Spring 2012 continued

Norris has been gone all day every day so he has not been able to appreciate some of our plants now at peak bloom. These are from yesterday, which began cloudy.

The phlox we planted in 2009 are filling in nicely around the rocks.


This link shows a photo of this same area the first year after we planted them - a pretty dramatic improvement for a rockpile with a thin coat of soil.

After a couple of good years, these redbuds are finally making a significant contribution to the spring time color.



The Carolina Silver Bells with the combination of flowers and leaves is also growing well.


Later in the day when the sun finally emerged, you could see how the trees are greening up on the slope across the cove.


Last year we noted the Tiger Swallowtail were always on the phlox - you only have to wait for the sunshine to find them.

More PJM Rhododendron

The plants that went in last spring are blooming for the first time, making a bright spot in the distant part of our front yard on a foggy morning.

Still, the American Beech trees make a bigger impact- particularly when the sun is not shining. You can see one towards the right. It was was here before we were. The one we had put in is barely visible at the end of the walk, behind the trunk of a tulip poplar in this photo.

After this misty morning, the sun shone and it was very warm all day. It feels like Winter is completely over. The groundhog was wrong.

Following advice....

Norris' Reems Creek Fire Department Colleague Melvin agreed with our suspicions about a nest-building nocturnal visitor, inside the roof cricket, only he thinks it might be a pair of flying squirrels. He advised traps, baited with peanut butter, and placed in boxes near the point of ingress, with a hole in the box too small for regular squirrels to get in.

After a trip up to the roof to find the potential entry point - which had some kind of fuzzy nest-building matter stuck to it (very long whiteish strands that may be fiberglass - it melted rather than burned), Norris made a trip to the hardware store for some supplies, and another trip up to the roof.



Taking photos of the operation was nearly impossible because of the sun's position, but here's a shot showing the ladder, which we will leave in place until we think we are free of pests.


Not certain of success, Cheryl and Norris may both have to sleep in the studio with a cat or two tonight.

About our Early Spring

Every year, we have posted a photo of this P.J.M. Rhododendron.


Norris thought it would be interesting to compare - last year, we photographed it on the 24th of March. The year before, it was the 8th of April. Our first year, it was March 19.

Not as easy to compare, is the start of mating season for the wild turkeys, but our photos of them have been in April. This fellow knocked on the door on Tuesday morning.


He was apparently not trying to come in the house or to get our attention because when the camera came out, he walked calmly away. This next photo gives a better view of his colorful pre-historic looking face.
The male turkeys seem to be spending more time than usual under our bird feeder. Lily likes to be on the porch and she is getting braver about them. But last night, she was entranced by the scamperings of some wee creature on the roof that woke us many times. One of Norris' RCFD colleagues handles nuisance wildlife. Norris will head to the fire station and ask what we might be able to do about this would-be resident. We have no attic space, so a chipmunk nest is not necessarily the problem it was in our last house. But we would like a nice peaceful night's rest.

Signs of Spring

Bands of wild turkeys showed up in the yard on Saturday and Sunday. They stay in the area, but we don't get them this high up the slope during the winter. We didn't get great pictures, but to mark their reapparance, here's one climbing upward across the yard, taken early Saturday. They've been out back again today.