The week that was...

 May 17, 2026

 This was Monday....

We had a torrential downpouring of hail. With the wind and cool temperatures, one could be excused for beginning to think that warmth would never come.

Gradually the week has warmed up, until the last two nights, when the temperatures have held above 10C (50F), and all my seedlings have stayed out on the verandah overnight. Today it is 23C (73F), and finally it is verandah weather for us as well as the plants!

A few things got accomplished. We replaced the rotting framing on raised garden bed #4 with thick cedar boards that Hubby milled for this purpose. Number 4 was the third bed we created either in 2017 or 2018, framed with poplar lumber the previous owner had left, so it has lasted pretty well. 

Over the last couple of warm days, leaves are coming out, blooms are swelling, and this morning my little plum tree has gone from bud,

To bloom....

 Our lilac bush is going to put on a really good show this year. There are tight little grape-like bud clusters all over it. 

 Back in the bush we saw moose tracks, and when the camera chips were checked...

On Bird Camera, a pretty White-throated sparrow, 

a Red-winged black-bird, his red epaulets showing up much better now, as the breeding season advances. 

Finally, "Are you looking at me??"

A curious Rose-breasted Grosbeak. 

Found while bush wandering, a beautiful blooming aromatic patch of Trailing Arbutus, and later in the week, on another hike,

lots of White trilliums. 

Most of the expected migrant birds are back, the Chestnut-sided warbler and Veery were the latest arrivals. Between the frog song at night from around the pond, and the bird music by day, there is no peace and quiet here any more!

Orange and yellow, black and white, red, blue and grey....

May 10, 2026

The migrants are filtering in, filling the yard and bush with song. Some warblers and some thrushes have arrived. Yellow-rumped, and Black-throated blue warblers; Hermit thrush, Wood thrush, Northern water thrush and Oven bird. Blue-headed vireos have been here for a week or so. 

In a flash of beautiful orange and black, a male Baltimore Oriole showed up early this week, hung around for a day, then another male showed up. They harassed each other a bit, decimated the oranges we put out for them, ignored the nectar, and have now moved on. How brilliantly orange they were, sitting up in the crab-apple tree, surrounded by spring-green baby leaves, in the morning sunlight. 

The results....

The male Rose-breasted grosbeaks arrived a few days ago, and have just started to sing around the clearing now that the girls are here as well. 

We spotted this guy, perched high in a cedar tree singing, with the morning sun warm on him. 

I splurged on some expensive finch food and filled a tube feeder. It goes down by thirds every day.

Purple finches, Gold finches and particularly Chipping sparrows are enjoying it. The Grosbeaks perch precariously on the little pegs and flutter their wings madly, trying to feed from it as well. 

A few pictures off of the Bird Camera.

A Blue jay, looking so jaunty in his spring duds...

One of the Orioles, looking puffed and chilled, even though the temperature wasn't too low that day.

 

A favourite of mine. White-throated sparrow. 

There is a flock of about a dozen hanging out, foraging beneath the tray and finch feeders every morning, accompanied by a couple of White-crowned sparrows.

Grackles and Red-wings are still here, and this morning a couple of Brown-headed cowbirds appeared among them. The Chickadees are scarce, no longer frequenting the feeders, and just one lone Junco was seen this morning. 

There have been very few days that the temperature has risen enough to even begin putting plants out to harden off, and even those warmer days have been accompanied by a brutal wind. There are a few asparagus spears poking up, and maybe tomorrow there will be enough to harvest. Some perennials have been moved, the raised beds have been broad-forked, and some lettuce and radish seeds are in. The broccoli and cabbage seedlings have been planted out with wind protection. They germinated and grew in the hot frame, so no hardening off was needed. The onion sets are slowly, slowly poking  green leaves up, but so far, no sign of the peas.  

Tightly sheathed green blossom buds are visible everywhere on the crab apple tree, always the first tree around to leaf out, and this is it's biennial year for bearing; but apple tree buds are just starting to visibly enlarge, too soon to see bloom buds, and one can just begin to vaguely see darker tips on the lilac bushes, where blooms will be. 

 By this date in May, black flies are usually out, but it is too cool, so no sign of them. We have had a fire every morning so far, and on several days, including today, have kept it going all day long. 

I guess this is what the old folks call a 'late spring'. 

 

 

 

"Hey-ey-ey snowflake".......

 May 2, 2026

Yes...snowflakes. The odd white fluff is drifting down today. 

'Nuff said.

We had a couple of warm, sunny days where tree blooms and spring shoots jumped...then it cooled right down and everything stalled. I did get my onion sets in early in the week, and if you look carefully now, you can see some bravely poking their heads up a tiny bit. Peas are in and the brassica bed is broad-forked, and the planting holes prepped. One of my baby plum trees will be a bevvy of blossom, as there are tons of little growing bloom bumps on it. The other, twice deer denuded, is showing nothing, still in shock from last spring.

We've had a busy week, started to make an inroad on the wood to be split and piled, and the big one...replacing our 20 year old solar panel array with new, bi-facial panels. Because these panels are bigger, new mounting holes had to be drilled in the aluminum frame, and it just happens that some of the needed holes lined up with the steel cross-bracing, so the panels are not aligned nicely like the old array, but hey.. it works! We ran into a few glitches, but Hubby has worked them out. 

So, from this...

 to this...

with the help of this...

The first Ruby-throated Hummer arrived here on the last day of April, I saw him a few times at the feeder, but he has since vanished. A pair of Blue birds showed up, hung around the clearing for a day, and have also since left. The White-throated sparrow is calling from the edges, and a Phoebe pair is working on a nest over the door of an outbuilding. Things are pretty quiet in the bird department, with this cool, breezy weather.

Last week's Bird Cam caught a few interesting posers. 

A Northern Flicker, 

Chipping Sparrow,

Red-winged Blackbird,

White-breasted Nuthatch,

and a Junco, giving the camera a side-eye.

I can see that there have been tufts pulled out of the wool roving ball tied up on the tree branch, so someone is busy making a nest somewhere.  

 All the garden plants are doing well under lights, most have been up-potted and it amazes me that I can still get everyone under light with a bit of rearranging, and a few flats of plants on window sills. 

Now that the panels are installed, it will be back to the 'chopping block' to complete filling the woodshed before the biting insects arrive.