Brand New Day

In The Rain

The rain didn't hold off this morning, already falling lightly when I woke up. Only a single cup of joe was needed to get me out there, though. With a possible three days of rain ahead, it'd be a crime not to take advantage of it.

It wasn't raining hard and it was still relatively warm (64), so I didn't mind getting a little damp. In fact, its one of my favorite times to be out there messing around in the dirt.

I had just started selecting the right locations for those orange marigolds (which really brightened up even a pretty rainy and gray morning as this one), when word came via one of our dog-walking neighbors, Snoopy the min-pin's dad (I'm amused by the fact we don't know each other's names, only the names of our dogs), that there was a big turtle come up from the pond and in another neighbor's yard.

Of course, I set my digging tools in out of the rain and grabbed my camera for a little walk around the block, where I found this snapping turtle (probably almost two foot from nose to tail)slowly heading up the driveway into someone's back yard.

It wasn't clear to me if she'd have a clear shot at the woods going that way, but I wasn't about to attempt to give her directions, either. She was following the beat of her drummer, and so after taking a photo or two, I headed back to the garden to listen to my own cadence a little longer and she made her way up the driveway toward the lawn and whatever place she decided was appropriate for laying eggs.

After finding the right spots for each of the marigolds, I managed another round of seed planting in a variety of recently-weeded sections of the garden. This morning's mass sowing included the second half of those bachelor buttons, as well as some more cleome(*) and allyssum, chamomile and tall sulphur cosmos.

This meant another chance to draw patterns on the soil, but because of the rain, I used a stick today and not my finger. Hard enough trying to keep the seeds from sticking together without having muddy hands.

The rain was getting heavier as I planted and although I've more seeds to plant, I'd exhausted the free time I had this morning and it was time to get ready for work. But not until I'd enjoyed a long lingering look at the way the garden's shaping up.

* So, I have a confession to make. I did a bad thing recently, not something a gardener ought to do, and I'm feeling a little guilty about it. Remember those lovely and strong looking cleome seedlings I had in the bedroom window? Well, I've grown accustomed in recent years to having partially shaded/protected garden beds, which gave me latitude to be a little casual with some of my plantings, as the surrounding trees offered some security against the stronger winds and even some mild frosts.

But for this new location, with it's direct sunlight and gusting winds, I really ought to have taken an extra day or two to accustom my little babies to life in the Big Bad World (You may recall me having some misgivings after the fact that evening, actually.)for little bits of time before the big planting.

Instead, I just split them up and put them out there in the ground.

Some, I'm sorry to say, simply fell over and died. A few turned a little white, but look like they'll recover...and there's still a third group who took just enough shelter from nearby perennials that they are doing quite well.

Still in all, I ought to have known better. Bad gardener.

There's another look at those yucca plants I showed you the other night, their flower stalks another foot taller than on Sunday. I was mistaken, actually: all three plants are doing this. What a show it will be!

The best reason for today's rain being a good thing is the way it's washed the pollen off everything.

I thought I saw a humpback whale in this pool of pollen, but then it seemed more like a dove maybe. Now I think it looks like Heath Ledger as the Joker, but that might just be me anticipating the new Batman movie this July.

Have you seen the trailer?

Birds, Bees, Turtles and Frogs

This little purple finch (right) has set its sights on the front of our house. A few days ago, it tried unsuc cessfully to build a nest in the light fixture over our front door.

As an option, Owen hung a ceramic bird nest nearby, in hopes it will consider this alternative. We'll see what happens, but the finch's interest hasn't waned.

I'm not sure of the identity of that higher bird, to the left.

In the same neighborhood, a female cardinal (the same one that's tried to build in the andromeda bush the last two springs, perhaps) has taken to hanging out in the lower evergreen shrub next to the andromeda...which would be fine, if she could learn to be less skittish about our comings and goings. I always feel so bad for disturbing her.
* * *

Another beautiful Cape Cod day here, nice and sunny and relatively warm, though it's cooled off again now that it's dark.

That oriole I've been hearing has been making himself more visible, singing around from tree to tree around the whole yard, but particularly, it seems, in the trees around the fringe of the back garden.

The apple tree is beginning to blossom this weekend, and you can see the bumblers have wasted no time in planning their visits.


Had another good day of work out there today. I planted a pair of small marigold patches, and then planted some seeds (alyssum, cosmos and bachelor buttons) and a few more of the gladiolas.

I got more weeding done in one of the beds further out in my arrangements, and was happy to discover most of the tree seedlings I planted for Arbor Day last year are leafing out nicely. As these seedlings are still all less than six inches in height, you'll understand my enthusiasm.

And I also got the paths mowed and edged, so things are starting to look pretty nice out there.


I've been noticing a cowbird out in the back this past week, and also another, gray bird. And today, I realized that the gray one is a female cowbird (there's also been a catbird hanging around, which was helping me to confuse the identity of this one), when I saw the two of them cavorting together in the apple trees.

I was just enjoying a quiet moment at the end of the work when he came splashing into one of the freshly-filled birdbaths. He had a pretty elaborate session and the sounds of his bathing attracted other attention.

Overhead, a this bluejay circled around and landed at another feeder, where he had a nice drink before flying off again.

Mr. Cowbird made quite a fuss about drying off after his bath, fluttering around near the sun-warmed upper branches of the apple trees, rubbing his beak on the tree branches.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, there were three turtles on Basking Log this afternoon. One splashed away before I even snapped a photo, but I managed to get closer than usual before the other two were disturbed.

And then there was one.


Further along the shore, an assortment of green frogs lay still in the shallow edges of the pond, waiting for bugs. It must be their hrrhm hrrhm hrrrhm we've been hearing for the last week or so.

Wild Center

Today, in an effort to get out of the house and work off some of yesterday's Great Feasting, we made a roadtrip to Tupper Lake, to visit the newly-opened Wild Center, a natural history museum of the Adirondacks. It's an amazing place...and a terrific spot to pass an afternoon.

The focal point of the Wild Center is a series of water tanks, linked one to another, showcasing a series of wildlife habitats and hosting an assortment of aquatic wildlife, including a heritage strain of native brook trout. There were turtles, too, though they were much too active for my photo-taking skills.


In addition to these large tanks, there's a great assortment of smaller terrariums and other exhibits featuring frogs, toads, more turtles, snakes, salamanders and a host of other creatures.

The highlight of the visit, perhaps, are the river otters. They have several "on staff" at the Wild Center, and they come out to the exhibition tank alternately (as they are not all well-acclaimated to one another yet.). Great fun to watch, but even more difficult to photograph, since they dash through the water so very quickly.

Finally I got this halfway decent shot when this one paused on the play rock. Amusing to note that the otters have a Kong toy not unlike Emily's!

One of the larger exhibits features a faux glacier. These giant ice sheets were largely responsible for making the Adirondack region what it was today. They also make a great backdrop for potential Christmas card photos!

One of the extra surprises of our visit came in the Panoramic theatre, when we came across some old friends of mine who were also in town visiting family! We had a pretty quick visit, but it was great to see them.



All in all, it was one more great day in a series of them, and a good one to make my last in the Adirondacks for a while. Tomorrow I'll pack up and head East again for the Cape. It's always nice to get back home...


"Nature is one connected whole. At any given moment every part must be precisely what it is, because all the other parts are what they are." - Johann Gottlieb Fichte, 1762-1814

A turtle passes by.