Who You Lookin' At?

In honor of me returning to the city to go back to work after a week of gardening, I give you - Chipmunk with an Attitude.

There he is, on the 2nd floor of his 3-story walk-up, staring at me as if I should go away and leave him to go about his business in peace.

We both stood there looking at each other for a good 5 minutes before I finally realized that I was just having a staring contest with a chipmunk.  I'm not sure if it was the staring contest or the fact that I was assigning a tough city attitude to a chipmunk that made me realize it was time to go back to the city today.

Ironically, all of my "city" friends spent the day commenting on how countrified I was - and then when I came home, my "country" friends spent the evening commenting on how citified I was after just one day back at work.

I guess I'm neither city nor country nor chipmunk today.

Pea Harvest!

Today I went for a walk in my vegetable parterre and my to my delight - the peas were ready for harvest!

I had so much fun watching them grow week by week that I kind of forgot that the end result would be - well, the end result is actually compost, so this is more of a middle result - the middle result would be crispy sweet crunchy pea pods.  Best served just rinsed off.  No dressing, no cooking, just good to eat.

Before I tell you about the intricate trellising scheme I came up with, I just want to take a look back at the peas ...

We started on St. Patrick's Day - the traditional day to plant peas.  I don't know why, but it's supposed to be lucky so I do it each year.  Luckily - this year it actually worked and I didn't have to dig through a couple of feet of snow and ice to plant them.

A week passed - and not a single pea was in sight.  With my usual optimism, I was convinced they were all dead.

But, by the next week, there were little pea leaves shooting out all over the bed.  And a few weeds.  I pulled the weeds and left the peas to grow some more.

Not much seemed to happen over the next week.  They grew some more leaves.  There wasn't even any weed drama to keep the interest up.

They just kept growing along.  I just looked at them.  It wasn't very exciting.  I started to think I should put in a trellis.  Those bamboo stakes seemed like they would play some part in the whole trellising event.

Finally their tendrils started shooting out along the stalks.  They were ready to start climbing on something, but I still hadn't gotten the trellis up.

They got to be around 6-inches tall and really, if I didn't put in the trellis, I should at least remove that oak leaf that blew into the bed.  Something should be done.

Actually, I kind of forgot about them - oops!  I went back today - 25 days later - to take a look and it seems like they handled the problem all by themselves.  I'm not sure how this happened.  It's the strangest thing I've ever seen in the garden!  I don't think that I was gardening in my sleep, but you'll note that the bamboo stakes have moved into the peas and have crossed over each other to form a basic trellis that the peas are clinging to.

My DH claims no knowledge of this - and I don't think our pup did it, even though she is the smartest dog there is.  I've narrowed it down to 2 possibilities.

1 - a kind pea rescuer who was passing by heard the call of the peas and came over to help them, finding only the bamboo stakes available they did the best they could to fashion a rudimentary trellis out of them or

2 - gardening squirrels have struck again.  They think that the peas are really for them, so they deicded to take over the garden bed and trellis them the way that they want with no regard for my dinner table.

I'm leaning towards #2.

This is why when I saw the peas were ready for harvesting, I quickly snapped them off and brought them inside for dinner.  After all, I worked so hard at growing them - what with poking holes in the ground and forgetting they were even there and all.  But let's not forget that I took pictures of their progress - until I forgot about them.

Okay, so maybe I didn't work so hard at growing them.  I left some on the vines for the squirrels.

These are the ones I harvested for dinner.  They were delicious and my DH and I loved them.  Our pup refused to even give them a try, but that's okay, it just means that there will be more for the gardening squirrels.

Pretty Bird

The spruce trees around our bucolic manor tower above us and make a perfect lookout spot for the turkey vultures to roost.

They are huge ugly birds - really!  But they are the sweetest things.  If you look online, you'll find stories about how they act as baby sitters and playmates for young children - sweet and caring.

One of the strangest things I saw once was a turkey vulture pulling a deer that had been hit by a car off of the road and into the field.  There were a few other of its' friends hanging out, staying out of the way - most likely cheering him on.  This is not an unusual thing for them to do.

The best part of their vulture-ness is that once they digest something, no matter how...nasty, it comes out the other end absolutely bacteria free.  It's like they are nature's hazmat team.

I love how they soar on the thermals and come in for a landing at the tips of the trees.  All of them gather there for awhile, watching us watching them.  After awhile they fly away again.

They may be physically ugly to me, but their attitude and nature make them pretty birds.

Polly want a cracker?

Early Blooms

Pea planting wasn't the only thing happening in the garden this weekend, these Glory-of-the-snow (chionodoxa) decided to make an appearance as well.

I'm always surprised when I see these little guys blooming around the gardens.  Mostly because I never planted any chionodoxa anywhere on the property.   And I especially didn't plant them here - outside of the border of a garden bed in the lawn.  This was a gift from some of our landscaping squirrels.

Of course, they were sweet to move this crocus over into one of the daylily beds as well.

They probably just wanted a bit of color to brighten up the space until the daylilies start blooming in May.

Now if I could just get them to weed...

Finally Getting Some Blooms

It's nice to see that the daffodils in the Peony Garden are finally budding out.  Even though I know (I really know!) that Spring is coming earlier this year, a part of me was still thinking that the flowers would never comes back.

I go through the same thing every year though.  I know that the plants are there. I know that they have blossomed/fruited/leafed-out every year.  And yet somehow I seem to manage to worry that this year they won't come back.  Even knowing this about myself and Spring won't prevent me from worrying if the tomatoes will have fruit this Summer.  It's a thing.

But right now there is a promise of blooms in the garden.  Their little yellow flowers are seeking out the sun and waiting for the perfect time to open.

Of course we'll lose a few flowers to the chipmunks, squirrels and other outdoor creatures.  But that's okay - I planted extra for them so they can eat whatever they like.  

Well, they can eat the daffodils...when it comes time for the daylilies, I think we're going to have a discussion.

For the Birds

Whenever I see a pile of pigeons I always am amazed at the colors.  They are like little flying rainbows when you get to see them close-up. And they really are not shy at all.  I think they know we will move out of their way.

Pigeons are not really looked upon fondly most of the time.  Their nickname is "flying rats".  I'm not sure why, but that's what it is.  Even with that nickname I think there's something very "New York" about walking down the street and seeing a pile of pigeons going after a pile of birdseed that someone has tossed on the sidewalk.

The pigeons always get the main meal - even if the sparrows find it first, the pigeons come in and take over the pile - pushing the sparrows out to the edge.  The sparrows still get enough to eat because the pigeons are really messy eaters and never finish everything.

With all of their brightly colored feathers, I wonder if they could be called "city peacocks".  It sounds so much better.

It's Coming!

Today I went searching for signs of Spring.  At first I was worried that it would go as well as my search for livestock last weekend, but I am happy to report that Spring is on its' way!  Even though the sedum is still hanging on to the rusty reds of Winter, there was a definite sighting of Spring here in the gardens.

The daffodils are starting to poke through the remains of the leaves from last Fall.  Their tips are a bit yellowed from the cold temps we've been having at night, but they are really doing well - don't you think?  Soon they'll be popping up all over the place.  Spring is coming!

And as if to prove that nice weather is planned for the weekend...

The cows are out in the fields today - just strolling around, munching on grass, enjoying the sun.

Daffodils.  Cows.  What more could a girl ask for?

Where Is Everybody?

I haven't had a chance to just get outside and enjoy one of the best parts about living in the country for a week or so now, so today when the opportunity came knocking, I grabbed my truck keys and headed out the door.  I had a mission already in mind.  I was going to go see the cows.

I love watching the cows out in the fields grazing and resting.  Just hanging out with their friends, chewing cud.  Nothing much going on.  All calm and relaxed.  I know just the spot to get a good view.

No cows.  Well, it is snowing a little bit, maybe the geese will be in the field down the road.  I've been watching them come back from their winter vacation down south.

No geese. Okay.  How about those chickens that are always out next to the old barn?

No chickens.  The wild turkeys next to the tree line?

No turkeys.  Okay, I guess that is to be expected.  There doesn't look like there's much in the way of leftovers in this field.  There's another dairy farm down the road though.  Their cows might be out.

No even a crow.  Perhaps in the south pasture?

I know!  They are probably all down by the pond.  I see them there all the time when storms are coming through.  They must be there.

Alright.  No cows.  What about the sheep then?  They're always out.  They have built-in sweaters.  A little flurry or two isn't going to drive them inside.

Fine.  No sheep.  I'll just go see the horses.  They never go in before dark unless there's a lot of snow on the ground.

Maybe they went next door?

Am I the only one foolish enough to be outside today?

I guess so.  Time to go home for a nice cup of hot cocoa.  No cows, but the snow stopped and the sun is out.  Looks like it's going to be a good day to be outside after all - and they all missed it!

Footsteps in the Snow

This morning I was greeted by a carpet of snow.  Surprise!  Crunchy, slippery, heavy, wet snow.

It was great just hearing it crunch as I walked down the driveway to the truck.  Little footprints from nighttime visitors crisscrossed the patio explaining clearly why my puppy was so excited last night.  But now there was nothing but a still calm and the crunching snow underfoot.

There's no way I can possibly complain about 2 tiny little inches of snow in mid-January this year.  It was warmer than this weekend.  The snow slid off of the truck in big clumps.  No trees were falling.  No roofs needed shoveling off.  There's not enough to shovel - let alone plow.

There wasn't even enough to stick to the road for slush or ice.

I could get used to this.

Geese Hill

For the past couple of weeks this flock of geese has been camped out on the hillside next to this little pond.  I get why they are here.  It's a nice pond and the sun warms up the hill - a great place to swim and lie in the sun.  But even for geese, there has to be more - don't you think?

And there is!  Right across the street from the pond is this lovely field of cut corn.  Plenty to eat, a pond to swim in and a hill to sun on.  What more could you ask for?  You know, if you are a goose.

These guys are Canada Geese, Branta canadensis.  This time of year they fly over our town, stopping at the ponds and cornfields to rest up before they fly further south.  The first flocks start coming to town at the beginning of October, the last will come through in December.

Sometimes in January we get a late flock flying in.  They usually stay here for the rest of the winter.  I figure that they come from way up north in Canada so when they get here, they think it's a tropical paradise - temps in the -20s, snow and ice everywhere.  They must come from a really cold place.