Sunday, April 12, 2009

24 Tonight

   This is a slightly better picture of one of my heaths.

Hmm.  It's Easter, so of course it's freezing and windy.  Yes, the daffs are blooming...Lots of hellebores, the bloodroot is coming along, there's Hepatica here and there.  I've noticed that our Japanese primroses have seeded in further down the stream...We'll probably be cited for starting a non-native invasion.   Don't care, they're gorgeous.  As long as the deer don't get to them before they bloom.    I will arm myself with a sprayer bottle full of Deer-Off when they are fully budded, and go do my best to protect them.



This is a Helleborus niger hybrid, possibly my favorite Hellebore and one of my favorite plants.  It blooms in early March, which in itself is a miracle.  And its beauty is miraculous as well.  It is more purely white than most strains of Helleborus orientalis, and I like the relationship of flower size to stem better as well.

Yesterday we watched as a Fisher wailed on an old birdhouse until he managed to rip off part of the roof, and extract the (hopefully already dead from fright) chipmunk within.  Quite a sight, clearly so much energy, strength and determination in that long furry body.  

Lots of remains of winter nests:                                  

The voles get pretty cozy.  P. says that they don't tend to nest as much if you clean up more in the fall.   I am a lazy gardener...