I cleaned the house all day Friday (even vacuumed the baseboards!), and then we had to go to Mt V on Saturday morning, leaving so early that I was too tired to do much on Saturday except stop at Lowe’s and buy a Physocarpus ‘Summer Wine’ and a serviceberry ‘Standing Ovation’ (didn’t even know there were named serviceberry trees). Also had to water, since (surprise) we’ve got no rain, it’s hotter than the hinges on the gates of Hell, and no rain in sight for the near future. WTF is wrong with this place!? Anyway, random stuff from Memorial Day weekend.

I knew I had some on the snakeroot, so just in case, I checked the Dutchman’s Pipe. Sure enough…

So…a week or so ago, Onje had chased a female cardinal out of the smoke tree/hydrangea area. I didn’t think too much of it; I just assumed she’d chosen a bad place to perch for the night. Then, P and I were sitting out on the patio, and Onje was at the smoke tree again. I chased him out, and wondered why the hell that bird kept sleeping there, so close to the place where people and cats hang out. Yesterday, P was mowing, and came really close to the smoke tree. What comes flying out of it? A female cardinal! Okay, this was getting weird. I had a suspicion, so I investigated. Sure enough, she’s got a nest in there.

It’s not visible from the outside–I stuck my phone amongst the branches–but Onje doesn’t need to see what he can smell and hear is there. I cut some branches off my rue and broke/crushed them (god, rue stinks), and hopefully, he’ll stay away. I’ll bring out the big guns in the form of ghost pepper powder if I have to, but I’d rather not do that to Onje if it’s not necessary. If I’m outside, there’s always La Chancla! Anyway, we’ll see, but she picked one hell of a spot for a nest!

Missouri primrose. I think these are just beautiful, and I may put some out front somewhere, just because they are so lovely.

I got up at 5:15 today (Monday), and since I knew it was going to be fucking hot, and I wanted to get these in the ground so I don’t have more pots to water, I was dressed, caffeinated, and sticking a shovel in the ground at 6:00AM. I had bought the Physocarpus ‘Summer Wine’ for the front flowerbed where the butterfly bush inexplicably died, but decided against putting it there after all. I just don’t care for the leaves, and besides, it’s for birds that spend the vast majority of their time in the back yard. I’ll think of something else for the front.

Physocarpus took the place of one of the “ninebark” plants I got from that asshole in MA. The ones that turned out not only to be maple and not Physocarpus, but Norway maple, which is a weedy species, and of which I pull hundreds of unwanted seedlings every year. That asshole…I remember who he is, and if he ever sells on eBay again…

I didn’t even  know there were named varieties of serviceberry, but apparently there are because this is ‘Standing Ovation’. I have only one surviving of the three or four tiny seedlings I planted a couple of years ago, and serviceberry is always welcomed by birds (or will be once it has fruits)! I dug up a volunteer ash(?) and a pokeweed plant for this one. Holy SHIT, does pokeweed have a taproot–that thing had to be five inches across!

EDIT: Forgot the big dude. This is one of the first wave.