And Then the Rain Came

 Somehow, I slept in today.  Just after nine this morning I woke up hearing Gideon talking excitedly with his dad.  I was not awake enough to remember what caused the excitement, probably just morning.  When I finally got outside I worked first for a short time on the triangle part of the driveway.  I only weeded out a small area there today before I started to weed out the area where the strawberries are.  When I came in for lunch I started looking at some of the Google Map and Google Earth views of the house.  I was hoping to find some clues as to what the property looked like over the years.  There used to be a way to search the history, but that is only using the Google Earth Pro version, so I had no luck there.  All I found was a very unkempt property with the images from 2019.  Eventually, perhaps the images from Google will start to look a little better.  Getting outside and working on the yard is a happy thing for me today.  Why?  Well, all the little happy parts that include:

•   The feeling of accomplishment I am getting as things start to look neater and grow.  There are things that I planted-like the tulips in the front; and things that are just growing-like the bluets in the back; and things planted years ago-like the daffodils, roses, and fruit trees that will hopefully benefit with less competition for resources.

Varigated tupip.

Pink tulip.

Someday there will be a tulip.

• When I came in for lunch I learned that Keziah and Gideon were planning out a playground for the property near where the pool used to be.  The pool has been gone since before we moved here, but the deck for it is still there.  They have some fun ideas and I look forward to seeing them work on this over the summer.
• After lunch I put the SD card back into the wildlife camera.  I doubt I will get out to check it again for a few days.  I did notice that even more bluets seem to be popping up.  One set in particular though looked more blue than others nearby.  I wonder what causes that?  A nutrient, DNA, or maybe just the lighting?

So many bluets!

These looked bluer in person.

This patch was maybe one foot away from the patch above.
The blue is far less striking.

• Oddly enough, I feel like the blue on the bluejays is more vibrant this year too.  I also saw sparrows, robins, mockingbirds, and a goldfinch.
• While digging up weeds near the strawberries I found more rocks.  I vaguely remember coming across them briefly last year.  This year I decided to investigate closer.  

The rocks were under a layer of dirt and grass.
They seem to have been placed there...
I pulled them out.

Other things I found along with the rocks
include a hinge and perhaps a gate latch?
There is also some glass, brick pieces, and
maybe a piece of porcelain.

Digging the weeds up turned into a minor archaeology dig.  I like rocks and these will probably end up on top of the dirt when I am able to get back to this area.  And then it started to rain.

Dark cloud rolling in.

• There were also strawberry blossoms on two of the plants and some of the peas are starting to sprout.

Strawberry blossom.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead, by Carleen Madigan.

Wash your hands.

Bluet

 To my pleasant surprise, some of the zinnia we planted the other day are already sprouting.  I'm hoping that this year the things I plant will grow better than last year.  

Just two or three so far.
Trust me, they are there.

Other things I am happy about today:

• This gorgeous tree is out by a nearby art school.  

It might be a magnolia,
I'm not sure.

• Cats are adorable as they sit by the door watching the birds go by.

• On Saturday we noticed some bluets were out.  I found more today.  If my memory is correct, Mom and her sister used to call them pissabeds.

• Sometimes walking through the back property I see something and notice something new about it.  There is a rotting stump that I am sure has been there all along but today it looked different.  The angle I saw it from maybe gave it a different appearance.  I decided to take a closer look.  It turns out that it was once part of a fence.

It was the different shapes that caught my eye.

Getting closer I realized that it was not
 a completely natural formation.
It is possible that it is a fence pole or
a tree that grew around the parts of a fence
or a tree used as a fence that grew around the parts where the wire is.
There is wire coming out of it and it is 
rotting in interesting ways.

• Soon there will be more green.

☮

Currently listening to: Too Like the Lightning, by Ada Palmer.

Stay safe.