Birdfeeding

[ysabetwordsmith]

Today is partly cloudy and mild. It rained yesterday.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches. I heard a woodpecker drumming, low and slow, so I suspect it's one of the bigger species.

I installed the four new tomato cages.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I took some pictures around the yard.

I've seen a brown thrasher. I heard a blue jay screaming but didn't see it.

The first new iris is blooming under the maple tree. It's a lovely pale yellow. The scent is not quite as strong as some others, but with a definite sugary note like the purple-and-ivory ones in the wagonwheel garden. A bunch of poppies are blooming nearby too.

I put out the flats of plants and watered them.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- Today's project is the beige trough pots for the benches of the new picnic table. I have 6 total. One already has wild strawberries in it. I just filled a second with compost and potting soil, then put it on a bench. I also separated 24 of the S-hooks from their clips, so that I'll be able to make cords for anchoring them to the benches. I couldn't find suitable bungees premade, so DIY it is. Thank you, hippie parents and Depression Era grandparents for the gift of these DIY skills.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I filled a second trough and put it on the new picnic table.

I've seen a catbird and a male cardinal.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I moved several flats from the top of the picnic table to the ground, then some large pots from the benches to the top, making room for more troughs on the benches.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I filled a third trough and put it on the new picnic table. I also did a bit more pot-shuffling. The south bench now has 2 troughs and an empty spot for the next.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I filled the last two troughs and put them on the new picnic table. Each bench is now covered by 3 trough pots. \o/ After lunch I will need to make the anchor cords to keep them in place.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- My partner Doug came home with the 2 bags of potting soil, so we hauled those to the old picnic table. The lawn mower had died in the south lot and wouldn't restart, so we pushed that to the driveway so it can be picked up for repair.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I made the first 2 anchor cords to secure the first trough pot on the north bench.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I made 4 more anchor cords to secure 2 more troughs on the north bench. That leaves the 3 on the south side.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I made the 6 anchor cords to secure the 3 trough pots on the south bench. It started spitting rain about halfway through, but not enough to interfere. So that part of the project is done, other than sowing the seeds in them. \o/

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I sowed 2 troughs of 'Avalanche' snow pea pods, 2 troughs of 'Sugar Ann' snap peas, and 1 trough of 'Thumbelina' baby ball carrots.

I watered the newly planted seeds. I watered the strawberry towers.

I took some pictures of the troughs and the sky at sunset. The sky was yellow-gray today, a version of yellow-blue, which is a color that most humans can't see. But I can see it, and it's beautiful, one of my favorite colors: liathbuí in Irish.

I brought in the flats of pots.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.