6:30 Thursday morning, May 18th. Previously we’ve only seen occasional distant shadows in the wee hours. Photo probably taken minutes after some miscreant decimated Sandy’s new annabelle hydrangea.
Nature
Gareth’s bluebird feeding youngster
We’ve been watching this same thing from our own breakfast/lunch window. Photo by Gareth, saying “I put some dried worms in the window tray this morning and within minutes the Bluebirds were there. This is with the window open and me five feet away.”
Grosbeak
First grosbeak seen at our house in a year or more. And he kept feeding long enough for me to go and get the camera.
Squirrel-proof, you say?
But I’ve been here at least a half-hour!
Fringe tree blossom
April 24th in the woods just behind the house, almost our only fringe tree, aka old man’s beard. (Only sometimes attacked by the Emerald Ash Borer. See https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/chionanthus-virginicus/.) We do have one other. They’re hard to identify without the blooms. A long shot six days later:
Sandy’s Azaleas
Reflection(s)
Redbud and cherry and woods turning green, via the bathroom mirror, April 2nd.
Almost same direction, via the glass-top patio table, a week later, April 6th.
Men in Trees
The 80-foot white oak near the northwest corner of the house has a fork we don’t want to split. The Bartlett Tree Experts installed a 7-foot quarter-inch steel cable intended to reduce the risk.