Emerging Diversity

After taking a close-up of the emerging leaves of one of our white oaks, I started taking more photos of other emerging leaves--had I started sooner, I would have had some of the earlier trees.

An incomplete list...but a wonderful start.

All of these were added to the property by me...except for the ash, we came up on it's own--but I did move it to (what will be) our woodland.

Transplanting

These are not the first things that I have transplanted this spring, but they are the first that I am posting about.  The elm--which is taller than I am--was growing too close to our deck (and would block our beautiful view).

I am not sure what took me so long to do it, but I guess it is the same reason I haven't stained the deck.  Yesterday, Jeff started power washing it to prepare for staining...and then building a catio!  (Something else we have been putting off.)

Digging it out was a bit of a chore, but I found some great rocks for the streambed.  I wish I got more roots, but there are a lot of feeder roots.  As I tend to do, I trimmed the branches and pinched back most of the new growth, so its reduced root system has less to support. 

In addition to the elm, I finally found a place for the native hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) that I bought a couple of years ago.  I bought three, planted one, and put the other two pots near the front door so that I could keep them watered.  Over time, of course, they sent roots into the ground...so, when I went to plant them near "my pride and joy" (our giant boulder), I had to cut the pot away from the roots. 

In addition to these, I have moved several smaller elm trees (at least one or two that were potted), the oak trees that I bought at a yard sale last year, and several shrubs (silky dogwood, meadowsweet, and elderberry--which I am rooting in place...and some wildflowers, grasses, and sedges) along my new terraced path. 

Pond Life

Looks like we will have tadpoles in the pond this year--*toad* tadpoles--those cute, little black ones I remember from my youth.  :)

Amazing to stumble upon the act of procreation itself! 

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Great Find

I spotted this the other day.  Unsure of what it was, I posted a picture and question in an insect identification  group on Facebook.

I was told it is a Cecropia Moth (Hyalophora cecropia) cocoon.  After doing an internet search, it looks right to me.  I hope so.

Yesterday, I was really not looking forward to the forecast of snow and a low of 30°F...it actually impacted my mood.  I was bummed.

This morning, however, I ended up.braving the cold and strolling the property with camera in hand.  By the time I got to the second acre, I spotted the pair of bluebirds at the staghorn sumac berries.  I started taking photos...that is when I noticed other species there as well--at least one that I did not recognize.   (It ended up being an Eastern kingbird--thanks to a quick Internet search.)

Aside from the birds (which was a huge highlight), I enjoyed being surrounded by a greening world, several trees leafing out, the serviceberry still blooming, birds singing, the sun streaming down...and...snow blowing around as it fell--not what I expected, well into May--but it made for an almost magical moment. 

Now, spring can resume.  (Another day or two with lows near freezing, but then it should warm up again.)

Quite a lot of photos from today...

Pond Surprise!

Spring has sprung...for about a month,but things are really starting to pop now after plenty of rain, we now have lots of sun and temperatures around 70.  I have been taking the usual photographs of wildflowers and birds (but not posting them, unfortunately).  The bluebirds' eggs have likely hatched--I saw the female out...but have not yet checked the nestbox.  Tree swallows have returned...and the chickadees are taking nesting materials into their chosen box.  Birds abound...and I am enjoying taking shots of them in nature, not just coming near the house for sunflower seeds.

Being home, I have walked my trails most days...I jump from project to project...and now regular maintenance like mowing.  I visit the pond, or, at least, walk past it a few times a day.  The frogs still get startled and dive underwater.

Today, I was standing on the lower edge where I am closer to the water's surface...when I saw them.  At first,I assumed they were tadpoles, even though my mind immediately told me they were fish.  I didn't want to get my hopes up.

Fish fry...babies.  I was shocked, but thrilled to see them.  Now, where did they come from...and what kind are they?  The most likely answer is they are descendants of the minnows I put in that I purchased from a bait shop.  I was almost certain they all had died over the first two or three days after I put them in.  I did acclimate them first...but I figured they were for bait and were likely not very hardy having been raised crowded together (yet with plenty of oxygenated water)...or, my water did not have high enough oxygen for them despite the recirculating pump.  I counted the bodies floating to the surface...and I guess it is possible that 2 or even a few survived.   This seems most likely.  The other possibility is that they were brought here as eggs stalk to a bird visiting another pond.

Time will tell if they mature, and I can identify them.  Hopefully, I have a record of the fish I added.

I had wanted black-nosed dace which my dentist recommended, but the bait shop didnt carry them.  When the quarantine is lifted, and social distancing is no longer an issue, my dentist is supposed to share some black-nosed dace and some bluegills with me (I guess he never got around to it last year).

Originally, I didnt plan on adding fish, but I have always loved watching them ate the various bodies of water I have visited where I could see them.  They provide so much added interest...and another step in the food web--if they attract king fishers and/or herons, so be it.   When digging out the pond, I created a ledge or two for fish to hide and evade predators.   I just hope there can be a balance.

I am thrilled to have them.  I hope I can watch them grow...and hope they will be self-sustaining.

And, the obligatory frog picture.  :)  

The Wrong Box

I have been looking in the wrong box.

Since spotting the male bluebird a week or so ago, I have periodically checked the nestboxes.  Their favorite one was empty, as was the one in the far corner of the property, the one mid-way that is mounted to the telephone pole, and the one closest to the house near the end of (what I call) the meadow.

I have since seen him with the female.  Today, I don't a shot of the pair sitting in the dogwood--the male obscured by branches, unfortunately.

After seeing them, I went out to check the nestbox mounted to the telephone pole.  I thought it was the only one I had forgotten to clean out from last year.  When I opened it, I saw what seemed to be a completed nest!  I am glad I realized it was fresh.

I stuck my phone inside near the roof and blindly took some pictures.   Sure enough, not only was it fresh, but it already had four eggs in it!  One more to go! :)

Brains and Brawn

A little brawn and a little brains goes a long way.  Luckily, I have just a bit of each.  :)

Back in January, while creating a terraced path, I started to uncover a huge rock.  It is a welcome addition to my pond/waterfall project.   However, it was in the ground pretty deep.   I dug it out little by little when the ground thawed in January and again in February.   Still I left it in the ground.  I guess I imagined reinjuring my back and not being able to complete the path or any other projects.

Today, although I didn't plan too,I got it out of the ground!  😁

Aside from using an iron bar and the power of a fulcrum, I used my body weight to lift it out of the ground...and filled the hole in one side to have a flat surface to flip it into, then I filled the other side, flipped it end over end and out if the way...until I am ready to move it to the pond. 

Exposing my Pride and Joy

I love boulders.

We were fortunate enough to have some very large rocks (and dare I say at least two that qualify as boulders) on our property.  It was actually one of the selling points (at least for me) when Jeff and I bought this place.

One, in particular, is HUGE.  For years now, I have found myself calling it "my pride and joy".   Early on, maybe our first few years here, Jeff made the brilliant suggestion to dig out some of the soil around it, to expose more of it--since I liked it so much...and the top part was had only several inches showing above the soil line.  Excellent suggestion.

At that time, I did expose more of it along the top.  Yesterday, as so often happens as I meander around the property, I found myself digging out part of the lower portion--and, in the process leveling off the slope below it.  It is not obviously terraced, but perhaps terracing is a fair description...although the goal was to expose more of the boulder.

I cleared out the soil in one spot where I could get under the rock.  Hopefully, I created a spot for a critter to use in some fashion. 

When I was finished, apparently I only dropped the soil level about 6 inches.  Doing much more would have looked odd and messed with the path as round it.

Six inches is enough to show more rock once the wildflowers grow up. I planted:

golden ragwort (Packera aurea)
Greek valerian (Polemonium reptans L.)
wild geranium (Geranium maculatum)
white violets

....and, I replanted the asters that were already there among the weeds.

I plan to add others that are appropriate to that area.  Columbine comes to mind.  Last year, I actually sprinkled seeds in the cracks and crevices of the boulder (and maybe added a seedling).  Many years before, I added a starter of some fern kindly shared by a friend.

It is time I begin to showcase this beauty.   :)