My Garden: July 2004

Friday, July 30, 2004

Blue Jays

Two blue jays came and checked out the back yard today. I actually managed to get a picture of one of them. I wish I could be so lucky with the hummingbirds!

Thursday, July 29, 2004

Mocking Birds!

We finally have a mocking bird pair! One came by the other day to check out the backyard. His mate sat in a nearby tree while he inspected the plants, feeders and birdbath. Yesterday they came back. :)

Cardinal Cacophony

We have had two young cardinals visiting the garden this week. They are not your typical baby birds. They don't sit there begging for their parents to feed them, or hop meekly about fluffing their feathers. As a matter of fact their parents usually drop them off in morning and then rush off "to work." It is almost as if they think our garden is a day care center. The babies rule the roost. They often chase off not only the house sparrows and finches, but the grackles, cow birds, and even the squirrels! We still have all the other birds, they are just learning to make way for this fiesty duo.

Friday, July 23, 2004

The Day the Air was Installed

Yesterday was fairly traumatic for my garden. We have been without air conditioning all week, and yesterday was the day that the new unit was installed. I managed to get the rock garden dug up before the repair men arrived,

but several small sunflowers the birds had planted in front of the gate got moved in the heat of the day. (a before picture)

The repair men were racing an oncoming storm all afternoon, and therefore so was I. I needed to get all of my plants back in the ground. It began to pour the moment I knelt down to work on them. I set up a large outdoor umbrella, and kept working. (the cantelope, at the left, was crushed, hopefully not fatally)

The succulents were only mildly damaged by the workmen earlier in the week, and they seemed quite happy to be back in the ground.

The sunflowers did not fair so well. I had transplanted them immediately, but it was so hot they wilted very badly. The hard rain we had in the evening only served to batter them down further.