Posted on Jun 28, 2020 3:17 PMWe Managed to Get Outside Today
We went outside before the weather got hot. High temperatures this weekend and this coming week are in the upper 80s°F. So we got some watering done, and some weeding. I was able to tear through some of a thatch of quackgrass to clear up some Black-Eyed Susans. But my wife, she was able to weed the herbs and grasses and some wildflowers:
I took that picture because I was getting tired out, and had to rest. You can see that recently-cleared earth is much easier to weed. My section was to the right of the orange bucket! Underneath the weeds, a couple inches deep, I came across two concrete pads. I'll wash them up and make some use of them. Though I have heard that my youngest daughter wants to make some concrete stepping stones with mosaic tiles in them, which would be nice.
Birds and Bugs
I saw the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird this morning. I always enjoy seeing it show up. I'd never noticed it before last year, when I put up the feeders, so it is nice to see this sparkly-green flying almond going around.
And now that the flowers are starting to bloom, there seem to be a lot more bees and other insects around. I even saw a Monarch Butterfly, but none of the milkweeds have any open flowers yet.
Milkweed Recovery!
Speaking of milkweeds, remember how I saw that my newer Swamp Milkweed got bitten off? I wasn't thinking, and should have made a cutting of the top. In any case, the stem now has a new leaf coming out, and it looks like a bud is coming from underground, too:
I don't begrudge animals trying to eat things, but I would like the plants to get further along and have a chance of survival! I'm glad this one is trying to make a comeback. I should put a wire cage around it, perhaps.
Mostly, I'm Watching
Part of my resting was due to some indications that I might have another health flare-up. Not fun, but they are random; it isn't the heat, or being active, or anything like that. And so I spent more time sitting and watching things, especially while I waited outside to see which way my health would go.
It was a very nice day. Still in the 70s°F this morning, with a variable wind, enough to cool you off, and a mostly-sunny sky. Lots of birds around. Just to give an example, these are the ones I saw, or heard, while I was outside:
- Black-Capped Chickadee
- Blue-Jay
- Brown-Headed Cowbird
- Chimney Swift
- Downy Woodpecker
- House Sparrow
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
- White-Breasted Nuthatch
That's all I can recall at the moment. Because I've been counting birds from fall to spring for a citizen-science effort, I've become familiar with how these species look and sound. It is always a pleasure to see a species again; today, for instance, I saw three of the Downy Woodpeckers, a female getting peanut pick-out nuts from a feeder, while two males fluttered around the trunk of a tree with a suet feeder on it. And I saw a Black-Capped Chickadee, when I hadn't noticed them for a while.
Sometimes, it is nice to just enjoy looking at the garden and its denizens. We may work there, but they get to live there.
What's Next?
I thought I'd talk about various things that need to happen, just so you know where my thoughts go.
- Continue Weeding the Central Bed. This is the thing you see in the first picture, above. It is the first bed I planted stuff in. And it is my top-priority at the moment.
- Weed the East Bed. This is the newest bed, and the weeds are coming back with a vengeance. It will be the next thing, after the bad situation in the Central bed is taken care of. It is just possible that I can get most of the weeds clobbered in the Central and East beds before August, so that I can just enjoy what I have.
- Continue Labelling Plants. I decided to label individual plants with metal labels, so I can identify what's coming out of the ground in the spring.
- Mulch the Norway Pine. We have Minnesota's state tree in the front yard, growing tall, and it is time to give it a good area underneath. This will also use up the leftover mulch from the West bed!
- Make some Concrete Stepping Stones. I don't want to compress the soil by walking on it, and I need to get to different feeders or to back parts of a section for weeding. Having some steps will help. My youngest likes making these of concrete and mosaic tiles, so I should get her easy participation.
- Make some Edging. So, I have the remains of the cedar grape arbor that I'd constructed years ago. The cedar is mostly in good shape, and I have the right tools; I'm thinking of cutting it into pieces and using them to do edging around the beds. This is fairly low-priority, but it is something I'd like to get done this year.
- Design a Rain Garden. So, we're getting some drain tile installed in the basement with a sump pump. There will be an outflow pipe, and it will be near a downspout; I'm thinking that planning to incorporate a rain garden to hold the outflow, with native plants that like getting their feet wet, will be a great way to handle these things. Building the garden, with its sunken area, can wait until next year; this year, we can figure out what should go where.
- Clear the Hummingbird Section. This is my bonus planting for this year, if I ever get to it. I'd like to have something in place so it can come back on its own next spring.
- Design the Hydrangea Planting Bed. This will be a grassy area outside our west living room windows. And a number of non-native hydrangeas need to go away, eventually! We'll keep some because the bees love it.
- Design the North Bedroom Planting Bed. This is right under our bedroom window, and some volunteer maple trees are starting to show up. Having something that will accept a shady, damp environment is the goal, but it may not be planted next year, even.
There's always a plan! No lack of things to do. It is important to realize that any progress is good progress.
