In Love with Self

Enjoying his reflection in the sliding glass window on the deck, this robin red breast hops back and forth on the deck for long blocks of time. And it doesn't seem to matter if people are here! At first I marveled at nature's ways but now, after cleaning up the deck for the umpteenth time, I enlisted the help of a sympathetic renter to erect chicken wire deterrents. It worked! Except now he's found the brass kick plates on the front door!

Upon reading up on robins, it's actually territory that he's defending from those invasive, ever-present, mean reflections. I'll be glad when mating season is over.

Blueberries are in Bloom

We can let our breath out now that the danger of frost hurting the delicate, pink and white blueberry blooms is over. Last year in April '07 the 4 day freeze wiped out 98% of the crop so this year's double bloom brings new hope for a bumper crop of those sweet tasting, grape-size delights of blue heaven. If you book Cloud 9 or Heavenly Hideaway cabin in July you'll get to pick your breakfast every morning in my 2 acre field of blueberries on my U-Pick farm. The blueberries are ripe from the last week of June through the end of July. Yummm! right now it's my favorite place to be weeding because the blueberry perfume wafts through the air calling in the pollinators including my honeybee girls from their hive in the next pasture.

It's a Dogwood Time of Year

Remember this time of year, mid April to mid May if you'd like to take a vacation and see the glorious wild dogwood bloom. The white blossoms spread out like sheets through a wood's view amongst the new green leaves coming out of their buds in many shades of green. I've never seen a honeybee on dogwood blossom so they don't have much nectar. Botany fact: the white petals are really a variation of the leaves whereas the yellow centers are individual flowers.

Free Ranging Chickens

When the danger of the (Cooper and Red tailed) hawk's regular feeding time is over (mid day) the "girls" (and 3 boys) are let loose the last couple hours of the day to free range. Here is the beautiful Golden Comet rooster, "Goldy," staying out of the way of the alpha rooster, "Ooleroo" by hiding behind the daffodils.