Flowering Quince: Just plain purty…This plant is on the fringe of the back yard near the woods, and is sort of wedged between, and behind, a large weigela and a rhododendron. It is so happy there and is quite wild looking as I leave it to grow any which way it wants. (Click on photo for a larger view)
April showers bring spring flowers: Well, the spring flowers are in full bloom. The daffodils are just about done (done in is more like it, after the heavy rains we had), and the tulips are in their heyday. I am enjoying photographing the flowers in our expanded stump garden as well as in neighbor Ernie & Carla’s gardens. If all goes as planned, there will be a succession of bulbs flowering into early summer. Ummm…Breck’s just sent me a promo for 75% off bulbs for next year…oh no…I really want more Firespray tulips, and Spanish Pinkbells, and Spanish Bluebells, and Tatoo Tulips (white petals with deep purple midribs.) Ooohhhh….stop me from pressing the order button…too late…;-) (Click on a photo to enter the slide show for a larger view.)
Wood Shed: Drew’s job these last few days has been to move the wood from the pallets in our access driveway into the new wood shed. This is being done in preparation for more wood which Drew will split over the next week (from trees that Neighbor Ernie is going to have taken down.) We’ll have enough wood to get us through next winter!
Windy: The wind is blowing at around 28mph, and it is quite chilly outside with a “feel-like” temp. of 40F. The temp. is going to drop down to about 31F by 6am. And, in fact, we are going to have morning temps. of around 30F through Monday am. Brrrr…
Flowers: I have some lovely little tulips that I have yet to see open since arriving back from Florida. Luckily, bulbs should be fine even in the cold weather we are going to get over the next three nights. I am hoping to photograph them this weekend if it is warm and sunny enough for the petals to spread out. For now, here is photo of the bleeding hearts as they are just beginning to bloom. (Click on photo for a larger view)
Crescent Moon and Venus: This was such a lovely sight after the bucket load of rain we received yesterday. Today was mostly cloudy, and I was surprised to see the moon and Venus shining in the evening sky. (Click on photo for a larger view)
Crescent Moon: This photo was taken just after darkness took over the sky. (Click on photo for a larger view.)
When it rains, it pours: Literally! We got 3.9” of rain filling our rain gauge today. Yowzer, that’s a lotta rain after such a prolonged dry spell.
Home from Florida: We visited family during spring break, and have arrived home. Ahh…the sweet smell of pine and a cool breeze greeted us at the airport. Two of the highlights of our trip were to watch sandhill cranes do a mating dance and to watch bats exit a couple of bat boxes at dusk. To see more of our trip, visit our Family Blog.
Sandhill Crane Mating Dance (at McKethan Lake in Florida): While taking a nostalgic walk through the park we got married in nearly 22 years ago, we came upon a pair of sandhill cranes. These love birds decided to perform a mating dance directly in front of us as we stood quietly and respectfully nearby. They were not disturbed by our presence, and did not seem to notice us.
Sandhill cranes form mated pairs that stay together year round. They eat a combination of seeds, insects, vertebrates, and invertebrates. We saw them feeding in the grass, along the lake shore, and in the lake. We have also seen them roaming through people’s lawns in neighborhoods. This bird is very common in central Florida.
As far as the video is concerned, I handheld the camera and did my best to follow the birds. I couldn’t always see both birds and was surprised when the male started his dancy dance. I had to zoom out quite a ways as he jumped higher and higher. Too bad the female played hard to get after all the male’s fancy footwork! We hope you enjoy the video and the background music that goes with it.
By the way, Sandhill cranes were seen on Messalonskee Lake in Belgrade, Maine in mid-March this year. I’m sure they have been spotted elsewhere as well. I’ve even read reports of them mating and having young in Maine!
Bats Awakening: We put together this video of the bats leaving their roosting box at dusk. The entire process took about an hour, from when the first bat left the box until darkness fell, and all the bats were flying hither and yon. This was such an exciting evening. Now, we need a shotgun microphone to pick up the squeaking and rustling of the bats as they prepare to leave the box. Unfortunately, the microphone on the camera was overcome by the incessant noise of the cicadas. I am going back to Florida in late June, so maybe I’ll have all the equipment I need to do the job properly;-)
The video is rather dark as it was nightfall. Drew added some appropriate background music to set the mood. Enjoy! (As always, play the video full screen for the best experience.)
