Bird mystery solved.

We’ve been seeing some very small, very animated birds in our yard and have not been able to identify them using the very small, limited field guide that I have.  Their most striking feature is the stripe of bright yellow that appears on either side of their tails:

image from http://www.symbolicmessengers.com

I told Bev about them, but she had never seen or heard of them before.  Ironically, after I left her house with my booty of plants and tools and seeds, guess who showed up in her yard?  Thanks to Bev, we now know what we are looking at – it’s the American Redstart!

image from http://www.symbolicmessengers.com

They have some fancy footwork and are one of the few birds that spend any time on the ground / in the lower part of our trees – either the feral cat population wards other birds off, or the the other birds (including some of the Greenwood Cemetery parrots and another large, brown bird with speckled white spots) must prefer to hang out higher up.

These little yellow flashers are delightful – I hope they stick around.  Maybe I’ll even get lucky and some of them will choose one of the bird houses I’m putting out….we’ll see.

image from http://www.hiltonpond.org

For now, we’ll enjoy while they’re here.

The transplant motherload…

It was a busy weekend, but I managed to get a few things done outside.  Lavender, night-blooming Jasmine, chocolate mint, and my Painted Fern all got transplanted to bigger pots, biding their time until those that can be put into the ground can go there.

I’ve been holding off on doing that until I know what other plants I’ll have to put in…deciding what will go where is going to be great fun – but not as delightful as actually putting them all in the ground.

It was a quick trip back home to PA over the weekend, but well worth it.  Bev, my long-distance gardening guru, hooked me up with transplants, seeds, hoses, rakes, trowels, screening, birdhouses, and a myriad of other gardening necessities.

Transplants dug from her own garden include:

Cassia, Wild Senna

Euphorbia, Chameleon

Sisyrinchium, Blue Eyed Grass

White Sedum & Creeping Sedum

Lamb’s Ears

3 types of Hen & Chicks

Plumbago

various Hostas

Liriope

Catnip

an Autumn Clematis

Red Lobelia

and…Sweet Woodruff

WOW!  I’m over the moon and so eager to see what these things do once they get in the ground.  I’m already thinking about this time next year and wondering what the yard will look like.

Here are a few photos of what I have to look forward to:

Autumn Clematis:

Plumbago:

Cassia (Wild Senna)Catnip:Euphorbia, Chameleon:Hen & Chicks:Lamb’s Ears:
Sweet Woodruff:
Lobelia:Liriope:Blue-Eyed Grass:White Sedum:

And those are just the transplants!  She also gave me seeds for hollyhocks, Cupani and King Tut Sweet Peas, Foxglove, Feverfew, Cilantro, Hibiscus Trionum, Calliopsis, Larkpur, Dill, Anise Hyssop, Dwarf White Zinnia, Butterfly Weed, Cockscomb, Cleome, Forget-Me-Nots, and Lunaria!!

Once I get my photos uploaded, I’ll to put up photo’s of Bev’s garden(s)…talk about inspiring…wow.

Thanks, Bev!  I couldn’t be happier or more eager to get going out there!