New Wildlife Sighting

Not one we normally see and not one that is really welcome.  We had a skunk mosey across the lawn this morning.  I hope "it" just keeps on a moseying...

We have baby Blue Birds.  Pretty small yet, eyes are still closed.  Dad has been busy feeding them.  Activity at the feeder hasn't been quite as intense.  I have a feeling most of the birds are nesting now, except for the finches, who won't nest until September.  They use thistle down for their nests..

More Wildllife

Well, our wildlife family increased again this afternoon.  A doe went across the driveway with at least one little fawn.  There were trees/brush between us so I couldn't see if there were two fawns.  Little fawn was really wobbly on it's legs so it isn't very old.  Just yesterday I asked Sherry when we usually see little fawns.  We both agreed that it usually is a little later. However, we normally see them when they are older because the mom hides them for a while.

Memories

On Facebook is a group I follow called "Farm Direct Minnesota". The purpose of this group is to get the word out about farmers who have items that they are advertising to sell direct to the people.  Well the other day there was an advertisement in there that was a little unique..  An elderly lady (probably about my age..) was willing to help clean chickens.  She was also willing to "show/teach" the younger generation how to do the process.  After I had read the notice I got to thinking.  There is a lot of talent in these nursing homes right now that could "teach" the younger generation what life is all about and how to survive. Remember the "Victory Gardens".  Give me a two foot chunk of log standing on end and a couple nails and a hatchet, and I'd be in business. 👦

The Scarlet Tanagers Are Here.

We woke up to a cold dreary morning and actually slept in a little later than we normally do.  Sherry comes back to the bedroom and says "The Scarlet Tanager is here!"  A very welcome site and such a striking bird with their bright red and pure black features.  I think we now have all our little wildlife friends back.  The big influx of finches we had have left and just the "locals" are still around. I would imagine the rest of them have headed farther north.  That's OK, because they were costing us about $5.00 in bird food. We only feed sunflower chips which are more expensive, but there is absolutely no waste.
New Subject: Medications
This morning I ordered some medications and one of them is not covered by insurance. So I called WalMart and told them that medication would be covered by GoodRX.  The normal cost for 90 days is $146.00.  With GoodRX the price is normally in the $60.00 range.  They told me the price now was $128.00 via GoodRX.  So I called GoodRX and to honestly say, I had one of the nicest/proficient people on the line that I have every had!  She called Walmart twice and me three times and finally got the price down to $69.00..  If there are any of you that have high priced medications, I recommend trying Good RX.  Over the years, I have saved 1,000's of dollars using GoodRX.  Don't ask me how it all works, all I know is that it is money in our checking account.  Sherry also has one med that she uses GoodRX with.  
Have a good day.. Jim

No Sun This Morning

Not the usual day, overcast and 59 degrees.  I checked the rain gauge and we had close to 2 inches of rain last night.  It was a nice gentle soaking rain.  When the sun comes out and the temperature goes back up, the grass is really going to grow. Gas up!

Sunny Morning

Nice sunny morning, light wind, and 63 degrees and rising.  As I sit here writing the blog this morning, the blue birds are sitting on the back fence, "many" birds at the bird feeder, and the deer are busy eating leaves on the trees/bushes on the neighbors property.  Today must be "leaf day" because normally they are grazing on the lawn out in back.  Oh, there are also birds taking a bath in the stream..
This stay at home has gotten to the point that one day just kind of blends into the next day.  If it wasn't for the fact that I have daily meds to take, I would have a hard time determining what day it is..
I think today I will "start" tackling the lean-to on the back of the shed out back. Ugh..  It is 32 feet long and 9 feet wide and has kind of been a catch all for quite a few years.  You would have a hard time walking through it now.. It will definitely NOT be a one day project..  Stay healthy everybody.  Jim
Late note:  When I went outside later on this morning, much to my surprise, there were 10 frogs in the pond!  So there is a lot of "croaking" going on.. 

Freddy The Frog Is Here!

I got so involved with the return of the birds that I forgot all about Freddy the Frog.  Well, Freddy showed up this afternoon. Usually we know by the croaking that he is here, but this year no noise..  However, by the size, this might be Freddy Jr. or he went on a diet during the winter.
The low last night was 23 degrees, kind of cold for any house plants/vegetables to be out.  Typical temperature swings for this time of the year.  I can remember many years ago, our neighbor across the creek, planted/replanted their tomato plants 4 times because of freezing weather. The sun is out, so it won't take long for the temperature to be up in the sixties.

It's Cold Outside!

We have had colder mornings than today (32 degrees), but it is overcast and some wind.  I think it will be a day to work inside.
I am slowly but surely getting my stuff moved out the back room and now Sherry has full use of all the tables.  So now she can sort through her different fabrics and also has a table to lay out projects.  It should work out well for her.
Our big excursion today was going to Walmart to get some medications and then to Eyota Kwik Trip and picked up some milk and ice cream.  It's nice to just be able to get out for a little while.
The temperature did get up to 60 degrees this afternoon, but there was a very cool breeze in the air.
As I'm writing this, the deer are grazing in the backyard, just stay outside the fence..

Happy Mothers Day

To all the mothers out there have a nice day. Hopefully many of you will be able to spend time with family members..
This morning the female Grosbeak has arrived.  So now just the Scarlet Tanagers are missing. 
We had a nice 1/2 inch rain during the night.  That will really help the crops that are already planted to have the moisture for good germination.

String Bean Prep

Today was a cool day (48 degrees) with a pretty strong NW wind.  So I worked on the south side of the garage in the sun.  It wasn't too bad.
I got the picnic table situated on the south side of the garage and two of the plastic tubes partially loaded with compost and soil.

The bottom half of the tub is filled with a combination of dirt and ground up leaves.  The leaves came from the early mowing of the lawn that was covered with oak tree leaves.  By mowing twice the leaves were pretty well pulverized and then I put them into the composer with about an equal amount of soil and mixed them up.

On top of the compost/dirt I put a couple more inches of dirt from last years plants.  This tub will be for the string beans and when I plant the string beans, I will use new soil from Menards that has some fertilizer in it.  When the beans are planted, the tub will be full to the top, but as the beans are watered and with rains, the soil will settle about 1/2 - 1 inch. There are holes on the side of the tub up about an inch that will be used for drainage in case we get a heavy rain. The distance below the drainage hole will act as a reservoir to help keep the soil moist.  I will be able to get a whole packet of bush beans planted in this tub.

So the tub is now prepped and the sun will now heat up the soil, so that when the beans are planted, they will be planted in nice warm soil. Now I need to go and buy some beans..

Blue Bird Update

If you go back to an earlier blog "They Changed Their Mind", I have an update.  When I wrote that blog, I mentioned one of the eggs was "speckled".  Well come to find out that egg is NOT a Blue Bird egg but the egg of a COW Bird.  Here is an interesting article about the Cow Bird.  Mother Nature sure has her ways about doing things!  😊 (Thanks to Sherry for informing me of this information..)  We will try to get some pictures after the eggs are hatched.

Will This Pandemic Teach Us To Be Frugal?

The following  article  came from the Mother Nature News.  I have a feeling that there will be many more gardens this year than there has been in the past.  Which is good..  I watched a YouTube video and the author suggested when you plant your garden, plant a little extra for your local food shelf or a neighbor.  Good idea.
One of my concerns is that all these people that are "adopting pets" are going to be dropping them off along side the road or take them back to the humane society when this is over.  The pets are going to become "to much of a bother".  I hope I'm wrong.

Wildlife Family Increased Today

The Indigo Bunting arrived today.  While having noon lunch today a male was eating at the feeder.  Sherry checked her daily diary, and the first Indigo Bunting arrived the same time last year. (05/07/2019)  So now, the only wildlife family member missing is the Scarlet Tanager.  (I think..)
It's a nice morning (60's) and quite dry, so I emptied two of the larger plastic containers that had some hostas' in them.  Lost them all.  I made the mistake of putting the containers on the picnic table last fall and not setting them on the ground and covering them with dirt.  Oh well, we have plenty other ones, and some of them need to be split.  Lesson learned...
Freezing temperatures tonight.

They Changed Their Mind

I had posted earlier that the pair of Bluebirds had decided to set up housing in the Bluebird house on the west fence.  Well, today a pair of wrens decided that they wanted that as their home.  Wrens might be songbirds, but they are definitely at the bottom of my list..  In past years they have destroyed many Bluebird nests..
Anyway, I went out to check the house on the west fence, and yes the wrens had started build a nest of "sticks" over the neatly made Bluebird nest below.  I removed all the sticks so the Bluebird nest was open again.  I decided to check the two other houses also, because Wrens could easily decide to fill all three of the houses with sticks.  I checked the second next and there was a partial Bluebird nest, but no sticks.  I thought maybe the Bluebirds had changed their minds and abandoned that nest.  I'll have to watch and see if there is any activity there as time goes on.  
So I went to the third house and to my surprise there was a fully made nest and four eggs in it.  Three of the eggs were a light blue and one egg is light blue with speckles.  Fortunately, this house is located so it easy for me to keep a watch on it.  I'll keep you posted.

Our Outdoor Family Is Growing

A couple days ago, our finch population increased by about a dozen.  Must be some migratory ones coming thru. The wrens have returned and hopefully they will find enough places to build nests so they won't bother the bluebirds. It took the bluebirds at least a week to decide which bluebird house (3) they were going to use.  Now they are building on the one on the west fence, so I'm assuming that is going to be their new home.  Yesterday, the grosbeaks and humming birds returned, so the Baltimore orioles should be close behind. Spring is always fun to see the return of our feathered friends.  Also on a daily basis we have a bunch of deer that run thru the backyard.  They go from the east to the west and then the opposite direction, but they make at least one trip per day.  They look pretty scraggly now, as they are losing their winter coat.  The stream going to the pond has really been getting a workout the last few warm days.  Yesterday, there were 7 finches taking baths at the same time. Lot of splashing going on..