It's another mast year for the scarlet oak in the front garden. (Whenever I write "front garden" I feel pretty fancy!) And mast year? That just means it's a year when it has decided to produce a lot of acorns, more than in a non-mast or normal year. This scarlet oak, Quercus coccinea, is a pretty fast grower, in my opinion, when it comes to oak trees. This one was planted in 2011 and is already quite tall. I've had it professionally pruned once and will have someone do some more … [Read more...] about The Squirrels Are Back
wildlife
A Birdhouse and Peonies
Play along with me. What do you see in this picture? A birdhouse with its lid open? Peonies that need to be deadheaded? An old fence? Or did you wonder if there were baby birds in that birdhouse now exposed to the elements? Did you imagine a big raccoon clamoring up the fence, toddling over to the birdhouse and then lifting up the lid to peer inside before realizing the nest was too far down for him to reach the birds inside and so he gave up and wandered off to find dinner … [Read more...] about A Birdhouse and Peonies
Raccoons in Search of a New Home
Papa Raccoon ambled along the side of the house and headed toward the gate to the back garden. He lowered his head to slip under the gate, as he had done so many times before, and ran smack dab into a rock. He fell backwards and lay stunned in the grass. Rubbing his head as he got up, he looked around to see what he had run into. "Where did that rock come from?" Papa Raccoon asked Mama Raccoon who was following behind him with their gaze of kits. "Where did what come from?" replied Mama … [Read more...] about Raccoons in Search of a New Home
He’s Okay!
It's okay, the toad's okay, he'll be fine.A few days ago, the toad was in an accident involving my foot. Since I hadn't see him in a few days, I thought he had gone off to die. I felt bad about it, but it was an accident.And then I saw him again yesterday evening, and just like before, he paused long enough for me to give him a shower when I watered the nearby containers, then hopped away from me and my foot.I also startled a rabbit yesterday when I went out the back door. He was eating … [Read more...] about He’s Okay!
Home of the Green Towers
Welcome to May Dreams Gardens, home of the purple bench and now home of the twin green towers.I finished painting my towers this morning and set them up in the garden.This particular tower will probaby end up with squash vines on it, as I've placed it in a bed with spaghetti squash, which I think will climb up the tower if it is there, or I could let the vines sprawl across the ground. The other tower is at the other end of the garden and I'll plant a late crop of pole beans to climb up it.Some … [Read more...] about Home of the Green Towers
