June 14, 2026
Blogger has been giving me issues, particularly refusing to let me post photos. I wanted to show you the owl box being put up. That involved a lot of bug bites, bushwhacking and sweat, but we are happy with its place over on the back side of the property, in a place far away from trails and roads. A few years ago, on a walk through the area, I encountered two fluffy owlets watching me curiously from above, so I know the owls like the territory.
I'm pretty sure the Gray catbird is nesting in the lilac bushes. It is quite a dense tangle, and the birds frequent it all the time. We've seen her popping in and out, foraging for bugs on the ground throughout the flower bed. Eastern phoebes have a nest up under the eaves of the verandah, and Hubby was sure he heard little peeping sounds yesterday. An American robin has chosen to nest in the top of one of the pyramidal cedars out front, just under the eaves, behind the drip line of the verandah. Robins have tried that spot before, unsuccessfully, as Blue jays raided the nest that time. We also found the robin's nest in the woodshed on the ground...raided we think by raccoons. The same critters, and perhaps maybe a skunk has been doing some unauthorized cultivating here and there in the food and flower beds, so everything is strategically covered in screens and hardware cloth. Once the plants get big enough, I'll feel okay with removing the deterrents. The deer have been doing a little nibbling on my fruit trees, so a batch of homemade anti-deer spray is being concocted to go into service before the store-bought stuff runs out. Gardening is an on-going battle. Yesterday the trail cameras showed a new member of the herd, a tiny, spotted fawn following her mom by one of the cameras. A new inductee into the art of garden raiding.....
Mother Nature has been good and consistent about giving us sufficient rain and warm temperatures, so watering has not been needed, although we are ready, with the big tanks pumped full.
The gardens are starting to show their mettle. Now is my favourite time, waiting, watching and doing regular maintenance on the plants. Every early morning garden reconnoitre is a new adventure.
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Our gardens are just booting along. My beans are starting to climb the lattice. We have a renovation project that is going to involve my snowball bushes getting stomped on as of tomorrow. They will rebound next year. We haven't seen any deer this year, but we have the cutest little fox who plays with the cat food dish we put out for the feral cats.
ReplyDeleteIt was a bit nippy last night. My basil did not like it at all. We have seen our resident fox regularly of late, trotting across the yard, looking so red against all the greenery.
DeleteYour post was a day late showing on my feed, it's happening with other blogs, Blogger is a pain.
ReplyDeleteHave had to download a new browser, so hope things will work better with it.
DeleteBlogger is victimizing you in more ways than one it seems. This post just now showed up in my reading list. Yes, gardening does have the elements of battle sometimes. It is not for the faint of heart. We just returned from the bioblitz at my daughter’s place in Maberly. There were many highlights including a Black Bear, Luna Moth, Clearwing Moth, Whip-poor-wills, young American Robins leaving the nest right before our eyes, plants new to us still awaiting ID - and so on. Hope your blogger woes get resolved soon. Best wishes - David
ReplyDeleteIt has been frustrating. Why, after 6 years of posting, it refused to do pics....??
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing a post about your bioblitz. A Luna moth is on my bucket list. The fire flies have been putting on a nightly show here.
It may take a while. We are heading to Vancouver Island on Friday morning and will be gone until the end of the month.
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