another birdbath...

I purchased another birdbath today. I was aware that the goldfinches have a rough time trying to use my current birdbaths... the rims are too wide and they can't get a good grip. The birdbath in the main flower bed is great for the robins and bluejays and the song sparrow has learned how to make it work for him. So we went down to Trader Horn and purchased an inexpensive ($6.99) white plastic birdbath. The rim is very small and the bath is shallow... i think the gold finshes are going to like it.

We could use some Rain!

It rained all around us yesterday... i thought for sure that we would be getting buckets (like what i drove through on my way home)... and we got a drop in the bucket instead. One rain barrel is about empty, and no rain in the immediate forecast.

I'm noticing that the garden is showing the stresses of lack of water. An Aster is starting to bloom! It's only eight inches tall and its starting to flower. I guess the plant feels that its mid August. My Shasta Daisy is also starting to bloom... and is half the height of normal.

Today I stripped away the grass from around one of the birch trees and alfter pouring on buckets of water, i mulched it in good. One down, one to go. Luckily there was cloud cover today so i wasn't sun blasted.

The Stella D'oros and California Poppies seem to be happy and continue to grace us with a profusion of flowers.

NOTE for 08: Transplant Stella D'oros out fro under birch trees.

Nature's weed-eater

Nature's weed-eater
Originally uploaded by pjslomer

The quieter weed-eater... doens't spew toxic fumes either...
The baby bunny in the garden has been taught well by his parents. They were very good at eating the dandelion stalks that were abundant in the yard a month ago. This little bugger proceeded to show me that he's fond of dandelion too. So i don't need to weed my garden... just leave some dandelion for the bunny.

Bluejay

This morning when i got out of bed and raised the blinds to the window... a bluejay came flying towards me. He flew from a tree at the bottom of our property straight towards me. He landed on the roof briefly (and in a story and a half, that's pretty close. Then he hopped down to the wire two feet in front of me! Looking in and ready for peanuts. There are tow in particular who are always near the door waiting for me. They are getting used to me being around... still a little on edge about me getting too close. But I think we are training each other...

Two Bees or not two bees...

No, they were definitely two honey bees spotted today! I was surprised and delighted to see the two on the clover in the yard. These two bees were totally focused on their task at hand and went from one clover blossom to the next, unlike other bees that i have seen this year (and that is very few). The bees previously spotted looked hyperactive and unfocused... they wouldn't even land on a flower for me to get a better look. That's why these two today were so special, they didn't look like the had attention deficit disorder or too much sugar in their system. Here's an image of honey bees from last fall... they loved the wild aster that i left grow in the garden. Needless to say that this aster is coming up in the garden again this year.

Rose

Rose
Originally uploaded by pjslomer

Transplanting Day!

Today has been a perfect weather day for moving plants around. It's been some time since we've had 72 degree weather with cool breezes and moist soil. Today is that day and i moved a lot of oatgrass from the center of my main flower bed. I trasplanted it to the bottom edge of the yard, a spot between two burning bushes (i've connected them with a bed... have more to do but haven't had the right amount of shade in the area) and also in the top of a plastic urn whose base brocke down. With that pot i took the base off and planted the whole pot a couple inches then added oatgrass, creeping thyme and chicks 'n hens. I created a bed around the holly that was in the middle of the yard and added the pot there.
I also took some liriope and thyme and planted along the paver path in the east corner of the yard. In hopes that it doens't look so bare there.
Currently in bloom are the rose, peony, stella d'oro daylily, california poppy, veronica and coreopsis.