When we first moved to the farm, the land had been completely cleared around the house, or maybe had never been planted in the first place. Anyway, the folks we bought from had added a few trees and bushes, but not much. There were no birds to be seen! I found this amazing, but I learned that they won't come unless you provide enough cover. Well, I sure hammered that nail!
Last year I spied a ruby-crowned kinglet on the sedum for a few minutes, then he was gone not to be seen again. An entire flock of cedar waxwings hung out for days until every berry was gone off the Amalachier trees shading the porch. And I almost drove the car into our neighbors peach orchard when a pileated woodpecker flew across the road in front of me. Pileateds are crow sized black birds with pointed red head tufts like a cardinal. They are extremely shy and rarely seen, even by avid birders. I was freekin' squeaking with delight at my good fortune.
Back in the 80’s, I started marking my bird book every time I saw something new. I note the date and where I made the sighting. It’s fun to look over the earlier notes. This week, an indigo bunting stopped by for a couple of days and gave me a new entry for my life list.
Here we have Dillon laying underneath the shelf feeder - he’s trying to look up the girl birdies’ skirts. Actually, the birds pay no attention to him. They even hop around him picking up seeds. He does draw the line when they *drop* seeds on him, however. We have our standards, you know.
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Remember the Nantucket Cranberry Pie (cake) I made last Christmas? If you don’t, the recipe is here. Well, my rhubarb stand was ready for harvest for the first time ever, so I thought I would try the recipe with that, instead of cranberries. I am happy to report, it was delish. Give it a try! You won’t be sorry. Just the right amount of tart. Don’t try to skimp on the sugar, either.
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It has been a very strange spring weather wise. Very cool, so much so plants are all confused about when they are supposed to bloom. For example: the forsythia is in bloom now along with the apples and other ornamental trees, including the redbuds. Normally the redbuds pop first in early April, then the forsythia followed by the ornamentals. The wild ornamentals - I call them bird planted - are incredibly heavy with blooms, while the cultivated hardly had any blooms at all.
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The wren was very late this year…April 30th. I mark my garden perpetual calendar every year and he is usually very punctual…mid-April. Did you know the male makes SEVERAL nests and then invites the prospective bride to select the abode of her choice? Don’t you love that? Somebody should isolate that gene…I know just where I would like that inserted in the human genome along with a lemming like urge to go to Tiffanys. The wren sings his little guts out every morning while I am settling into the new day with my coffee and sudoku puzzle.
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We’re dusting off our hippy gear for a NJ Conservation Foundation event this Saturday. Barnstock! as in *Woodstock* - should be interesting. Peace, Man!
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OK, you vegetarians out there, close your eyes for this next piece. I made veal stock over the weekend. Man oh man, the house smelled incredible and NO, I DON’T FEEL GUILTY, so cross me off the Christmas list or something, if it will make you feel better. It’s all tucked away in the freezer. Just waiting. I have plans for it for a special dinner coming up, but that’s a tale for another day…
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Just to make it up to you, I leave you with a look at the farm waking up from winter.
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