Time "Flies"

Sometimes things happen quickly. This picture of the fuzz balls was taken last week. They were eggs just two and a half weeks ago. Today I went out to take another picture and all the little birds flew from the nest, just like that. They haven't come back yet so maybe they are truly gone. It seems like they were just little bitty things and suddenly they are grown and flying away. Life is like that I guess. I just wasn't expecting it so soon. Sigh....

Berry Nice

They're happening! The first strawberries of the season from our tiny strawberry patch. I love fresh berries. Growing up on a farm in Oregon, I had some of the best berries in the world (no bias here, eh?). There are few things that taste better than a warm-from-the-sun, fresh picked strawberry. I remember picking strawberries as a summer job when I was a kid. I pretty much hated it. The berry plants were wet early in the morning. The ground was hard. I scooted along between the rows, trying to pick them without getting too many stems. The row boss would come behind where I'd picked to check my row and I would cringe with embarrassment if she found too many I'd missed. However, there were always cute crate boys to flirt with who would sometimes come along a help me pick for a bit. But the best part was being able to eat a strawberry whenever I wanted. Of course, if I ate too many, my crate wouldn't fill up too fast and I wouldn't make much money. Seems like I never made much money, anyway. Too much flirting maybe, or the fact that I just couldn't resist those warm, luscious strawberries. I still can't!

Those Pesky Pests

It rains...and rains...and rains. This is the wettest spring in a long time. We had a couple days of warmth and then the rain returned. I guess I should look at the bright side. I haven't had to hook up the irrigation system yet and things are growing in the garden. We have more greens than we can keep up with.

The newest garden challenge is keeping the quail out of the corn bed. Those little rascals have been eating off the tops of the newly sprouted corn shoots. I think at least half the corn is gone! I'm going to replant this weekend and put bird netting over the bed until the corn can get tall enough to fend for itself. I've never had so much trouble with the quail as I have this year. Earlier in the spring, they tried to munch down my sprouting sweet peas, too. My dad says quail are good eating. They'd better watch out or I could turn into a female Yosemite Sam, heading for the garden with guns blazing, yelling, "You gol-durned birds, get outta my corn!" Nah, I think I'll try the bird netting.

The other garden pest I have to deal with is the bunnies. One was out in the garden this evening, hopping between the beds, scoping things out. It's a cute little thing but definitely destructive. This year we've foiled them by putting a 2' chicken wire fence around the beds that contain the gourmet grocery, namely the greens, peas, carrots, parsnips, parsley, and beets. Last year they ate not only the beet greens but dug down and ate the tops of the beets as well. We got about four beets for the table. Hopefully, this year will be different. Like my neighbor, Don, said to me today as we compared garden pests, "It's always something."
He is absolutely right.

Signs of Spring

Spring comes slowly to the Palouse, or so it seems to me sometimes. This year's spring has been a wet one. The plants and garden are happier for it but I am ready for some warmer weather. One sure sign of spring is the birds flying about with scraps of grasses and such in their beaks. Their industriousness has resulted in many nests around our place. Some of the nests are already empty. Young robins are hopping about everywhere now. Some nests are still noisy with demanding little ones. Some, like this house finch's nest in my fuschia basket, are still quietly awaiting the hatchlings. And I quietly wait, too.