My How They've Grown!

I can't believe how fast the baby Wrens are growing!

The one on the left has a rather perturbed look on it's face and the one on the right just had it's mouth open before I took the picture and it's upset that it didn't get fed!

It's amazing how much they've grown in the 4 days since I took the last picture!

Check back tomorrow evening when I'll have a bunch of garden pictures posted!

The Baby Birds are Thriving!

The Wrens have hatched- I can only see about 4-5 in the nest out of 7 eggs. They look like they are doing good:

They appear to be growing quickly! Mom stays in the nest until I get about 2 feet from it then she hops out and jumps down to the ground. She runs around on the ground until I walk away and then returns to her babies.

Should It Stay or Should It Go?

I have had the song "Should I stay or should I go?" by the Clash running through my head. In case you aren't familiar with it, this is the chorus:

Should I stay or should I go now?

Should I stay or should I go now?

If I go there will be trouble

An’ if I stay it will be double

So come on and let me know!

The reason being is that we lost a huge limb off our Bradford Pear on Sunday morning. Walt and I talked about whether or not we should just remove the storm damage and leave the tree or remove and replace the whole tree.

When you look at this view, it doesn't look too bad:

But when you look at it from another direction, you can see how lopsided it looks:

At least we don't have to worry about anyone walking on the sidewalk hitting their heads anymore!

On one hand, the Landscape Designer and Horticulturist in me says take it down and plant something stronger; while the (for lack of a better term) Bleeding Heart Gardener in me says it's still alive, leave it and see if it will survive.

What do you think????

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day- June

What's blooming in Laura's Garden today?

Red Prince Weigela:

Ox-Eye Daisy (note to self- cut these back before they go to seed!):

Japanese Tree Lilac:

Columbine:

Pink Flower Carpet Rose:

Magic Carpet Spirea:

May Night Salvia and Goldflame Spirea:
Hardy Geranium (possibly Geranium Sanguinium though not sure):
Gaillardia Goblin:
Coreopsis (note to self- cut back before they go to seed!)
Veronica and Coreopsis (note to self- cut BOTH of these back before they go to seed!):Husker Red Penstemon:

Johnson Blue Geranium and Yarrow:

Astilbe:
Jackman Clematis:
Rose Salvia with red Yarrow:
Pink Astilbe (the grassy foliage crossing the front of the photo is a Tradescantia; I can't recall the name- it has white flowers with blue centers):
A storm was moving in as I took these pictures. There may have been more blooming, but I needed to get under cover quick!

The Problem with Bradford Pears

As I laid in bed this morning listening to the howling wind, I was thinking about all the plants and things at work that could be damaged. I had no worries about anything at home. Then, I looked out in the front yard to find a third of my 12-year-old Bradford Pear laying on the ground. Walt is going to cut up the part that broke off and we're going to leave the rest and see what happens. My next door neighbor called me to see if we needed help with the tree; I have a feeling that he thinks we are going to take down the whole tree. It still looks okay without that section (at least from our angle).

On a happier note, the wrens have started to hatch:

There was only 1 yesterday, today when I checked I found 2. They look so helpless and (dare I say) pitiful right now! But they look like they may be okay.

To all the Fathers out there- Have a GREAT DAY!

Meanwhile, down on the farm...

I noticed today that the majority of my posts lately have been about my gardens at home. Today I had a chance to go out to the vegetable garden at work to check up on the plants and also to plant more peppers, yellow squash and eggplant.

This is how the garden looked last month:

Here is the picture I took today:

I'm happy with how much the plants have grown considering the way the weather has been!

I planted 5 Eggplant, 4 Yellow Squash, and 6 Grand Belle Mix Peppers today and I also added a second tie to the tomatoes since they have grown. Yes, the pepper plants on the sides are tied to stakes- I sent a kid out to the garden to tie up the tomato plants (which I told him were down the middle) and he just tied everything! It was probably for the best since the winds have been horrendous.

The first block of Sweet Corn is planted on the west side of the garden; it's about knee-high and looking good!

I believe that Ken told me he planted the Indian Corn on the east and south sides of the garden:

It is just coming up. Ken says that Indian Corn is one of his favorite things to grow because it's a surprise when you open the husks to see the different colors. (Just like Forrest Gump says, "You never know what you're gonna get")

Ken's other favorite crop is Winter Wheat since it gets planted in the fall and you don't do anything to it until you combine it in the summer:

There is a breeze today, I wish you could see how the wheat is waving in the wind:

The Wren's eggs have not hatched yet and so far our cat Pesty has not found it. I don't think the Swallow's eggs have hatched yet. That nest is up high where we can't see.

As soon as the Wrens hatch, I'll post a picture of them!

Tired of the Wind!

It has been so windy over the last few days; I've had to stand the shrubs up to water them because they keep getting blown over. While watering the annuals, I found a bird's nest:

I looked it up and it appears to be a wren's nest. Judging by the size of the bird that sits on this nest, I'm shocked that there were so many eggs! I just hope that Pesty doesn't find it- luckily the Barn Swallows have been keeping her occupied. I think they are intentionally teasing her; they sit on top of our garden craft display where she can't reach them. We were surprised one day Pesty almost got one by jumping in the air as it was flying by. I told Pesty that if she was 1-2 pounds lighter she might have gotten it!

At home, the Japanese Tree Lilac has started to flower as well as the Coreopsis: My younger son, Joshua, made this for Mother's Day in Scouts. I think he may have been a little put out that it couldn't be a surprise (since I am his Den Leader)
He knows that I like Sunflowers. I think he did a wonderful job painting it!

As I'm typing I'm sitting by my patio door listening to the rain. I ended up staying home today; my back started hurting me Saturday morning and was spasming by late afternoon. I went to the doctor and got some painkillers and muscle relaxers so hopefully I will be feeling a little better tomorrow. I think this time I hurt my back by carrying a 35# bucket of cat litter through Target. I guess that I need to remember that even though I am capable of carrying a heavy object I should still grab a cart!