Lonely bachelor

The pheasant cock persists in pestering our hens. He stands outside the fence, squawking and posturing, to no avail. We had a pheasant hen on the property last year. We hope that another one will come around soon. It would be fun to have some pheasant chicks.

Ring-necked pheasant ruffling his feathers to uninterested chickens

The tom turkeys are not having the same trouble finding mates. One morning last week, three toms were displaying in the field across the road to about 9 hens. I got a picture of the rafter running around the garage by the magnolia that is about to bloom.

Turkeys beneath the magnolia

The plum tree is in full blossom.

Plum blossoms

The standing water is gone from the south end of the property. The chorus frogs were smart not to lay eggs there. The only plants that are clearly evident now are curly dock and reed canary grass. I am in despair for my native prairie plants.

The snipes have moved to the willows on the north side where the water persists. I saw three of them take off out of there yesterday. I also saw a few solitary tiny tadpoles. Here is one nestled in the muck. I took the picture first and then verified that it was a tadpole by poking at it. It was seriously tiny, less than 1 cm long including the tail. I hope they have time to turn into frogs before that puddle dries up.

The black dot in the middle is the head of a tiny tadpole

I was relieved to see that the wild ginger came up again back by the creek. I planted it several years ago and kept it protected with a tomato cage until it had gotten sufficiently robust that I felt it could withstand herbivory. Last year, I took the cage off. I told Terry what I had done and asked him to pick up the cage next time he was back there with the Gator. A few days later, he went back with the weed whacker to attack the garlic mustard and cut off my ginger in the process. I was, to use a phrase I learned from Kate just this week, so mad I was spitting bees. Thus, I have been anxiously awaiting their renewed growth.

My wild ginger survived last year's weed whacker attack

The jack-in-the-pulpit made it through another year, still in its tomato cage (I have learned…).

Jack-in-the-pulpit

Violets are blooming also.

Violets

The asparagus is up. The first two harvests have given us enough for one meal. The thistles are up as well. I must go weed when I am done with this post.

Asparagus