What's your yard look like?

[Serge Darveau 1,137]

Still having snow in my yard...

[Barb Bliss 4,463]

I planted my first annuals into my yard yesterday.  The front yard is around 50% done.  Yea!  If I don't fall apart before then and the weather cooperates, I should be able to finish up the front this week.

[Adam 510]

5 minutes ago, Barb Bliss said:

I planted my first annuals into my yard yesterday.  The front yard is around 50% done.  Yea!  If I don't fall apart before then and the weather cooperates, I should be able to finish up the front this week.

I'd like to get my annuals in, but I just don't trust the weather yet. 

[Barb Bliss 4,463]

9 minutes ago, Adam said:

I'd like to get my annuals in, but I just don't trust the weather yet. 

That's what garage sale sheets are for.  😉

[Barb Bliss 4,463]

@Adam was right.  I dug up most of my annuals and stuck them in pots.  smh 🤬

On the bright side, some neighbors stopped in to say hi before the big storms hit.  The way she was waddling, I think she's in the family way.

[Adam 510]

5 hours ago, Barb Bliss said:

@Adam was right.  I dug up most of my annuals and stuck them in pots.  smh 🤬

On the bright side, some neighbors stopped in to say hi before the big storms hit.  The way she was waddling, I think she's in the family way.

 

I would have been happy not to be right about something like that. I'm still holding off on my annuals, although I did replace a hydrangea today.

[Barb Bliss 4,463]

1 hour ago, Adam said:

I would have been happy not to be right about something like that. I'm still holding off on my annuals, although I did replace a hydrangea today.

The storm is curling around to be north north west now.  

[Barb Bliss 4,463]

On 5/7/2019 at 7:42 PM, Barb Bliss said:

@GhostChopper, Your wish is my command.  Day 1 of the second pass.  Hostas starting to pop up.  If we get the rain we're supposed to get tomorrow, they should jump up.

There would be more tulips at the side of the house, but there were some squirrel decapitations.  I put a bowl of water after I saw the carnage, and thankfully no more poor tulips have lost their blooms since.

Street view:

 

Sidewalk view:

@GhostChopper, A lot has changed in a couple of weeks.

Note: pay no attention to frost protection sheets in the first shot.  It got down to 36 over night.

 

[GhostChopper 472]

16 hours ago, Barb Bliss said:

@GhostChopper, A lot has changed in a couple of weeks.

Note: pay no attention to frost protection sheets in the first shot.  It got down to 36 over night.

 

They all look quite healthy! How do you keep the weeds from growing? The wood chips?

[Barb Bliss 4,463]

3 minutes ago, GhostChopper said:

They all look quite healthy! How do you keep the weeds from growing? The wood chips?

Yeah.  Use shredded versus chips though.  Helps keep them from floating away.  It doesn't help with the tree seedlings, but they are easier to pull through the mulch.  Once I get the tree seedlings out of the way, I spend about 10 minutes a week to weed my entire yard.  Neil and Mark across the street and I have a little game we play.  When I'm doing my spring work and are pulling tree seedlings they say "Nanner nanner boo boo".  When they are cutting their grass and edging I say "Nanner nanner boo boo" back to them.  Another help is to put newspaper under the mulch.  That's too much putzing for me, but I know people that do that and swear by it.

[Barb Bliss 4,463]

The neighbors stopped by again.  😘

[Adam 510]

I have an old high school friend who lives in Colorado now, and this is the view from her house today, May 21...

[Thomas Browne 1,701]

1 minute ago, Adam said:

I have an old high school friend who lives in Colorado now, and this is the view from her house today, May 21...

Yeah - I have some friends out in Colorado Springs - and they were 'complaining' about that a couple of days ago.

[WxCougar 1,684]

I'll be happy all we are seeing is rain.  For a place that gets only about 5" a year, we received almost a half inch overnight. Not so good with the rivers as swollen as they are - but so far, no major flooding again.  In a few months we will be wishing for rain.

[Barb Bliss 4,463]

4 hours ago, Adam said:

I have an old high school friend who lives in Colorado now, and this is the view from her house today, May 21...

All I see is this...

[Barb Bliss 4,463]

5 hours ago, Barb Bliss said:

The neighbors stopped by again.  😘

I need to walk back and forth, so I gave them some cracked corn (I had bought for the ice when the hardware store was out of sand) as a peace offering.  They ate the corn and then waddled away.  Since then I've had the song "Jimmy Cracked Corn and I don't care" rattling around in my brain.

[GhostChopper 472]

6 hours ago, Barb Bliss said:

All I see is this...

No people, but deff snow and chairs

[Barb Bliss 4,463]

Apparently my pergola is a highly desirable destination.  I just watched a squirrel trying to do his thing on the pergola, but was chased away by a pecking mama mallard duck.  They went back and forth for about 5 minutes.  Theater at 6 am.  I can't tell if she's nesting or if she just spent the night there and is a cranky riser.  She obviously blends in quite nicely for now, but once the vine wakes up, she'll stick out like a sore thumb.  Apparently my going in and out of the house was too unsettling for the robin as she abandoned the nest she started.  You can see what's left of it at the bottom of the picture.

Note: shot through a screen and a window that hasn't been cleaned yet this spring.

[Barb Bliss 4,463]

She's still there this morning, in the exact same spot, in spite of a rain storm last night.  She has to be roosting.  Not sure how she's going to get the chicks down from there.

[Zoe 686]

That is a very curious place for her to roost, indeed?! You'll have to keep us updated.

[Konas 2,958]

3 hours ago, Barb Bliss said:

She's still there this morning, in the exact same spot, in spite of a rain storm last night.  She has to be roosting.  Not sure how she's going to get the chicks down from there.

Ducks are some of my favorite foods. Get your shot gun ready!!!!!

[Konas 2,958]

I am not saying to shoot a roosting duck. Give the kids a few months to fatten up first.

[Barb Bliss 4,463]

1 minute ago, Konas said:

I am not saying to shoot a roosting duck. Give the kids a few months to fatten up first.

😢  She's sitting in the rain, on her precious eggs, with her no good partner no where to be found.  Men...

[Zoxe 963]

Efforts this morning resulted in a lot of sawdust.

[Barb Bliss 4,463]

9 hours ago, Zoxe said:

Efforts this morning resulted in a lot of sawdust.

I'm glad the only limbs cut are of the wood variety.  Way too wet to do anything outside today. 

I occasionally checked out my mama duck.  She's always in the same spot.  I did some research.  She's most likely spending 20-23  hours a day on the nest.  When she takes off for some water and food, she covers the eggs with leaves and down to help keep the heat in.  28 days is the typical amount of time before the eggs hatch., so almost 3 more weeks to wait.  The vines are starting to wake up.  I hope they don't go into "steroids mode" until after the chicks hatched.