Why did the turkey cross the road? Because he had places to go, of course! Not visible is the large group of ladies in the tall grass off the roadside that were following him. And why not? After all, he's a nice looking Tom...long beard, colorful plumage, tasty with gravy...oops! Now that's not what those hens were thinking!

First attempt at video...uploaded from Photobucket...I hope it works! This is all for the sounds, so if you don't have speakers, it won't be much of anything. But if you can, give a listen.... ...okay, so far the image won't show up on this post :( but if you click on the lovely red "X" where the picture should be, it takes you to the video...*sigh*...maybe I should try utube like everybody else does...

*****SORRY, VIDEO NOT AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW****

Time to release the bees! Now that it's warm and there are flowers to pollinate, it's time to put out the mason bees. So I attach the release box that's been in the fridge all winter to the bottom of the nesting box (I use velcro), and hang the whole thing.....
...and put them on the side of the house that's facing east, between the house and garage. Last year, I had them in a different spot...
....they were on the corner, where you see this nesting platform. However, an eastern phoebe built a nest atop the bee box. So this year, I'm trying to give her a better nesting spot so she'll leave my bees alone. Anybody wanna give me odds that she nests on the bee house again, anyway?

Miscellaneous updates....wintersowing has produced one sucessful seedling thus far, with more to come, I hope! This is impatiens balfourii, which is a white-and-purple flowering version of jewelweed or spotted touch-me-not. Hummingbirds and I really love this plant, both for the pretty flowers and cool "spring-loaded" seed pods. I had a heck of a time getting regular jewelweed established, but once you have it, you have it-it reseeds very profusely. So I have hope for my little friends here. As for my hardiness test ...well, this planter doesn't look so hot. I won't give up yet though......because these little pots on the fence are showing signs of life-cool!

So maybe these sedums are as tough as I thought!One more thing....I think my yellow-leaved elderberry, sambucus racemosa Plumosa Aurea will have berries this year...hooray!

Water garden startup....first, we start with last year's mud, and the bricks to put shallow-water plants atop. Put the cork in the drain... ...fill em' up! Hoping there are no leaks, of course!Now to scoop out debris...sure wish this was a swimming pool I'm skimming...*sigh*...
...now to add "chemicals" to our "pool"...barley extract to keep the water clear (enzymes or something-last year I used little bales of barley, but they have to decompose to work, this is faster)...

...and some mosquito repellent. These packets are like the mosquito "dunks" (floating doughnuts), but smaller and dissolve quicker. (After all, I'm in a hurry!) Actually, I decided to use more subtle products since I have less surface area to work with. So now we let it settle in, and will add plants this weekend!

This is odd...so I'm putting around the yard last night, and I hear dripping. Steady dripping, but no rain clouds...so I look at the ground and find this wet spot amongst the branches left from tree trimming last fall.The drips are coming from this birch that was severely pruned (okay, decapitated). A closer look...you can see where sap has apparently been dripping down the side of the trunk...

...even closer look...you can even see droplets falling....what's going on here? Is the tree crying over "losing it's head"? The wound was painted when the cut was made...do you think the tree will survive?

It's actually almost hot outside...Sunday, while I try to get some work done. So warm, in fact.... .....the skinks are out already! See him? The young ones have the blue tail-very cool!Oh, and the plant I called 'Trailing arbitus' the other day was actually trillium emerging...heh...my bad....sure hope my trailing arbitus is still alive! Guess I'll have to wait and see...


Okay, time to get to work! Since my plant friends are trying to awaken from their long winter's nap, I'll do them a favor and apply a wetting agent. My soil dries out on the surface so much that water just runs off, but this stuff helps a lot. I try to apply it early in the spring, then again later in summer. I forget where I bought it......but the website is here on the label. (Good thing, cuz' I need more). I just put it in a hose-end sprayer, apply, then water in. Rain is in the forecast too, so this will maximize the effectiveness of the precipitation. Man, it feels good to get outside! :)

Flowers! I have flowers!! Oh happy day! At long last, I get to join my fellow bloggers and post pictures of actual blooms in my actual garden, right now! First, this lovely white crocus... ...and here's our friend hepatica-dainty little blooms, nice!
And some cute red tulips with colorful foliage as well. I should have looked up the name, but it would take some research, since I don't use markers for my bulbs.

Here's another crocus...I really like this bright yellow!
Since the freezing weather seems to be gone, I figured I'd better "uncover the shoulders" of my bearded irises. It helps prevent rot, and seems to encourage better blooming. Now to stop gawking and get busy....

Signs of garden life...at last, my plants have come along...my frozen days are over....and life is like a song....(apologies to Etta James for that shameless lyrical ripoff). Anyhow, here they come, gingerly peeking out of the ground. I love how these tulips emerge purple... ...my hepatica beginning to bloom (I hope to see flowers by the weekend)...
...more tulips...these were actually planted last spring (I ran out of time the previous fall when I actually bought them, and luckily only a couple dried out over that winter whilst in storage)....
...thyme 'Doone Valley'...I love this variety! Both for it's pretty yellow/red/green coloration and it's lemony scent. I actually found this locally at the Menard's, and it has been an outstanding performer! Although it does enjoy a sweet spot-southern exposure, next to the house...
...trailing arbitus with some frost damage to the edges. This is said to be a rather endangered wildflower, so naturally I had to try and grow some! So far, so good....

...as you can tell from surfing other garden blogs, I'm about a month behind most other midwestern gardens. But I don't mind, because the later emergence of my plants also keeps snow and frost damage to a minimum. Just wait until June, I'll still be blogging bulb photos while many other folks will already have daylily blooms. (Mine show up @ 4th of July) Climate is a funny thing, to be sure!

Today is "wild bird sighting" day...on my way to work this morning when I spot a whole big group of turkeys, with several males showing off for the ladies... ..."My tail is biggest!"... "No way, look at mine!"..."You guys are chumps! Look at my sleek feathers!" I don't know if any of the girls were impressed, but I was! Sorry the pics are blurry, but I was shakey (no coffee yet), and if I'd gotten closer, they'd bolt. So I move on, only to see...

...an American Woodcock, scolopax minor!! I knew these birds were around, but I've only seen pictures! So I turned the truck around, but when I stopped he got nervous and began to move away, but not before I managed this shot. The blue/white glowing dot is his eye (the flash went off), but otherwise hard to spot (Good camo feathers). Then later I saw a nice male pheasant, but had to drive on by or be late for sure!! Wonder what I'll see on the way home?

"Ta da!" All my new bareroot friends are potted up and chillin' like villains, waiting for warmer weather (luckily, it seems to be here)...
...now I have all this dirt that was in the bags with the roots, and I can't waste it...so I'll squeeze out the water and use it to water the new plantings (can't let that rooting hormone go to waste), and the dirt goes back in the Odjob to mix and reuse...man, I am the recycling queen!

Beautiful day...clouds are rolling in, though. Better protect everything from the deer and rabbits... Time to mix up the "varmint repellent"...the best thing I've tried so far is this stuff, Liquid Fence. It works for 30 days, and it prevents the animals from even tasting my plants. Know how it's so effective? Because it smells positively horrible!!! Imagine for a moment a mixture of diarrhea, vomit, and one other disgusting ingredient that you can't quite put your finger on...yea, that's Liquid Fence alright! But the odor does fade pretty quickly to the human nose (like by next morning you barely notice at all), however the animals smell it long term. So I walk the entire property and spray it everywhere...Aaahhh....now it's "Millertime"...and despite the faint odor of Liquid Fence, I'm not repelled enough to avoid building a fire and tossing back a couple....perfect end to a perfect weekend!

....finishing the soil mix...next I'll add earthworm castings to the sandy manure. I bought these from Gardens Alive online, but when my worm bins are ready, look out!!
Next, I'll add some of this stuff.......never used it before, but I was at the feed mill yesterday and thought I'd try it. Kinda floofy, with lots of twigs. Hmmm...not too sure I really like it, but it will add some moisture-retaining qualities, so why not?
Next we'll add some nice black topsoil...not necessarily "chock full of nutrients", but that's what we have the manure for.
So put on the lid...roll it around the yard...

Now to pot the bareroot stuff...since it's early in the season and I'm not too sure where I want all the newcomers, I'll pot these all for now. The roots have soaked all night, so now to mix the soil...I use this thing, called an "Odjob" mixer. I bought this through the mail from Gurney's, but I've seen them offered elsewhere. Price was $29.95, and it was money well spent! I got a nasty tendonitis in my elbow a few years ago from the repetetive motion of mixing soil-no more of that with this handy item!This was originally designed to mix concrete, but it works great for dirt, too! Need to write out the ID tags...I use these from the Paw Paw Everlast label company http://www.everlastlabel.com/ , and as implied, they really last well! Only $29.15 for 100 of these, and they send the grease pencil to write on them with. I like to put the plant name and year acquired on the front...

...and the name of the source on the back. Keeps everything straight for me, cuz' I need all the help I can get!Our first soil mix ingredient comes from this pile-sand and horse manure combo. The sand is most similar to the soil the plants will eventually reside in, so I try to make that a large portion of their potting material...