Hello Spring!

...and here we are, one month later, welcoming Spring 2018. What a treat that she chose to arrive with blue skies, unseasonably warm weather, and full floral display. This just might be my favorite season. 

A Busy Week in the Neighborhood

There's never a good time to suffer through the flu, but this week was the best time to recover from Flu: Round Two. I had planned on hours of television time, watching Sochi Winter Olympic events, clicking from station to station on US and Canadian channels. I did some of that, but there's only so much curling I can view before dozing off.

No chance of dozing when the rumble of heavy equipment invades the neighborhood. Vroom, vroom! Thud! Crash! More vroom, vroom! Chunk by chunk a neighbor's house disappeared, knocked down by one man with a tracked Komatsu machine with a toothed bucket. Demolition is noisy and exciting. 

The next day the world outside my window turned black and white, blanketed by a light dusting of snow. Such a lovely visual gift, though not appreciated by anyone who had to traverse Seattle's hills on that day. It was a good day to stay inside and enjoy the view, in between naps and Olympic events. 

Later in the week I thought it curious that a group of crows kept doing power dives past the upstairs window, flashing by close to my reading chair. Local crows are known to pester osprey and eagles in flight, just for fun or hoping to steal something edible. It's hard to ignore large, winged objects hurtling past your head just feet away so I stepped to the window to check out the action. What a circus as crow after crow swooped down to harass an osprey that had landed in a neighboring yard. Oops! one young crow might have misjudged his approach and was now captured - osprey prey - soon to be osprey dinner.  

This was quite an interesting week in the neighborhood. Flu recovery wasn't at all boring.  

Osprey in the Yard

More precisely, the osprey was in a tree, but just barely. How DID that large bird balance all of its bulk on the slender, flexible, topmost leader branch of our cedar tree? and WHY was he in the area? Neighbor Marcie reports that osprey are common around the lake, sighting them frequently near the Rowing Center. How is it that this is the first osprey we have ever seen or heard locally?  An osprey's call is distinctive, loud and piercing enough to draw the attention of even non-birding humans. It was this repeated high-pitched call (link) that prompted us to stop and look up. The bird remained in place for ages, perched comfortably atop a 65-foot tree, long enough for us to grab the cameras and snap off a series of shots to use for identification. 

The wicked-looking curved beak indicated the bird was a flesh-eating raptor, but it definitely was not an eagle or a hawk. A comparison of our shots with some bird book photos and several on-line images indicated it was an osprey (Pandion haliaetus). Click here for a brief but interesting article about osprey. 

For some impressive still images of osprey in flight, visit Graham Owen's website, or check out this brief BBC YouTube video of an osprey fishing (link). These birds are impressive, sitting still or in motion. Capturing an image of an airborne osprey might become a new photo challenge, paired with my ongoing effort for improved eagle action images (link). 

Old-fashioned Twig Fences

A daily walk could quickly become boring, a thoughtless routine that provides fresh air, exercise and some level of satisfaction in the knowledge that it's a healthy pursuit. Could become boring? maybe, but not lately, certainly not in our neighborhood. Beyond the neon colors of Spring flowers, clouds of petals falling from blooming fruit trees, noisy songbirds darting about in the bushes, waterfront activity around the park shoreline... beyond all that, there's always some small scene to stop a walker in their tracks. 

Today I spotted some raised beds being readied for planting and was intrigued by the twig fences dotting the property. It felt like a step back in time to an era when such handwork was routine, when fencing wasn't supplied by the nearest big box store, and when nothing, even pruned branches, would go to waste.

Now I'm tempted to prune the ornamental fruit trees in our yard and create something with the branches, maybe weave a basket to line with moss and display on the deck. Or maybe I'll put that notion in my Someday File, my file folder of good intentions, and focus instead on 2013 cruising preparation. Spring does force me to make choices.

Fast Pheasant Footwork

In recent weeks I've caught a brief glimpse of some long-tailed, two-legged critter dashing along the fence line, infrequent sightings that were more a blur of motion rather than a real sighting. What was that quick-darting thing? Today a pair of squabbling squirrels must have distracted the bird, causing it to pay less attention to me as I sneaked outside with iPhone in hand, trying to capture an image. 

My motion made him cautious, nervous about the antics of the squirrels and wary of my approach. He darted under the rhododendrons, turned toward the squirrels, reversed and headed back toward the lake and finally took flight, clearing the fence and landing two yards away. 

The photos are blurry, but they definitely show a common or ring-necked pheasant (link) racing toward the lake. Now I'm curious to know more about this species, unusual in my immediate neighborhood but common throughout the Pacific Northwest. Did this guy escape from a penned or netted enclosure? Does he live in nearby Seward Park? Will he ever return now that I have startled him? 

Ready and Waiting for Summer

Photo: doesn't this look inviting?!

The south deck has suddenly sprouted spots of color, in keeping with the vivid blooms of the rhododendrons in the background. I can only imagine the laughter and good times that will fill up this space as the weather warms up. Good choice, Laci. 

Set the Clock Back? No! Forward

It's that time of year again, time to lose an hour of sleep as we set the clocks for Daylight Savings Time. Time to fool the body clock into thinking it's time to wake up an hour earlier. My brain will not be fooled by this clock adjustment. 


Mother Nature is doing a number on us at the same time. It seems to happen every year. The cherry blossoms are out,

the daffodils are in full, glorious bloom,

the clematis is sending out shoots and climbing up its trellis,

even the Asian pear trees are setting buds,

while the TV weather folks keep talking about the possibility of more snow. Nature's idea of a joke, perhaps? Tantalizing us with promises of Spring and then dropping another dusting of Winter snow? I revel in this wild transitional weather, as long as there are a few days of sunshine thrown into the mix.

Neighborhood Thief

This little critter may look cute and harmless, but don't be taken in by his innocent appearance. He's a thief at heart, a bad guy twice over who shows no signs of remorse for his past misdeeds. Oh no, instead he's back casing the grounds daily looking for new opportunities.

I used to scare him with a toy squirt gun, chase him out of the nearby vine maple in the courtyard, away from that tempting suet feeder. It was a hopeless effort of course, but he did learn to scamper away when he saw me move toward the door. Then one day he boldly stole the whole suet block, metal cage and all. No, I didn't catch him in the act, but he was the most likely culprit. The flickers and downy woodpeckers were certainly not suspects.

Sigh. I walked to the Seward Park Audubon Center and invested way too much money in a large seed feeder that was advertised as "squirrel proof". Imagine that, just the thing to confound my pesky squirrel. I gleefully hung the new feeder on the same branch in the same tree as the missing suet feeder. Gotcha, Mr. Squirrel.

Sigh. Now that feeder is gone too. I'm left with a 10-pound bag of birdseed and no feeder to put it in. Damned cheeky rodent! I do have to admire his go-gettum attitude... just a little. Be on the lookout in your neighborhood, I'm encouraging him to move on.

  

Signs of Spring in Winter

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Early Perennials in My Garden


January 15, 2012

February 11, 2012

... and dozens more primroses to add, just because I couldn't resist a few promising days of sunshine.

Who Stole the Pretty Leaves?

Last week's sunshine lit up the landscape, spotlighting the neon reds, oranges, yellows and golds of Fall colors in the neighborhood. This seasonal display drew my eye up to stunning tall trees and down to tiny deciduous shrubs. Jack Frost? Nature's Paintbrush? There was color everywhere, right here in the Evergreen State. 


And suddenly, it ended. The view changed, along with the weather forecasts.   

Last week...

...this week.

Asian pear trees changing color...

... and dropping leaves.

Leaves on the ground, snow in the mountains; winter is almost here. I'm not complaining, oh no. Last year on this date (link) we had snow on the ground here at home. I vote to keep any snow up in the mountains until 2012.

Grass Project Update

A few days ago Ron added more grass seed. Since then we have seen more sun than rain and the daytime temperatures have risen a bit. All good things. In the encouraging warmth of today's sunshine you can watch the grass grow... well, almost. Those vivid green shoots are getting taller by the hour, except in those annoying bare spots where they haven't even sprouted yet.

Patience, besides grass, I really need to grow some patience.

Green Grass Report... sort of

That's it, the new lawn after three weeks of mixed weather conditions. We have seen downpours, windstorms, nearly freezing overnight temperatures and the occasional sunny day that approached sixty degrees. This is Springtime in Seattle, with its notorious "just wait 15 minutes and conditions will change" weather. Skiers revel in several inches of new snow dumped on nearby mountains while joggers run in the parks dressed in tank tops and shorts. Myself, I vote for warm and sunny.

Sigh, I really wanted magic. Instead I have an invitation to develop patience, to embrace delayed gratification, to visualize green. Give me patience... nah, give me green!!

Timing is everything... oh, yeah.

I'm just too disappointed to venture outside with the camera right now, to dodge the raindrops and fight the wind gusts. Perhaps I'm avoiding reality, I really don't want to know what the lawn area looks like until this storm passes... whenever it finally passes. I suspect there are gullies, ridges and new little ponds appearing everywhere and the grass seed is making like boats and sailing away. Or not. What's up with a sudden winter storm in springtime?


Maybe it won't be catastrophic. Updates will be provided... whenever.

The Grass Project

Spring is here! it is officially noted, and even printed on the calendar. It’s exuberant presence is on display everywhere.

Our lone Royal Anne cherry, three Asian pear and four ornamental fruit trees are in full riotous bloom, several weeks ahead of schedule. 

I rescued a huge bundle of trimmed cherry branches to enjoy a fresh Spring bouquet inside the house, but I can't force myself to cut anything else blooming in the yard. Spring flowers belong outdoors (besides, daffodils and the like make me sneezy and teary-eyed).

A neighboring Saucer Magnolia is covered with pink blossoms, each massive flower the size of a large nosegay. Today it presents an amazing seasonal display outside the second-story window in my office, and it offers some functional summer shade later in the year.

Our neon yellow daffodils have begun to fade just as the shockingly bright tulips are opening. Vivid waves of squill and ranunculas light up the flower beds, self-seeding and spreading in random patterns.  Rhododendrons flaunt a heavy sprinkling of buds that are just beginning to open, showing traces of pale pinks and deep purples, a preview of things to come. The weeds and mosses are thriving too.

…and then there’s the lawn. Sigh. It is old and has not aged well, worn out in its battle against critters, invasive weeds and enthusiastic mosses. At one time it was vigorous and putting-green smooth, but lately it has developed wrinkles of yellowing mounds and boggy dips (thank you earthquakes, burrowing mountain beavers, and assorted other challenges). Even the new Spring growth looks tired, a bit ragged and sparse, fighting a losing battle against the massed enemies.

Solution? Out with the old and in with a newly-seeded lawn. While we work to keep the grass seed moist, I will also be working on my patience . I can’t wait to see the first hint of green shoots. C’mon Spring, work your magic on my wannabe lawn!

The Grass Project (my version)

Step 1. Strip off the old sod and cart it away.

Step 2. Lower the humps and fill in the hollows. 

Step 3. Bring in some topsoil, grade for drainage, compact it and level it all out.

Step 4. Apply grass seed and the appropriate fertilizer, lime, and whatever else it takes to encourage a sturdy, luxurious growth and discourage cutworms, moss, etc.

Step 5. Water lightly and frequently until green shoots appear and healthy roots  develop.

Now stay tuned for upcoming Green Grass reports.