Spring progress

We're springing up, here in SE Ontario.

May


June

My cherry tomato plant! Hosta keeps it company.


I don't know if you can see them, but the milkweed plants are growing! You can see the shed in the background.

The monarch butterflies, speaking of milkweed, are moving up the continent. They've been laying eggs, dying off, and a new generation moves up to us. 

In the shed, Momma phoebe has 4 or 5 babies to feed.

We continue to have strange weather. Cool for June. I guess, for my retired teacher readers, it would make for a better school day. I remember those really hot days, when stuck in the hot classroom. Piddly little rains, as well. The mosquitoes are horrid. 

 It is perfect weather for the lilacs! I cut a bunch and brought them in. Annabelle smells suspiciously like lilacs. I remember Dorah, who always went after the flowers in a vase!

In the house, we heard a loud bang at 5:30 a.m. We both got up, there was Hooper sitting in the hallway, as if there was nothing wrong. Looking pretty innocent, too. It wasn't until later that day that I discovered the binoculars on the floor. 

JB has been borrowing videos from the library. Wallander is pretty good, from Swedish TV. We've also watched the BBC one.

Wallander (Swedish pronunciation: [valˈlanːdər]) is a Swedish television series adapted from Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander novels, starring Krister Henriksson in the title role. The first season of thirteen films was produced in 2005 and 2006, with one taken directly from a novel and the remainder with new storylines suggested by Mankell. The second season of thirteen films was shown between 2009 and 2010. The stories are set in Ystad, Skåne near the southern tip of Sweden.

This series has been good: "Janet King" (2014). They didn't have season one, but we got caught up pretty quickly on season 2. It's from ABC, Australia! Australia has passed same-sex marriage legislation, so this lesbian lawyer predates the change in laws (2017). Very interesting. The couple has IVF, and twins.

"Janet King is a legal drama airing on the ABC in Australia and Acorn TV in the United States. The show’s lead character is its namesake, Senior Crown Prosecutor Janet King, played by Marta Dusseldorp."

Things are hopping

The lilacs are in full blossom!


For those who like action! S/he checked out the shed, then went on its way.
Butch visits from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Daisy rests under the day lily and bleeding hearts.

Red-eyed vireo in the trees. Look up, look way up! Their song sounds like a conversation:
"How are you? I am fine. Where to now?"  This one I found a few years ago. Fun to see the red eyes.

Red-eyed Vireo from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
A cat was with me on this forest trip. You can hear him on the video. I think it was Hooper. They get upset when I stop to watch the birds! "Let's go! Let's go!"

In the meantime, Hooper has a friend in the back yard.

Drive-by spring shootings: fruit trees and dandelions!

Woodpecker on Cherry tree in better times

We'd ordered some bulbs from our granddaughter's school. Of course, they arrived AFTER they'd just visited. No worries. It was a beautiful day for a drive. A bit chilly, but the sun was lovely and all of our fruit trees are in bloom. I say 'our' and I really mean our region!

On a sad note...our lovely Cherry tree is dead as a door nail. Burned in the long winter two years ago, I have to figure out what to do with it. The birds, especially the woodpeckers, loved the fruit. They would spear a cherry and haul off with it!

Cherry tree in spring 2011
Buster is in the middle of it!

I really don't know what to do. It's dead branches look so sad. I might cut off the branches and leave the trunk, putting something on top. Perhaps an ornamental bird house in homage to all its bird friends?

In the meantime, here are my drive-by shootings of the beautiful trees. You will understand how much I appreciate the beautiful trees, and the lovely yellow dandelions after a cold, white winter!

I believe we should let the dandelions flourish. They are lovely in spring, much fun for kids and important for the insects.

Feel free to skip the photos, there are a lot, but what a lovely sight for sore eyes! Seeing the dandelions on lawns is heart-warming, as we know these homeowners are NOT using herbicides to kill them off. The lilacs are such a harbinger of spring. It's wonderful seeing people out working their gardens, too. Such kindred spirits!