Sunday, March 13, 2011

Cedar Waxwings Came Back Last Month. I Think It's Spring.

March is a month of rebirths and returns. I enjoy the rebirth in my garden and I enjoy the return of my migrating birds. It's already the 12th of March and the ospreys are late. Usually they check in the first week in March but they must be liking their southern habitats this year. Actually, I'm pretty sure I heard one today. They have a very distinctive call. But I haven't seen one yet, so it really doesn't count. Note: At post time, March 13, let it be known that I spotted an osprey this morning. YAY! The cedar waxwings were early this year - by a month. These videos were taken February 15, 2011. Last year's video of the cedar waxwings was taken March 15, 2010.
They enjoyed the berries on these junipers and spent the morning flying into my windows.
So much for last month's drunk waxwings. Here's my garden today: Mixed lettuces. Which I've been eating off of all winter. They even made it through a couple of inches of snow. Jonquil. Self-seeded cilantro underneath my roses. I love this color blue hyacinth. Mar, here's a closeup of the plant in question. The flower is similar to a gerbera daisy but isn't.
Edited to add: Mar has identified this as calendula.
And here's another for you, Mar. Edited to add: Thanks, Mar. It's Baby Blue Eyes. Happy Spring! Now for a little sadness. If you recall, I have a huge bay tree. I can walkout on my deck and pick leaves off it. I love my bay and I have quite a few baby bays, which I'm always moving around or giving away. If anyone wants one, you know where to find me.
Here's a picture of my bay tree
right before Hurricane Earl, September 2010.
And here's my bay immediately after Hurricane Earl. You can see the definite list to the left.
I'm unable to reach out from the deck to pick leaves now, unless I strap on a harness and have Mr. Hawthorne operate the pulley system, sort of like a wine angel.
Notice the root ball was pulled up about 8 inches.
Unfortunately, after a little more than a year, my bay tree hasn't straightened up any. In fact, I was worried about losing it. So .............
Wanna take a guess as to what that pile is?
Hmmm? Dang. If I could only sell that stuff I'd have a nice little nest egg, seeing as McCormick's charges a small fortune for these little suckers.

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Sheesh. I got a freakin' fortune out in my cul-de-sac waiting to be picked up.
The nasty had to be done.
I had to have the heaviest branch cut off to save the tree. This is looking down from the deck.
My before bay. My skinny after bay today. Sniff. Sniff. And seriously, if anybody wants any bay leaves, let me know.

5 comments:

Marilyn said...

Sorry about your bay tree. It is always a sad thing to lose a plant, even more when it is a useful plant.

I believe the blue flower is Baby Blue-Eyes: http://www.victoryseeds.com/nemophila_menziesii.html.

I am still working on the yellow flower, but I am leaning towards it being a variety of coreopsis.

Mar

Marilyn said...

I think I have it: I believe the yellow flower is a calendula or pot marigold - http://www.flowers.vg/flowers/calendula01.htm

Mar

Rosie Hawthorne said...

Thanks, Mar.

Kathy said...

Can you hoist it back upright & tie it to the house with a tire around the trunk or something? (Assuming it wouldn't pull the house over)

Rosie Hawthorne said...

No can do, Kathy.
Had to take the weight off.