Bold rabbits

Since we don't have a dog anymore, the rabbits have become quite bold.  Here is a young one in the front yard. 

 

I had to get pretty close before it finally bolted into the border and tried to hide under some foliage.  (I still see you.)

Blueberry bonus

I think I've used my last pack of blueberries in the freezer making smoothies.  We should have blueberries coming in by the end of the month.  In the meantime, we were delighted with some organic blueberries that my son received in the surplus produce that is dropped off at his worksite.
I've made a couple of batches of muffins and a pie.  These blueberries were grown in Mexico (and certified organic by the USDA).  I don't know what variety they are, but the blossom end is not smooth.  That's a minor negative, but it is outweighed by the flavor, which is better than the Tifblue and Delight I grow.  I have a Premier growing at my mom's, and it has a better flavor than Tifblue and Delight.  I would have to compare it side by side with these to know which is better, but I think these might have a stronger blueberry flavor, the standard being the low growing wild ones we found as kids.

 

Hurrah for blueberries!

New potatoes

I dug a few new potatoes to go with our Memorial Day lunch.  I was very disappointed to find that some rodent had eaten one of the larger potatoes and who knows how many others that are underground that it has eaten.  (I only wanted to dig a few hills because I want to leave the rest of the potatoes to get bigger.  That will be a gamble since the varmint will undoubtedly be back for seconds and thirds.)  The few potatoes I found were delicious, though, roasted with some butter. 

 

There is a cat that shows up in my backyard occasionally.  I usually chase it out because I don't want it hunting my songbirds, but I think I'm going to leave it in peace and hope it catches some vermin.





Butterfly weed blooming early and beautifully

The weather has been favorable this year for early and lush blooms on the butterfly weed (a native that was transplanted to my border from the wild).  Also blooming with it is the wildflower Venus' looking glass which I purposely leave when it self-seeds and the little native "green and gold" which I also transplanted from the wild.
(credit to Caleb for the pics)

 

 

 



Update on bald cypress post

I updated my post on the tree with 2 stories when someone reminded me of a bald cypress planting at an historic site not too far from where the storied tree grows.  (Maybe the landscape designer got inspiration from that tree.)

A few flora and fauna pics

A friend of mine was recently showing off some newly planted veronica.  I caught a picture of the gray hairstreak butterfly giving the planting its endorsement.

At the Zach Goforth Memorial River Run, I noticed the palisade walls of Indian Mound were needing some mud plaster maintenance.  The bluebirds didn't seem to mind the conditions--any post is a perch.

 

In my mixed border, the clematis that I rescued from next door is blooming.  I am letting it climb through Grandpa's white rose (and into the osmanthus, if it wants).

 

On a negative note, I found several leaf-footed bugs sucking the sap out of the top of one of my potato plants.  I knocked some of them into a bucket of sudsy water.  I'll be after the few that flew away because I know they'll be back.



 

(There was also one larva of a Colorado potato beetle that I dropped into the suds as well.  I had killed one beetle the other day.  Rarely do you see just one larva, so I will be inspecting the vines to see if there are more.)

The blue flora and fauna made me happy, and the brown one gave me the blues.

 



 

A tree with two stories--Updated

Today, I had the chance to visit with my parents.  Daddy was telling me about a tree that was quite unique in his area (said he only knew of one other like it, and the other had been cut by a lumber company that wasn't supposed to cut it). 
"Can you show it to me?  And I'll take a picture."
"Sure I can show it to you, but it's in a man's yard, and he might not take too kindly to you taking a picture of it."
Well, I was absolutely taken with the beauty and stateliness of the tree.  It looked to me like a bald cypress, and the new growth gave a fresh, soft appearance that contrasted gorgeously with the strong trunk.

 

This tree is inland from the natural range of the bald cypress.  The story (one of the stories) is that back in the days of mule and wagons, farmers in the area would go to Wilmington, NC, to get their fertilizer for the year.  Now, that in itself was a fascinating thing to me because that would have been a long trip (roughly 300 miles, round trip).  Also, that doesn't narrow down the dates as much as you might expect because it's possible that the farmers in the area were still relying on their mules and wagons even after the advent of cars and trucks.  It also brings up the topic of the history of fertilizer, which is a whole 'nother can of worms.  Anyway, the story (one of the stories) goes that one of the farmers brought back a couple of cones from a tree in the Wilmington area and planted them.

The other version of the story is that a traveler came through the area, spent the night at one place, gave his hosts one of the cones to plant, spent the night in the other location, and also gave them one of the cones to plant.

Which story (if either) is the way it happened, we don't really know.  Judging by the size of the tree, it happened long ago, and we may never know.

When I look at the first shot I snapped, it's amusing to see pampas grass, which is native to a grassland growing next to a tree which is native to swampy areas (growing next to trees which are probably typical hardwoods of the piedmont of NC).

 

There is a possibility I have the wrong identification on the tree, but suffice it to say, it is a unique specimen in its area.

 

Update:  I was just reminded that there is a planting of bald cypresses at an historic site near where this tree is.  I would still say this tree is fairly unique in its area, just not totally unique.