Just Before Summer: 10 Days in Photos

Here's a look at 10 days in the garden in mid- to late May.

Ah, this was before the lettuce bolted and we still had kale.

I saw the rabbit as I walked to my car to go to work. So far, it has stayed away from the veggie boxes. Could it be true that nasturtiums really do repel rabbits? Or does a mix of fragrant herbs confuse the bunny's sense of smell? We have rue, oregano, thyme, basil, dill, sage, parsley, cilantro, catnip, and probably more that I'm forgetting. I feel a superstitious sense that as I write this the bunny is out there munching...

The peony flower's life span is short. The peonies are done, a bedraggled mass of tattered pinkish white petals turning brown. But how beautiful to watch them unfold. 

Birds are peeping everywhere in the yard. For days, every time I walked in the backyard I heard rustlings and flutterings in the bushes as a group of four tiny Carolina wrens moved about. This little one is too young to have tail feathers. Adorable!

This is an unknown but very tall rose bush (more than 8 feet high) with lovely translucent pink flowers.

The cherry tomato plants were the first to begin flowering. 

A view of the side yard. In early spring, we took out a deck that took up much of the yard, including the sunniest spot, where the veggie boxes are now. 

The star jasmine is growing well off the front porch. 

The white-breasted nuthatch is one of the most common birds seen at our feeder. Today I saw a juvenile nuthatch sit on top of the pole with its mouth open and the parent feed it with seeds.

A fading but still beautiful rose. 

I am continuing to take daily photos in the garden. Please visit again in a few days for the next set of 10!

Carolina Wrens' New Home

Fortunately, there is no reason to decide which is my favorite bird - bluebirds or Carolina wrens. Both are nesting within feet of the front of the house. The wrens began home-building one day last week when the impatiens in the hanging basket grew tall enough to conceal a nest.

Wrens love to hop. One lands on the deck railing and looks up to the flower basket before taking a leap upward.

The nest is fairly obvious (note messy-looking leaf pile) from inside the house, but is well-concealed from the other three sides. The wrens first excavated a hole in the dirt, then brought old, soft leaves to line the nest. It has a side entrance, from which the wren below is exiting.

I presume the mother is sitting on her eggs as I speak. I've been working too much to monitor the nest closely. 

The wrens built their home as we prepare to leave ours. We're moving at the end of the month. I think I envy the birds their lack of possessions. No need for complicated logistics and expensive movers. Select a pot of flowers, move some leaves, and in one day - new home. 

Carolina Wrens Do the Craziest Things

I was settling in on a dark and drizzly afternoon to watch the North Carolina - Maryland basketball game when a movement outside the window caught my eye. A Carolina wren hopped up from the back of a rocking chair on the porch and took shelter on top of the weight of this wind chime. It's still there, half an hour and several slightly blurred photos later. 

Carolina wrens always make me smile. They're the loudest, most curious, cheerful and fearless of small birds. Any open door or new object in the yard must be investigated. One briefly flew into the house the other day when we had the door open. Do you see the little beak peeking down? Words cannot express the pleasure this little bird gave me on a day of too many tasks and errands.

Carolina Wrens' Umbrella Nest

Today's dilemma: Do I let the Carolina wrens continue building a nest on top of the table umbrella? We hadn't used the umbrella since Friday, and by Sunday, I noticed that wrens carrying twigs and leaves were busy flying into the ficus tree on the back porch, then hopping upwards into the corner of the eaves.

A peek outside the door revealed a nest under construction. I give the wrens high marks for energy (as always) but rather a low grade for nest design. It looks like a small, sloppy leaf pile. Perhaps wrens prefer comfort to style. A quick look in Charlotte Hilton Green's "Birds of the South" confirms the impression - the author notes that "wren families have been raised in the pockets of old coats, in old cups, broken gourds, discarded basins."

As I write this, I realize I already am attached to the idea of the wrens nesting there. I adore Carolina wrens.  Fearless and curious, they investigate everything new in the yard. They seem to have an affinity for anything man-made - shoes, buckets, garden tools, rain barrels. An open shed door is an invitation to enter.

An attractive brown with yellow breast, the Carolina wren usually has an upturned tail as it perches or hops around investigating. I often identify its singing simply by sheer volume - as the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology says, it has "one of the loudest songs per volume of bird." It seems to have dozens of different songs, which it sings like a stage pro, with head thrown back and beak opened wide.

So I'll make the trade - lunches on the back porch in the shade of the umbrella for the pleasure of watching these little birds raise a family. Not too difficult a decision, as rains of the last week produced a side effect - mosquitoes.