Multiple Choice Day.

4-10-22 SHORT HILLS: We have had rain, 2.75 inches in one night, and other rainy days. Today we’ve had wind, sun, rain, wind, hail, sun, wind all with 40° temps. I played another round of pick-up-sticks a few days ago. 

GM Fence was here for a whole day replacing many rails and posts in our split rail fence. The sprinkler service team should be here next week. 

I have list of shrubs to buy to replace some dead plants and to plant the spots where the basement window wells were removed. Also we need to replace a pear tree that was crushed when the big walnut tree dropped a big branch on it. I hoped it might regrow from the stump when it put out a few shoots last year, but no. I think an early blooming plum would work.

New blooms: Yoshino cherry, quince, pear, lamium, pulmonaria, march marigold.

I guess all the fruit trees are related at some level like distant cousins. This is a quince flower.

Yoshino cherry, similar, but different.

Pear, again, different but similar.

Purple lamium is a complicated flower. That awning on top has pollen on the underneath side that coats the pollinator when it crawls in to get the nectar in the bottom.

Pulmonaria leaves are distinctive with the spots. The flowers are small and could be missed.

The grackles are back. They look quite different when the iridencence shows or doesn't.