5/8's of an inch in diameter.
Over the winter I built a "Pot Trellis." We planted the pots this past week and are waiting for some vine type of plant to arrive in the nurseries. We will plant the vine in the dirt at the base of the trellis and hopefully that will fill in the bare spots on the trellis. The pots are just set between the boards and when they tilt the top board stops them. They are quite secure and there is no concern about being blown down. I dare say the only concern expressed so far is if the trellis is yellow enough... Somewhere there has to be a school bus looking for it's paint [:o)
Our first humming bird was spotted on April 14 after a fierce wind with gusts into the 60 mph range. We figure the little guy literally "blew into town!"
All the trees survived the winter and are now sporting their bright green leaves. The plants that looked like they would never ever grow again are once again thriving as they change color while soaking up the sun. We found worms in the soil and the robin red breasts are visiting regularly. The who-who birdies are still with us as are the finches and sparrows. Hawks of various sizes stop by from time to time.
I think it's going to be a good year!
All of the bird houses now have residents and they are busily building their nests. It's kind of comical to watch some of the birds try and get a stiff piece of grass or reed through the bird house entrance. The entrance is just a hole I drilled that is 5/8's of an inch in diameter.
Our first humming bird was spotted on April 14 after a fierce wind with gusts into the 60 mph range. We figure the little guy literally "blew into town!"
All the trees survived the winter and are now sporting their bright green leaves. The plants that looked like they would never ever grow again are once again thriving as they change color while soaking up the sun. We found worms in the soil and the robin red breasts are visiting regularly. The who-who birdies are still with us as are the finches and sparrows. Hawks of various sizes stop by from time to time.
I think it's going to be a good year!
