Bird-a-licious!

We didn’t get much rain—only 0.6”—but it was enough to, as Terry says,

“paint the world green.” Everything popped. The trees flowered and leafed out. The grass got long enough to hide the brown stubble left from last fall. I mowed for the first time this season.

The chickens have been so happy in the orchard and so busy running around eating grass, bugs, and worms that they have neglected their laying. Slackers! Most days we only get six eggs. I saw a barred rock up in one of the apple trees. So many fun things to do!

A barred rock hen in an apple tree

The rhubarb seemed to explode overnight. I haven’t picked any yet, but it’s ready.

Rhubarb ready to go

Friday afternoon Terry called to tell me that there was “asparagus two feet high out here!”

The asparagus made a sudden appearance

Not thinking there would be very much, I didn’t take a knife or a basket. I picked and picked and picked until I had more than I could hold in one hand. I made a pocket of my shirt by holding the hem away from my body. I estimated the harvest as about a pound and a half.

An unexpectedly large first harvest stuffed in the front of my shirt

The wild ginger is up.

Wild ginger

And the birds are back. Orioles, white-crowned sparrows, goldfinches in their summer plumage, rose breasted grosbeaks. No hummingbirds yet, but the website that Jane watches compulsively says that the are in Wisconsin, so we should see some soon.

Male Baltimore oriole

Immature male or female--I have to look it up ever year, and I don't have my bird book with me right now

The orchard oriole male is rufus colored rather than bright orange and smaller

Three white-crowned sparrows

Mr. Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Mrs. Grosbeak

Downy woodpecker

The goldfinches are notoriously picky about the sunflower seeds they take, tossing 10 over their little shoulders for every one they eat. It is as if they said to the white-crowned sparrows (ground feeder), “Here you go!”

Mr. Grosbeak and Mr. Goldfinch

And the 13-striped ground squirrels are not far behind. Here is one with his/her cheek pouches stuffed so full of seeds that it looks painful.

How many seeds can it stuff in those cheek pouches before they burst?

After I finished mowing on Sunday, I helped Hilda pot up peppers and eggplant. She had already finished the tomatoes. Terry rototilled yesterday, and it will soon be time to plant onions and potatoes.

And it’s grill time. Sunday night Terry made burgers on the grill along with a foil pack of potatoes and onions and another one of Sunday’s asparagus harvest. 

Sunday dinner--burgers with large foil pack of potatoes and smaller pack of asparagus