Changes

Tulip time!

I spent the past few days in the garden - my happy place. Over a month ago I made a list of jobs I wanted to do in the garden to attract more pollinators. The only job left undone was to make a bee hotel out of my sundial post. So I did a little research as to hole size, depth, etc… and made this:

Before

After - a bee hotel of sorts. My drill bit was dull and
I had a hard time drilling neat holes. I hope
the bees won't mind.

Lots of astilbe clumps and day lilies were dug up and relocated above the wall, as well as a bit of mowing the lawn. I also got stung by a wasp which has happened before, but the level of swelling was far beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. 

My hand and arm got so swollen!

I don’t know what caused such a reaction, but I’m planting lots of lemon balm, rosemary, and lemongrass around, which I’ve learned repels wasps. The yard and garden wall were full of wasps looking to make homes. I want to attract bees and repel wasps so I think I have some more work to do. I'm determined not to use nasty chemicals but I'd like to avoid any more stings!

Garter snakes are welcome guests in my garden and I spotted two of them
warming themselves in the sun.

Sunday was an extremely rainy and cool day - there were a few snowflakes mixed with the rain towards the end of the cold front. It’s good to have a wet day now and again so I actually do some much needed spring cleaning in the house. 

Some of the seeds I planted have sprouted, but a bunch did not.

I am fighting with a pair of robins who are valiantly trying to nest on top of my deck curtain. Since the curtain is used regularly and also gets blown about by the wind, I have tried many ways to stop the nest building. I finally just placed a board slanting over the perching surface, so now it appears they have gone after two days, but left a mess behind.

The nesting material I'm left to clean up after the war of the robins.

My small book club met yesterday at Geri's for lunch and a discussion of Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. Our book group is turning into dinner club as well. We had clams casino, quiche Lorraine, a strawberry chopped salad, and blueberry lemon cake. We all agree that the character studies of the book are interesting and none of us is fond of Olive herself. We will read another of Strout's books for our next discussion, Tell Me Everything. 

The snow squalls were evident over Troy as I made my way home from the book club.

Yes, still a bit of snow and a hard freeze the last two nights. I went to the garden center this morning and all the newly delivered plants were stacked inside the store or covered with fleece to protect them from the frost. The forecast looks pretty seasonable from here on, so hopefully I can get more garden improvement done. 

The tulips aren't bothered by the changeable weather at all.