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.   :)

Bluebird Sighting

The other day, I thought I caught a flash of blue when I saw a bird flying to a bush.  The distance and lighting made it difficult to be sure, but yesterday, there was no mistaking it--a male bluebird.

Despite him letting me get somewhat close, I still didn't get the best shots.  There should be ample time for that when they start nesting.

It definitely seems like spring now! :)