First Day Lily

The first day lily of the year is in bloom along with several varieties of iris. These white ones are ones we bought. The camera can not capture them well. There must be about four different varieties in the water fountain garden which was here when we moved in. The former owner must have loved irises.

Buds and Blooms

Creeping phlox

"Jim Crockett" aster

Variegated Solomon Seal

Poppy in bud

Shake your tail feathers

The chicks now have tail feathers and their wings are really filling in. A couple can fly to the top of their water dish. They also have the habit of tipping over their food dish which means a trip to FF to buy a bigger one. I gave them their first treat... a big juicy worm. They went crazy! The chick with the worm runs around the cage with it in his mouth while the others chase him. When the catch up they play tug of war with the worm. It is absolutely crazy and fun to watch, although I feel slightly sorry for the worm. Since I have been giving them treats, I think they consider my hand less of a threat and the curious chicks will come right up to it.

Irises

Some of the irises are starting to bloom. It seems early as we still have daffodils and tulips blooming, but I should not complain. I need to mark where they are so that I can divide them in the fall.

These were left by the previous owner and they are absolutely gorgeous. They seem to be fading already, hopefully they will last a little longer as it is currently the only color in that garden.


We also have some dutch irises that were potted up in the fall.

Parrot Tulips

I have to say that I am not impressed by the two parrot tulips varieties that I purchased last fall. The first was a red double parrot tulip and then this candy striped one. The petals to be just look deformed. I do like the color combinations, just not the shape of the petals.

I think the standard shape of the tulip is more pleasing to the eye. These add a punch of color, but still shout, "I am a tulip". What do you think?

Pot it Up!

Last weekend we hit some garage sales, where I found two containers for plants. The first was a four hole strawberry pot covered in moss and lichen - a steal for a quarter. I filled it up with petunias that I had started from seed.



The other find were these blue pumps tossed in a free bin. Thorny Guy drilled three holes in the toes for drainage. I started to fill them with some sedum I had been rooting, but still need to find some more filler.

The buds are finally opening

The crab apple tree is finally in bloom. It has been the popular hang out for the blue birds.

The lilacs are also in bloom. The maple trees are all leaved out, but the black walnuts and river birches are still in bud. Apple trees, cherry and pear trees are about half in bloom.


Today is a lucky day for taking photos, they all seemed to turn out. Usually my camera has issues with taking up close images. They usually appear in what I call "soft focus". Today things worked out, that or I am actually getting good at it. Here is an old fashioned bleeding heart, in the background is a fringed bleeding heart.

Freshly cut grass

The Green Beast got a workout last night as Thorny Guy mowed the flat. It took him an hour! Granted he needs to work out a method and learn how to operate the beast but it is going to take him forever to do the back forty. It does look good though.
Personally I think we need more gardens and less lawn. The flat would also be perfect for a horse pasture :)

What's Blooming?

Lots of daffodils are still coming up. I have to say that I did a good job this year planting them in drifts. I think the ones still coming up may have been planted too deep and I may have to fix that in the fall. This double daffodil sent up two small flowers per stem.

I was happy to see the small cupped daffodil with the orange rim that I brought from MD survived.

The forget-me-not that my mom gave me is blooming. It has white little flowers. The lungwort is starting to open. The snow anemone I purchased at the plant sale has cute white flowers. Also blooming at this time but not pictured are the strawberries, bleeding heart, apple trees, violets, tulips, dead nettle, periwinkle and rhododendron.

pulmonaria (lungwort)

snow anemone

I Can Fly...

...well maybe flutter! The chicks are not even a week old and have developed most of their wing feathers. They can get about an inch off the ground when they run and flap their wings. Better start working on that coup!

They have a new game called "peck the spec of light". When the light shines through the trees onto the side of the box, they go crazy pecking at it. We need to dig up a laser pointer.

They are going to be pretty birds. The barred rock feathers are outlined in white as seen on the two chicks on the left.

The Green Beast

I got a new toy today!

Just in time. The lawn REALLY needs to be cut. It's got a lot of get-up-and-go too. 26 hp will get any gardening job done. I love the wheels...no getting stuck for me. Now all I need is the tiller attachment. Maybe next year.

Fenced In

This weekend, Thorny Guy and Lady Bug's brothers put up the deer fence. The fence still needs a couple top wires and a gate but hopefully for now the deer will stay out.

Having the fence done, allowed us to get the tomatoes (11), peppers (32), and eggplant (9) planted. As you can see we like peppers! Two rows of pole beans also went in. Now it just needs to rain.

Hostas Everywhere!

This weekend my mom and I planted about 50 hostas (A laundry basket and a box full). A friend of hers from church had tons of hostas and they needed to be split! I am not sure of the type, but they seem to be ones that we do not have. We put them in the border on the east side of the house, the two circle gardens under the river birches, and on the slope near the second barn. Hopefully they will not just be a tasty treat for the deer.

She also brought some ferns which really smelled funny. Maybe they are hay scented ferns. They are still a little wilted from the trauma, but should recover. It would help if it would rain, everything is very dry. We also received raspberries, which we planted in the upper field. YUM! What a good haul!

Golden Splendor

We have gold finches and they are hungry. They are eating the thistle seeds and sunflower seeds from the no-no feeder. Also new to the feeders are cow birds and warblers.






We also have seen bluebirds around the yard. One pair is making a nest in the bird house by our mailbox.

Chick Pic Update

The chicks made it through the night and they seem bigger. They are also more sure on their feet.

The chicks are hungry!

As you can see they made a mess! After these pics, I removed all the paper towel and put down wood chips.

The excitement has worn off and they are sleeping more and peeping less.

This chick has an itch!

This little guy fell asleep at the feeder.


One little guy has a pasty bottom so I had him sit in warm water to remove it. Hopefully he will be alright.

The Buff orphingtons pose for a shot.

Silver Laced Wyandotte are a little camera shy.

I can not tell the black austrolorp from the barred rock other wise they would pose too. There should be 10 barred rock and 5 austrolorp, but I can not find five that look different. That and they move around a lot.