The Wordsmith's Forge

Today is mostly sunny and warm with a light breeze, a beautiful spring day.  :D

I fed the birds.  I've seen several sparrows and house finches, two brown-headed cowbirds, a mourning dove, and two fox squirrels.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/22/25 -- We went out shopping.  I picked out roughly 5 flats of plants at DeBuhr's.  We found a garden hose, nozzle, and reel plus a gas can at Home Depot.  Also at Home Depot I spotted a modular garage storage system that looks very promising.  It has mounting rails for shelves and a wide variety of hooks.  That ought to combine well with a pegboard.

EDIT 4/22/25 -- I planted a 'Sugar Snack' cherry tomato and a 'Yellow Pear' tomato in the large pots by the septic garden, each with 4 marigolds around it.

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

Today is mostly sunny, humid, and warm. It rained off and on yesterday and last night.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, plus a fox squirrel.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/20/25 -- I walked around the yard taking pictures.

EDIT 4/20/25 -- We had a friend over to help with yardening and picked up sticks from the house yard.

I am done for the night.

Today is cloudy, windy, and warm.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, several grackles, and a robin.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/18/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 4/18/25 -- I planted one spearmint in the cistern garden and two bleeding hearts in the log garden.

EDIT 4/18/25 -- I planted a 'Festival Maxima' white peony and 3 lilies of the valley in the white garden.

EDIT 4/18/25 -- I watered the recently planted things.

EDIT 4/18/25 -- I filled a trolley with dead weed stems and dumped it in the firepit.  I think that's about it for weed stems in the way of that particular spot.  There's still a pile of dead brush that needs picking up though.

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

One of the rarest parrot species in Brazil doubles in population: 'An unlikely comeback'

Habitat loss and the illegal pet trade drove the red-tailed amazon (Amazona brasiliensis), endemic to the southeastern Brazilian coast, to fewer than 5,000 individuals by the end of the 20th Century
Thanks to a project to install artificial nests on an island on the Paraná coast, the number of parrots almost doubled in 20 years, taking the bird from “endangered” to “near threatened” status, the only case of its kind in Brazil.

It's good to see this kind of success story. \o/

Today is partly cloudy, chilly, and blustery.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a grackle, and a brown-headed cowbird.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/15/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

The first wild strawberry is blooming in the trough pot. :D

EDIT 4/15/25 -- I planted 2 pots with red plum seeds and 8 pots with sycamore seed balls.

I've seen a flock of grackles and a flock of mourning doves.

EDIT 4/15/25 -- I finished transplanting bergamot from the telephone pole garden to the streetside edge of the savanna hedge.

EDIT 4/15/25 -- I planted 25 gladioli bulbs in the telephone pole garden. This concludes the order from K. van Bourgondien.  Yay.  Yay.

EDIT 4/15/25 -- I built the core for the next bonfire.

I saw the chevron skunk again.  He was ambling along the west edge of the ritual meadow, ignoring me and going about his business.  It's nice be able to recognize him as an individual.

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

Today is cloudy, windy, and cool.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/13/25 -- It's too windy to plant above-ground things, but I can plant underground things.  I planted 3 black hollyhock roots in the telephone pole garden.  Then I watered them and some other plants.

I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, several brown-headed cowbirds, and a female fox squirrel with nipples showing.

I also saw a red admiral butterfly.  :D

EDIT 4/13/25 -- I planted 6 mixed hosta roots, 2 in the forest garden and 4 in the log garden. Then I watered them and some other plants.

More hostas are sprouting in the forest garden. \o/

EDIT 4/13/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

One potted ramp and one potted horseradish are sprouting.  :D

I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, several grackles, and two mourning doves.

EDIT 4/13/25 -- I started clearing off the telephone pole garden, where I'll be planting some bulbs later on. 

EDIT 4/13/25 -- I did more clearing off the telephone pole garden.

EDIT 4/13/25 -- I did more clearing off the telephone pole garden.  It's pretty well cleared now, except for copious amounts of bergamot that I need to move elsewhere so it won't take over the whole bed.

EDIT 4/13/25 -- I started transplanting bergamot from the telephone pole garden.  I'm moving it to the streetside edge of the hedge along the west end of the savanna.

EDIT 4/13/25 -- I transplanted more bergamot.

EDIT 4/13/25 -- I transplanted more bergamot.

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

Today is mostly sunny and cool, a beautiful spring day.  Yesterday it drizzled on and off in the afternoon, then rained thoroughly last night.  There's a freeze warning for tonight, though, so I'll need to bring in the seedlings.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a flock of assorted blackbirds, a male cardinal, and a fox squirrel.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/11/25 -- We spent much of the day out shopping and erranding.

I did a bit of work around the patio.
 
My Breck's order arrived.  I have soooo much backlog from getting rained out repeatedly.

EDIT 4/11/25 -- I brought in the seedlings and the pansies.

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

Today is cloudy, windy, and cold.  It rained a little last night, leaving small puddles in the road.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/9/25 -- We went out shopping and picked up various garden supplies among other things.

EDIT 4/9/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I picked up a new wide, flat pan today that I'm going to use as a birdbath.  I scraped the label off the inside, set it atop an old can, and poured in a gallon of water.  Then I added a brick to keep it in place.  Hopefully the birds will like it.

EDIT 4/9/25 -- I took the trays of pots back outside.

I refilled the birdfeeder since they had drained it.

EDIT 4/9/25 -- I started clearing the space where the greenhouse will go.  I filled two trolleys with dead stems and hauled them to the firepit.

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

Today is mostly sunny and chilly.

I fed the birds. I've seen a flock of grackles, several sparrows, a starling, and a brown thrasher which is a summer bird here.

I put out water for the birds.

I moved the potted trays outside and took the cover off the bleeding heart during the day, but will need to protect them again tonight.

My order from Prairie Moon arrived, so now I'm even more overloaded on plants at the moment, but hopefully I'll get a good amount planted out today.

EDIT 4/8/25 -- I opened the Prairie Moon box, which fortunately just has 4 things in it, so not as much as I thought.

We ordered the 6.7' x 7.6' Yardistry Greenhouse from Costco, which should arrive by Tuesday. I found the assembly instructions online.

EDIT 4/8/25 -- I potted up 4 black plum seeds.

EDIT 4/8/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I've seen a flock of house finches and a female fox squirrel.

More hostas are sending up shoots. The two 'Deutschland' astilbes from last year are resprouting with gorgeous copper-colored foliage. :D  I hope they rebloom because they had an intense vanilla scent.

EDIT 4/8/25 -- I planted 10 ramps, 2 each in pots on the old picnic table, pots on the new picnic table, forest garden, purple-and-white garden, and wildflower garden.

I've seen a flock of mourning doves.

EDIT 4/8/25 -- I trimmed grass around the telephone pole.  That's where I intend to plant the lily bulbs later.

The first crabapple tree is blooming in the forest yard, and others have buds.

EDIT 4/8/25 -- I brought in the potted flats and covered the bleeding heart.

It is almost suppertime,

EDIT 4/8/25 -- I managed to squeak in one last round of yardening, raking the grass around the telephone pole.  I may need to go back and trim off a few more bits.

I am done for the night.

Today is cool and mostly cloudy, but more light is getting through.  There are still floodles from yesterday's rain. 

I fed the birds.  I've seen a flock of house finches.  I heard a woodpecker drumming but didn't see it.

I put out water for the birds.

The bleeding heart in the rain garden is starting to bloom.  :D 3q3q3q!!!  There are at least two more in the log garden but they aren't blooming yet.

EDIT 4/6/25 -- I've seen several sparrows, two mourning doves, a starling, a brown-headed cowbird, and a lady cardinal.

EDIT 4/6/25 -- I took some pictures around the yard.

EDIT 4/6/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 4/6/25 -- I planted 2 'Karl Rosenfield' dark pink peonies around the apricot tree.

EDIT 4/6/25 -- I planted 3 of the 6 designer mix peonies from Costco under the maple tree.  These are quite large roots with thumb-size shoots sprouting, and there were a few extra roots in the bag that I also need to plant in case they decide to grow.

There's a freeze warning through April 8, so I'll have to bring in some of the flats that already have seedlings sprouting but aren't under tubs.

EDIT 4/6/25 -- I planted the extra peony roots under the maple and took a few more pictures. 

EDIT 4/6/25 -- I planted the last 3 designer mix peonies under the maple tree.

EDIT 4/6/25 -- I brought in 3 flats of seedlings.  

I put mulch over the newly planted peonies.

As it is almost suppertime, I am done for the night.