IN Carmel

 I will mark this Saturday morning as being another bird morning with the arrival of  RBG.  For now those letters represent Rose-Breasted Grosbeak.  They have been in and out all day long.  Friend Kathy was greeted with 5 at her feeder.  I've seen up to 3 at a time.  Just like Ruth BG, they are dressed in black with a little white as Ruth wore her white neckpieces with a bit of red makeup.  RBG's.  An easier way to identify this bird,   I would add.  An oriole was around during the day.  It could be the same bird we've seen or a different bird.  Another friend reported 7 B. Oriole's at her feeder this morning.  Bluebirds and Finch and of course Sparrows and Tufted Titmouse and all the rest continue to entertain us. Such Eye Candy for sure.   So there was bird watching during the morning hours.  I spent some time digging large clumps of grass from under the Maple tree in the front yard.  The Ma...

 I've seen a whole lot of Fridays.  I had no plan for the day.  Nothing.  No appointments...Just do what falls in front of me.  So I did.  Charlie appeared on the schedule for a while.  Transplanting some little plants that were produced by their mothers and ready to be on their own appeared on the schedule.  Watering recent transplants appeared.  Checking for more milkweed...NONE!  Finding dill that has reseeded and checking the J in the Pulpit appeared as well.  Just an easy morning.   Early afternoon I decided to do a bit more scratching in the dirt and because I have about a gal of marigold seed I decided planting some wouldn't hurt a bit.  Humm...is the ground warm enough to germinate seeds?  Probably not but it's worth a try.  Never hurts to gamble when there is more seed around.  So I planted a few seeds.   This marigold spot should be far enough away from the guy who sprays the gr...

 I tackled the pond in the early morning knowing that this was a biggie that would take time and that's exactly what I needed, lots of time.  And little by little the pond for 2022 is now ready for the pump.  This little corner of interest started when grandson Noah was going through a digging stage that went on for a couple of years.  His favorite pastime at Grandma's house was digging holes in the garden. He had his own digging tools.  One hole became so large that he could stretch out in it.  Now he was a little guy at that point but never-the-less the hole was big.  So we eventually turned it into a pond which took care of that hole and probably a few more.  The time and rabbit ear plants will fill in closer to the water's edge.  But the bones are here and the next part is easy.  The solar pump from Amazon should arrive today but I've seen that Amazon truck and the Fed Ex truck and The brown truck and the mailman already.  No pu...

 I was outside early, early.  It was cool but a jacket helped a whole lot.  I checked for more milkweed and sure enough, more has appeared.  The camera took a few picture shots.  This post is near a stone path between two gardens from the south.  The door handle is from an ice cream shop we visited many, many years ago while on vacation.  A gift from Leslie.  And yes, there is a bluebird box on the other side of the post open for occupation. My bluebird houses have no bluebirds yet.  Just sparrows doing their squatter nest building. I'm happy to add that the wrens are back.  I haven't seen them but I certainly have heard the males singing during the morning hours. This morning a wonderful piliated woodpecker was harassing a sparrow.  Or was the sparrow doing the harassing?  An interesting site.   I have become aware again of colors seen in the spring growing seasons.  So many yellows...celandine poppies, jonquils...

 Not much happened yesterday...Tuesday.  The temperature was on the cold side with wind aplenty so it wasn't very pleasant to be outside for very long.  I tried but I didn't last.  Doug is working on some forsythia that has been here for a long time but hasn't bloomed very much.  The bushes need a big-time trim and he started that job a couple of weeks ago. He doesn't work very fast..He believes in making retirement real! The garbage cans are full so the rest of the branches are stacked on the woodpile to burn.  Doug has done a lot of burn piles fed by the garden/yard tree branches of three neighbors contributions over many years.  The burn pile is located on a huge lot the burn taking place on a quiet day..  He'll do another one when all of it dries out.  I made a contribution with pulled up more ground cover.   Allergies have hit again for the second year and I've decided that the Lilacs are the engine that gets it going.  Th...

 Yes...Yesterday, Monday was an exciting day.  It started with rain...not too exciting!  And if you read yesterday's blog you know the Orioles came.  Well, I think there is only one truth to be told.  I first noticed the Oriole feeder was swinging a whole lot with something flying up high.  Oriole?  Nah!  But I watched the spot for a few minutes and Low and Be Hold!   Yup...Oriole!  I tried some pictures but the feeder was too far from the window.   After a few minutes of thinking I decided to move all the feeders so that particular one would be closer to the window with a dome over it to keep the rain out of the jelly.  The move was completed during the shower and the feeder was restocked with all that is needed.  Within 2 minutes my orange friend was back, eating from the feeder and later from a little cup of jelly that I hung near by.  So I spent the morning in the kitchen checking on the birds with the k...

 Sunday morning and the air is cool and humidity low.  Perfect morning for coffee on the patio.  And I did that.  I got to thinking about a Saturday job I didn't finish so bucket in hand and shovel in the other...Your guess is right.  Off to the last of the dandelion patches.  Another more than full bucket contribution to the garbage can.  No picture.  You know what that looks like.  Off to church hearing a great Amy sermon, singing great music, visiting with visitors, and greeting almost all the regulars.  My kind of morning.   The afternoon was a sleeper having used a few units of energy in the morning.  The tree that is in the process of leaving this earth has given up once again great inside material for the walking path in the garden near the house and also in the vegetable/flower garden.  The discovery of emerging milkweed in that garden was exciting.  About 10 years ago I sprayed for weeds in that garden w...

 It seems that I needed a brain to wake up Saturday morning.  It lost its focus when it forgot to go to Bread and Bowl.  Dah!  I really would have preferred working there instead of what I did.  We have a lawn service for weeds and fertilizing.  The dandelion weeds were in the process of dying but not fast enough for me.  So I spent the morning with the shovel doing dandelion.  Some of the results!   The can is not full to the bottom.  That would be a killer which it came close to but there is a healthy amount to be sure that is all dandelion.  The yard is green a gain.   Thinking birds and trying to find out when the orioles are arriving I've done a bit of research by Siri.  May is the word but if there are a lot of warm days they could come sooner.  This next week should be a warm one so I'm looking for the scouts.  It's oranges and cheap jelly.  There is a place for sweet water in the feeder but...

 Same, meaning outside for the morning.  I finished up edging.  Yahoo!!   Such a big job and finished for a couple of months.   Last evening Kathy, our neighbor came over with two huge tomato plants that are ours to take care of while they travel to Texas to watch their son run the Iron Man.  They are going on to Big Ben for a week.  What a responsibility to keep these huge honker tomato plants going.   Doug had ask if he could to a spring clean-up job on their blackberry bush and he got a go-ahead as he usually does each spring. Some years there are blackberries, some years the deer make that impossible.  So we'll see what happens in 2022.   The bush is ready for whatever it will be able to do with all the dead branches gone.  Doug discovered a red tulip growing in the flowerbed by our patio.  Humm...the deer missed that one which I have not seen bloom since I planted it more than 30 years ago.  It rem...

 The day started with rain.  But then the sun came out. Your guess is correct. Yes, it was a day outside.  The project for the day was moving plants, filling in spaces and hoping that a few of the movers demonstrate that they are a bit happier with their new home.  Most of the transplants were coral bell types of plants.  There are so many in the Houkara family, all interesting and usually pretty sturdy in growth.  So they were on the move today.   It also was dandelion time along with a bit more edging.  One more bed to go as well as finishing another one.  I also scraped out and pitch  Black-Eyed Susans.  They are taking over and filling way too many spaces.  But there is nothing like all their yellow flowers blooming in  July bringing color to the garden..  It's a wild eye time.   I spent the morning in the garden.  Then in for lunch and told Doug I needed to return to the garden because th...

 I love busy days. Yesterday was one of those starting with a trip to church.  Heidi and I made some changes at the altar with a fresh look for the coming month .  We  worked in the kitchen adding a few things.  We're taking it slowly hoping to provide things that will be useful to those using the Gathering Place.  Work continued on the candle closet making that area a bit more useful by shifting things around to capture more shelf space.   In the afternoon with warmer temperatures, the garden was the place to be.  The bloodroot continues to bloom. Edging of flowerbeds continues with more to finish.   One sad event happening is the demise of the maple tree providing shade and wonderful bird roosting limbs.  The tree is now without much of an inside part but still standing.  It's offering up materials for the path that winds through the garden leading past the healthy bunch of bluebells. The tree was planted years before we...

 After having babies I returned to teaching about 40 years ago. The four teachers who made up the first-grade team of teachers at Forest Dale at that time have met at least once a month for a meal together even though some of us went to other schools before retirement..  Today a visit time at a near by restaurant. .  My comment was that we rented the table for two hours and it came with food. There is always a lot to talk about family, health, and more.  Hearing each other is always a good thing.  The May date has been set.  I am ready. Currently, the weather comes with chilly mornings and wordle, coffee and the crossword puzzle.  My wordle streak is continuing having only missed the first one learning the process.  I used the last wordle option this morning, a little scary but the brain came through.  Watching the birds fly in and fly out consumed some time.  The sparrows continue to build their nest in the bluebird houses.  That i...

 Yup...we're back to March and the Lion is roaring.  We woke up to snow that led to wind and the wind chill number was labeled bitter.  This bench in the garden is not a cozy place to rest so we'll think of somewhere else to do that.  I think the Lion should go back to a warmer climate perhaps found in Africa!  We'll do just fine without the big pussy cat!   So the chore of the day was to turn the Easter Ham Bone into a delicious split pea with carrots and onion soup.  Got to keep it going until the hot weather gets here.    This morning after a call from the dentist I made a visit at her request.  It was a how is your tooth doing with a conversation about what had happened.  The report is that we are on the right side of healing, not quite at the end of the journey but well on the way.  This little tooth nerve just needs a good rest.  After the Zionsville visit, I headed to church to retrieve the palm plants.  I...