i thought it was over

after i posted about the robin, i noticed that the nest was empty a lot more often and i wondered if she’d finally abandoned it.

but no, she was still nearby, going nuts every time someone came in or out.

(this one of the two maples that stand just a few feet away form the porch; so handy for both escaping AND keeping an eye on things.

then on monday evening, through the powder room window, i saw this

she was up on the rim of the nest and not right on top of it. hmmm

and when i looked again, i could see a few little beaks sticking up from the nest. by then it was getting dark and there wasn’t enough light to take pictures. you were right; she was sitting on another clutch of eggs (how many?? i dunno)

a few feet from the porch step, i saw this in the flower bed. i went over to look again, but saw nothing really new, just mama standing guard. but definitely NOT nesting.

i still hadn’t seen the beaks again, but i was hopeful that some time during the day, i would.  finally, when the mailman knocked on the door, i got a better sighting of some movement.

i ran for the camera and when i got back a little birdie was straining up out of the nest for food. there seemed to be just one baby, but i didn’t stay long so i can’t be sure how many.

i posted a youTube video of this little guy’s movements for a minute or so—i love how he seems to just drop off to sleep in the middle, just like a new human baby. i’m so relieved that mama’s “ailment” was just an imminent brood of chicks. phew!

those variegated lace caps hydrangeas are blooming—they were so green just a day before and now they are showing the prettiest purple color.

i have finally had a chance to get some work done in the vegetable garden too—which was long overdue for thinning, weeding, and mulching.

saturday and sunday i spent a great deal of time out there thinning carrots, greens, beets, and radishes, then got started on the weeding. i wanted to get that done before we put the mulch down.

everything is growing so well—i can’t get over how successfully it all has germinated and taken off, especially considering the dryness (the grass fares much worse, i’m afraid, since we don’t water that).

after years of amending and working it, the dirt is finally feeling lovely out in the vegetable patch. when i dig into it, it’s much softer, darker, and silkier than it used to be and obviously, the plants are loving it.

the carrots and radishes got a thorough thinning, while the smaller greens just got a preliminary one for now; once i see which of the remainders is the strongest, i’ll pull the ones in between.

the tomatoes, which sat there doing nothing for a couple weeks after transplanting have suddenly started growing—and fast. they re visibly taller and bushier each day. i gave them their first pruning on saturday and they’ll get another early next week once i’m home home from TNNA.

we have a nice-sized pepper on the vine and more coming already; the eggplant looks very healthy as well, better than i’ve ever seen it. and dare i say it?? even the squash plants look amazing.  if it all stays like this, we will probably be overrun with produce this summer.

i gathered all the beet and chard thinnings into my basket, which amounted to a very nice pile of baby greens. we ate those in omelets this evening for dinner with leftover roasted rosemary potatoes, mmm.

and many of the radish thinnings were large enough to eat, although they are SO spicy they make my eyes water, very peppery. i’m not sure i like them so hot . . .

last night i got some major weeding done while david started laying down mulch. we worked furiously until dark, so i never got pictures and today i was so involved in working on a pattern that i forgot. but it’s looking really nice out there; it just needs a little more attention when i get home.

my beautiful crimson hydrangea is also in bloom—this guy sat around for years, just barely hanging in there and never bloomed. but now that we re-landscaped that area, it’s a lot happier. while we have just the one bloom for now, it is the biggest i’ve ever seen on this shrub, so i’m hopeful that in the future, we’ll see more (the rest of the shrub seems to have doubled in size).

now this pink flower is a little hint of what you’ll see when you visit tomorrow . . . can you guess what it might be?