Very Sweet!

Yellow Warbler

58 degrees this morning and sunny - a lovely morning at 6:15 a.m.

As I drove down the driveway, a deer jumped across the road and it all happened so fast, I only caught a glimpse of it's hind quarters and a flash of it's white tail!

I decided to head to the upper gardens first. The wildflowers in the meadow improve weekly. Today some bright yellow coreopsis were in bloom along with some white campion, purple vetch and the white fleabane.

Coreopsis

In addition to other house wren families nearby, a pair I've been watching have finally moved in to the house next to the tree swallows as you walk the path to the lower gardens. They were very busy taking turns piling in the nesting material.

Tree swallows are feeding their young. Robins and catbirds abound as well as goldfinches, song sparrows and yellow warblers. I saw a family of Baltimore orioles in the upper gardens. The young brother and sister were still with their parents in a tall tree at the back of the gardens. A brightly colored red winged blackbird was extremely vocal.

Wild Rose

The vegetable gardens everywhere are looking incredible. The gardeners have put in so much work and so far, it looks like it's going to be a great season for them. The lettuce looks healthy and full, carrot foliage is looking strong, pea plants are as high as people's fences and the tomatoes are bulking up and looking strong. All the rain we had last week, combined with the sunny weekend is sure to add inches to everything!

Caught in the act!

Didn't see a whole lot today in the lower gardens. Saw a family of yellow warblers, several cowbirds and a barn swallow as well as our regulars. My favorite wild roses are blooming. The color of the pink is just glorious.

Heard a peewee calling from the woods as I headed down to the pond. Across the river was a lone cedar waxwing high up in a tree. This baby rabbit was caught red-handed. Luckily for the gardeners, it was in a weed patch near the river and was very happy with a plantain leaf.