The Wordsmith's Forge

Today is sunny and cool.

I fed the birds.  I've seen several sparrows, several house finches, two robins, two starlings, a male cardinal, and a mourning dove.

I dug the hole to plant the 'Fall Gold' yellow raspberry.

EDIT 3/20/24 -- I planted the yellow raspberry.
 
EDIT 3/20/24 -- We moved the 2 bags of cypress mulch from the trunk of the car, one to the Colorado blue spruce tree and one to the picnic table.

I've heard crows and red-winged blackbirds in the yard.

EDIT 3/20/24 -- I spread compost around the yellow raspberry, then added the jug and the label.

EDIT 3/20/24 -- I put the groundcloth around the spruce tree.

EDIT 3/20/24 -- I spread a bag of cypress mulch around the spruce tree.

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

Today is cloudy, breezy, and cold.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a small flock of sparrows and a small flock of dark-eyed juncos.  An interesting quirk of juncos is that they are sooty on top, white underneath, and have white feathers on their tails that flash when they fly.  Females are grayish-brown and look even more like sparrows.  So if you see sparrowlike birds with that white flash in flight, they are likely juncos. I heard red-winged blackbirds trilling in the trees.

Something has finally started eating the suet cake, but I have no idea what -- I haven't seen a single bird on the suet cage this year. 

Today we went up to visit Dad.

We got lunch from Captain D's.  It's a favorite seafood place.  Breaded shrimp. okra chunks, and French fries.  <3

On the way up, I spotted an eagle nest.  It wasn't occupied, but they're pretty distinctive -- a massive pile of branches high up in a tree, further corroborated by its location next to a creek.  A bald eagle nest typically starts out around 5-6 feet wide and can get twice as big over time.  So, they're at least trying to reproduce.  This is the first nest I've seen, though.  :D

I packed up a bag of Mom's clothes to give away.  This time I think we'll drop it at Goodwill since I got an armload of clothes from there.  The gift must move.

We picked up donuts on the way home.  We also stopped at Dollar General where I found a 3-wick candle and two large self-watering pots.  There were also huge pots really cheap, which I didn't pick up, because I wasn't sure where they'd fit.  I should've grabbed a couple and then  figured out where to put them.  Eh, we can check a store closer to home for some.

Not a very exciting day, but we got some stuff done.

Today's supper plans got waylaid, so we decided to go out for sushi instead.

As long as we were going out, we might as well pick up stuff we needed.  So we went back to Rural King for a couple bags of mulch.  It finally occurred to me to suggest getting some gloves to keep in the car for moving said bags of (often muddy) garden goods.  I also hit the plant stand again and picked up two dark pink peonies, a white one, a bleeding heart, and a yellow raspberry.

We stopped at Dairy Queen for dessert.  This month's special Blizzard flavor is an excellent mint chocolate brownie thing.  :D

County Market was last, for groceries.  I found a couple of houseplants in types I don't have, one large-leaf aloe vera and one prayer plant.  We stocked up on a few hard-to-find items too.

All in all, it was a successful trip.  \o/

I took pictures around the yard today. These are from the flowerbeds.

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I walked around the yard taking pictures today. Most of these are from the gardens at the end of the driveway.

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Today is partly sunny, windy, and quite warm. It was 77°F the last I checked. This is not normal for mid-March.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a pair of house finches, a pair of brown-headed cowbirds, and a fox squirrel.

I walked around the yard taking pictures.  More daffodils are blooming, the first of the blue grape hyacinths are opening, and Spanish bluebells.  :D

EDIT 3/14/24 -- I planted the dark pink peony 'Karl Rosenfield' under the apricot tree.

Since I was in need of new garden shears, we decided to make a day of it.

We hit three different thrift stores.  The first one, I didn't find anything that fit, but my partner Doug found a couple of videos.  The second, I found one thing.  The third, I came out with a whole bag full -- about a third of what I tried on, which is pretty good nowadays.  Among the finds were a pair of gray pants and a pair of brown pants, which had been on my list of necessities, plus navy blue shorts and sky blue corduroy pants.  Tops include a blue and raspberry tie-dye T-shirt, a gray and white tie-dye T-shirt, a T-shirt with giraffes on it, a pink and yellow tie-dye long-sleeved T-shirt that's a souvenir from the Great Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (where I've actually been), and a long-sleeved lounge velvet top in different shades of gray.  I am well pleased with the haul.

After that, we went to Rural King, having saved it for last because it stays open later.  The outdoor garden goods have been refreshed, so I was able to get a couple bags of potting soil for pots and a couple bags of composted manure to go around the Colorado blue spruce seedling.  They're just starting to put out plants; there are lots of fruit trees and stuff outside, but it's more expensive than I want to pay.  Inside, however, we found a stand of much more reasonably priced small fruits and flowers.  I picked up a yellow raspberry, a dark pink peony, and for Doug a bag of 2 bleeding hearts.  I managed to find (what I believe to be) a nice set of garden shears and a narrow trowel since mind has the tip broken off.

I am exhausted after all of that, but it was a most productive outing. 

Today my seeds arrived from Pinetree Garden Seeds. :D

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Today is sunny, breezy, and chilly.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a flock of sparrows, a pair of house finches, and a dark-eyed junco in the forest garden.  I've also seen and heard a flock of red-winged blackbirds in the yard, chirping and trilling at each other. 

I cut more brush along the south side of the house.

EDIT 3/10/24 -- I cut more brush along the south side of the house.

EDIT 3/10/24 -- I cut more brush along the south side of the house.