Day: June 26, 2015

Ooops! I fell ‘off the radar’ this week. The grass is growing more quickly – more mowing. These darn rose chafer beetles are swarming our gardens. They’re incredible! We keep stopping and picking them off and tossing them in our ‘beetle traps’. But somehow there are a gazillion more of them the next time we walk by. Our beans are really taking a hit as their flowers have bloomed this week. I’ve read online that putting some roses in as ‘sacrificial plants’ can help you to attract and collect them. I like that idea better than using an insecticide. Sorry roses …
The donkeys are loving their morning chore – mowing the back lawns. We’re ‘a cackle’ with baby grackles this week. Today I decided to take down the tube feeders to encourage them to move on to the fields with their fledglings. I figured I would empty the tubes so the chipmunks could have a treat … Another Oooops! Forgot about that when I opened the gate for the donkeys to have their green treat. Ha! Didn’t take them but a minute to discover the smorgasbord.
This week I’ve come across baby wrens, chickadees, robins, catbirds, phoebes and finches as well as the grackles. It is fun hearing the newbies singing in the bushes and the woods.
When I last looked out the bathroom window (which is where you can see this scene) Paco had made a dash for a roll in the sand on the front knoll. The jennies stayed behind. Darby and Rosie didn’t bother at all … but little Bella started to whine and whimper when she discovered her sidekick had disappeared. I had to smile when I noticed his ears perk up down front and then watched him climb the Bully Road to peer up at Bella. I think he hoped that would be enough to calm her down – just seeing where he was. But no – she started her little ‘chicken bray’ and so her good pal came loping up the hill to the gate. When she could figure out how to get to him they both decided to go and rest up in the barn away from the flies. It never ceases to move me when I see how gentle and caring Paco is with her (and the others).