Now It's Too Cold.

5-24-21 VERMONT: We had an abrupt transition from 85° to 55° over a few hours yesterday. There was a brief shower with the change, but enough to barely get the ground wet and nothing in the rain gauge. We need rain. I watered today.

The established perennials are OK so far. They have deep roots and the ground is still damp below the surface. Anything new is at risk of desiccation. There are plenty of spots to fill, as there are every spring, but I won’t do them until we are here for the summer in June. 

There is only one baby robin in the nest, and it looks like a naked embryo, but is alive and getting mom’s attention. We still don’t use the front doors. 

New blooms: yellow lady’s slipper, Japanese primrose, columbine, creeping veronica, ajuga.  

Here he is, Indigo Bunting, who returns to this feeder every year on his migration. He used to summer here, but now only makes a cameo appearance.

Ruby-throated hummingbird, Vermont's only one, working Virginia blue bells. They are draining their feeders.

Judy saw the ducks crossing the road on her way to the store, and yes, she made way for the ducklings. They are appartently a mix of domestic and wild birds.

About four days after hatching. Mom is out on a lunch break.

Columbine grows best right next to the house. They like an alkaline media, and the concrete foundation gives the adjacent soil a basic pH.

Yellow Lady's Slipper opens before the pink ones.

Japanese primrose like a wet, pond-side location.

The apple trees and Maizie are enjoying their reflections.

Heat Wave.

5-21-21 VERMONT: We are in a bit of July with temps today predicted to be in the upper 80’s after 2-3 days of slightly lower temps, it’s a heat wave in May. Usually It’s in the forties now. It’s also very dry, and I’ve started watering. I hope we don’t have a drought summer again.

Yesterday we bought tomatoes and herbs for the deck. I had to re-pot a few of them. I also planted parsley and thyme in the herb bed. We have basil and rosemary for the deck pots and four tomatoes—two Sun Sugar and one Celebrity and one Red Husky.  

There are at least three turtles in the pond. If Bally the border collie sees one and he sees them from far away, he stalks the turtle, creeping to within a few feet and then lunges, but they always slip into the water ahead of him.

Whenever we go outside, we are accompanied by our faithful companions, the black flies. They are usually with us until Father’s Day. Because of them, I dress in jeans, socks, long sleeves even though it’s so hot to avoid their attention.

We had John, Diana, Steve, Shari and Dave over for dinner this week. Judy out-did herself once again. 

New blooms: spurge, honeysuckle, azalea, bane berry, lilac, epimedium, cowslip, Mohican viburnum.  

Rose-breasted Grosbeak is here.

The apple tree by the house is just about at peak and swarming with pollinators.

Mohican viburnum is the first viburnum here.

Lilac also comes in magenta and violet and is just getting started.

Cowslip is another kind of primrose and blooms a bit before the Japanese primrose.

Spurge is in the Euphorbia family with a lot of succelents.

Goldfinch provides some more garden color.

Chipping sparrow is one of the many non-feeder birds, easily ID'd by the red yarmulka.

Back in VT.

5-17-21 VERMONT: We came up here a few days ago to relive the last few weeks of spring. We are about where NJ was on May 1. While we have trees and shrubs here, there are many, many more perennial beds than in NJ. It’s been a month since we were here, and there were two snow storm, both short lived, but the game cams showed snow on the ground April 22. The game cams also caught a bear visit to the house at 2 AM on that same day, April 22. 

The new maple trees are in leaf and in sync with the other red maples. Thanks to Dianna and Steve for watering them in our absence. I’ve seen only one turtle in the pond. They come and go. There could be more. Both ponds are full and fairly clear. 

We have a robin nesting on a wreath Judy hangs by the mudroom door on the porch. She has two eggs in the nest last time I looked. She flies away if we go anywhere near the porch, so we have been using the back doors. I am filling one feeder and bringing it in at night so to not tempt the bears. We have goldfinches, hummingbirds, various flycatchers, catbirds, the usual suspects at the feeder. 

We walked around the pasture once, and I acquired two ticks, but we haven’t seen any on the dogs. 

I planted six white primrose, Primula japonica ‘Alba’, along the new stream that connects the two ponds as well as a red one and Siebold’s primrose, P. sieboldii. Two lupin, Lupinus polyphyllus ‘Gallery Blue’ and ‘Gallery Red’ went in the rock garden. Four hollyhocks, Alcea rosea ‘Spring Celebrities White’, ‘Chater’s Double Scarlet’, ‘Spotlight Blacknight’, and ‘Halo Cerise’ were planted in the lower wall bed along with two hyssop, Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’.

In bloom: star magnolia, service berry, primrose, tiarella, pulmonaria, white and red trillium, pink, purple and yellow lamium, pachysandra, vinca minor, white and purple violets, Johnny-jump-up, marsh marigold, Virginia blue bells, forsythia, wild strawberry, dandelion, forget-me-not, alkanet, apple, bleeding heart, jill-over-the-ground, jack-in-the-pulpit, hellebore. 

Red Trillium, three leaves, three sepals, three petals.

White Trillium.

Robin on her nest on the porch.

The wreath under the nest provides a foundation for the construction.

Two eggs in robin's egg blue, maybe they're more now.

Very early morning visitor.

Tiarella just opening.

More Birds, More Flowers.

5-14-21 SHORT HILLS: It’s been beautiful, if a little cool. We ended up with 1.1 inches of rain over the weekend. I’ve continued to prune, trim and weed. I cleaned up the pool cover. [the pool has been closed since I retired in 1999 because we’re not here in the summer.] 

We took some of the house plants outside for their summer vacation. Somehow or other the right balance of sun, warmth and rain has occurred this spring and the yard looks better than it has in years. 

The hummingbird[s] has been back to visit the new feeder. I’ve seen the house wren go in and out of the wren house several times and have caught a few pix. He/she does not stand still long enough for a good shot.   

Lynn and Bill were here for dinner last night, and we go to Bette and Lonnie’s tonight. Tomorrow it’s Vermont for a few weeks.

New blooms: mulberry, bridal-wreath spirea, may apple, purple rhododendron. 

Hummingbird at the new feeder. Male ruby-throated in all likleyhood, but it could be the rarely seen here black-chinned hummer.

From little birds to a big red-tailed hawk.

And a medium sized Red-wing blackbird.

Back to small birds, here's one of the House wren partially hidden in the bushes by the wren house.

The House wren showing her back.

House wren next to her apartment in the wren condo.

Mayapple, the flower turns into a green, apple-sized fruit in a month or so.

Mulberry tree flower, the berries are prettier than the flowers.

Bridal-wreath spirea is the first to open. We have others that don't get as much sun and haven't bloomed as yet. The red spirea are later.

Mother's Day.

5-9-21 SHORT HILLS: Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers, fathers and children. We had Alison, Valerie, Steve, Dan and Anna here for a patio picnic designed by Judy, the master party planner. Everybody ate well, aired a lot of gossip, helped with the clean up and left when the rain started, attempting to beat the inbound traffic. Anna got the only good pic with her iPhone.

Outside I have been keeping busy with the usual chores. One of the transplanted trees is not opening up, and I found a lot of scarring at the base of the trunk, some rodents winter dinner, I guess. I got a new rain gauge at the Farm. It’s huge and recorded 0.6 inches in the last 24 hrs.

New blooms: hawthorn.  

After dinner pic. Anna is the only one who knew how to take a time delay pic.

First rhododendron to open.

Honeysuckle flower, it also comes in red.

Hummingbird, probably Ruby-throated male. It's the first I've seen in this yard ever. I immediately went out and bought a hummingbird feeder, but no takers as yet.

The hawthorn has red flower clusters.

NYC and The Swamp.

5-6-21 SHORT HILLS: We had an outdoor dinner with Leesa and Roger in NYC just a few steps away from Washington Sq. Park. It was great to see them, and great to walk through the park—teeming with people and bands and skate boarders. We also had a brief visit with Lily, who lives in the hood. 

Today we went back to The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge with Lynn and Bill. We visited the raptor center and then walked the boardwalk through the swamp. There was a pair of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers nesting near the entrance to the boardwalk pointed out to us by the staff at the entrance. Other birds seen on the outing—red-wing blackbird, pigeons, doves, grackles, brown-headed cowbird.

Here I have done more pruning and clean up of a flood of debris from under the sweet gum tree. The just opening gum ball babies, to me they look like broccoli, are all over the terrace and lawn. I swept them off twice, but here come more. 

We had a nice rainy day yesterday, on and off all day.

New blooms: pink lamium, first rhododendron, honeysuckle, deutzia. 

Rose-breasted grosbeak has been here for a few days, probably on his migration. We see them often in VT, but never before here in NJ.

This is probably a house finch, but also looks like a Pine Siskin. Anyone??

Bald Eagle at the Raptor Center. All their birds are injured and cannot be released into the wild.

Red-wing blackbird in the swamp, where they're at home.

The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in its nest. A new lifer for me.

First rhododendron.

Washington Square Park.

Looking for Rain.

5-3-21 SHORT HILLS: We’re now up to 14 hours of daylight, and VT has about 15 minutes more than that. The plants are even more aware, which is why they’re exploding with flowers and leaves.

There’s always more trimming and pruning to do, and I’ve been busy doing it. I’ve also been watering the new plantings and transplants. 

The ailing beech tree has put out leaves on some of the branches, maybe half of them, so it’s trying. The arborists have treated it this spring and will be back for a deep in-ground fertilizing. Although, I fear and suspect that next year we’ll be taking it down.

We’ve had rain predicted, but not much delivered. Speaking of rain, I need a new rain gauge, eat last one rusted out, and the glass cylinder has vanished.

We did our usual dog walk with R & B and the pack Sunday. That night we had dinner at Lynn and Bill’s. Tomorrow we’re back in NYC for dinner with Leesa and Roger. Next Sunday Judy and I are hosting Mother’s Day for the family. Judy cleaned all the outdoor furniture today. I have to go buy booze. Our masks are off most of the time, but we did have them on in the supermarket this morning.

New blooms: chestnut, Siebold viburnum, double-file viburnum, tea viburnum, red-twig dogwood, leucothoe, wood hyacinth, gill-over-the-ground.  

Wood hyacinth is the next spring surprise. It also comes in pink.

Chestnut. We've had this tree about 5-6 years, lots of flowers, but few chestnuts.

Siebold viburnum makes another snowball. The leaves are large and smell like burning rubber if you crush one.

Dopuble-file viburnum has outer white flowers with no reproductive function except for attracting pollinators. The small, inner flowers do the actual work of making seeds.

Leucothoe is a drooping mound of a broad leaf evergreen that has another little, white bell-like flower.

Clematis makes bunches of flowers.