Signs of Spring 2021

 These are some of the blooms I've seen in my yard during April and May:

This weeping cherry was planted by the birds years ago.

Two more weeping cherries the birds planted.

When I planted this forsythia, it was just a stick.

I bought this cherry tree at a plant sale years ago.
The cherries are small and not good to eat.

Wisteria I planted on the gazebo a decade ago.

This lilac started from a slip I dug up on my farm.
See https://peevishpen.blogspot.com/2017/04/lilacs-and-connections.html

Redbuds and other lilacs.

White dogwood

Pink dogwood

Spirea

Purple money plants

Lighter purple money plants.

These azaleas were here when we  moved in.

I transplanted these iris from our graveyard.

I planted this sweet shrub a few years ago.

 I planted this clematis at the old gazebo.

Mama gave me these peony bulbs two decades ago.

Iris near road.

Yellow iris near road

Ruffled pink iris

I planted these peonies near gazebo a decade ago.

The birds plznted these wild roses on the pature fence.

Birds planted this wild cherry too.

The poplar tree was a volunteer that just kept growing.

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Trees Are Watching

Not long ago, the oak in my front yard was watching for spring. Here's how its eyes looked from different angles:

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Mulberry Down Again

Back in December 2013, I posted "Mulberry Down" about how our mulberry tree had to be trimmed back because half of it was leaning over the courtyard lawn. Well, half of it is down again, but it wasn't our doing. This time high winds split it in half.

We've had a lot of rain recently, as well as high wind. Apparently the tree couldn't take any more and split.

My husband got out his chainsaw and finished cutting the split part away from the rest of the tree. Then he attached a chain and pulled it loose with his tractor.

The severed part looks like a strange animal, doesn't it?

Another split is developing, and we will likely lose half the tree again.

Before long, the cut-up pieces of what came down went into the flatbed.

These branches will go down the road to the farm where they'll provide habitate for little critters.

Meanwhile, the rest of the tree remains.

How long can a tree divided against itself stand?

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Mystery Vine

About a month ago, a mysterious vine started growing on a low-lying limb of the pin oak.

The vine grew pretty fast, but it wasn't kudzu. We decided to take a closer look.

It had big leaves and some small flowers on stalks.

A variety of bees seemed to like the flowers.

The vine has  tendrils that attach themselves to branches and leaves of the pin oak.

It also has odd little pods that grow beneath the leaves.

 I asked some friends on Facbook what it might be. Guesses included kudzu, wild grape, fox grape, moonseed vine, and moonflower. A few folks suggested wild cucumber, which seems the most likely possibility, but a wild cucumber has a different flower. Most likely my mystery vine is a bur cucumber—but my vine looks slightly different from pictures I found online.

Whatever it is, its days are numbered on the pin oak.

So—is it a bur cucumber, or what?

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Praying Mantis

One of the working insects around our house is the praying mantis. This one blends nicely with the elephant ear beside the driveway. Do you see it?

Here's a closer look:

Several inhabit the two Norfolk Island pines on the front porch:

One of them (or perhaps it's several working different shifts), inhabits a flowerpot on the table where I feed one of the outdoor cats. The cat food attracts flies, which attract the mantis.

About two weeks ago, a mantis figured out that it would be more efficient to lie in wait for the flies at their destination. I haven't actually seen the mantis catch flies, but I've noticed a considerable decline in the porch-fly population.

The cat doesn't seem to mind, either.

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