A Whole Lot of Peeping Going On

Baby cardinals, the day before fledging

Yesterday it happened. The first clue was incessant peeping at mid-morning. I moved slowly to the window and saw a brown-feathered baby cardinal standing on the rim of the nest looking right at me. He flexed his wings, took a little hop, and landed on a branch just inches from the nest. I was amazed at witnessing this – and a little worried. Had I scared the cardinal into fledging too soon?

Baby cardinal gets ready to leave the nest.

Two babies remained in the nest, one quite active and one more sedate. I was fascinated by what happened next. Mama cardinal flew into the camellia, hopped up to the branch where the bold Baby Cardinal 1 sat and fed him. She stuck her beak into his open mouth several times, ignoring the loud peeping of the other babies, then flew off. I saw this scene repeat itself several times. Mama clearly was favoring the first cardinal out of the nest.

Baby cardinal 2 practices using his wings. 

Baby Cardinal 2 responded with more activity. He opened his wings. He hopped. Soon he was standing on the rim of the nest. Still, mama cardinal ignored him. Suddenly, he, too took the leap. He flapped his wings and behold! He landed on a higher branch, about two feet from the nest. It took mama cardinal about two more feedings to take notice of him. I cheered internally when mama returned and fed Baby Cardinal 2 first.

Baby Cardinal 2 ventures out of the nest.

Meanwhile, Baby Cardinal 3 had gone for well over an hour without food. I was concerned, but what could I do? I had to leave the house for a couple of hours. When I returned, I checked the nest. Baby Cardinal 3 was now out, awkwardly clutching a branch above the nest.  It stayed there for quite some time. Mama cardinal was nowhere in sight. Neither were the two other fledglings. 

Baby cardinal 3. Notice the lack of tail feathers.

I left the window, reluctantly, to get some things done. The weather had been unsettled all day, hot and humid, with occasional brief showers. A thunderstorm moved in and torrents of rain pounded the earth. I dashed to the window to look into the tree and see how Baby Cardinal 3 would respond to the rain. He was gone.

I haven’t seen the fledglings since. Several times, I walked through the garden looking for them. I could hear peeping everywhere. I tracked the peeping to some large red tip photinias in the neighbor’s yard, but couldn’t see the babies. Later, my husband saw what he thought was Baby Cardinal 1, making short flights between a maple and two camellias, with mama observing.

A Beautiful Iris

A purple iris lifts its petals in praise of spring and creation.

Japanese roof iris (Iris tectorum), a must for the shade garden

Can You Identify This Rhody?

Can you identify this rhododendron?  It's blooming a week or two early.

The rhododendron has grown to the roof line. When we moved to our house seven years ago,  it was two feet tall. It didn't bloom for several years, and I thought it was in too much shade.

When it bloomed three years ago, I was stunned, not only by the gorgeous color, but by the size of the blooms. They're nearly the size of my head (ok, I have a small head).

But I need your help. I haven't been able to determine what variety of rhododendron it is. Do you know?

Cardinal Nestlings, Two Days Older

The cardinal nestlings have changed noticeably in two days. I wasn't able to photograph them yesterday because it was chilly and rainy. Every time I looked, Mama Cardinal was on the nest, presumably keeping the babies warm. Today, the babies are darker and don't look quite so naked (see earlier photo). Still, they have a ways to go before they look like cardinals!

Baby cardinals nestle, with two on the bottom and a third in between and on top. 

Babies huddle quietly in between short bouts of peeping with mouths open wide.

Flowers, Love and Earth Day

Victoria Park Florist donated flowers to the NC
Botanical Garden Horticultural Therapy Program. 

A bucketful of flowers, slightly past their peak, has the power to transform someone’s day. We discovered this recently in doing horticultural therapy with men with severe brain injuries.

Fred cannot participate in most of our gardening projects because of damage to his hands. He often seems somewhere else, gazing into space and failing to respond to greetings or simple questions. Then a florist began donating flowers to our program.

When I placed the bucket of flowers on the table in front of Fred, he gave a rare smile. I began making small hand-tied flower arrangements, asking Fred to choose the flowers one by one as I placed them in the bouquet. He exhibited a nice sense of color and contrast, smiling almost the whole time. He even spoke a full sentence at one point. “I want the yellow one, there.” A small miracle.

Today we celebrate Earth Day. What more can we all do to share our love of flowers, plants and nature with others? I believe that love of nature in all its forms, not fear of destruction, is what ultimately will save us.

Baby Cardinals

Curious why the mother cardinal had stopped sitting on her nest, I took the screen off the upstairs window and peered into the camellia. To my joy, I saw three baby cardinals.

The wings are distinct on the baby cardinal. No awards for cuteness yet, however!

Baby cardinals sit in nest nicely shaded by a camellia branch.

Baby cardinal opens mouth wide for food.

A Walk in the Garden

The canopy is filling in, becoming greener each day.  I treasure this fleeting time of spring, when the days are warm and skies blue. The leaves are fresh green and new flowers open each day.  I'm spending as much time as possible outside, soaking up that too-short time between the last frost and the first mosquito. Here's some photos from the past week in my garden.

Entering the back garden

The pink azalea was spectacular this year.

Deer browse the azaleas in winter, creating a snow-capped effect

Woodland garden

Columbine (variety unknown),  one of several obtained
as  50-cent seedlings at the farmer's market last year

Phlox divaricata "Blue Moon"

Chrysogonum virginianum var. australe (Green and Gold) is my favorite groundcover,
spreading happily in poor soils and part shade.

Aquilegia canadensis (Eastern wild columbine)

Another of the surprise columbines from the farmer's market.

Iris tectorum (Japanese roof iris) spreads nicely in part shade.
I divided and transplanted them two weeks ago
and they bloomed without missing a beat. 

Tiarella cordifolia. One of my favorite Eastern woodland natives.

Iris cristata grows happily on slope shaded by oaks and hickories.

Ajuga reptans (bugleweed) and wild strawberry seeded itself under this hosta.