Spatter

Quidditch At BBR

Every day I get to watch a quidditch match here at Blackberry Ridge.  The hummers dart about from one feeder to the other and seem to be playing a quidditch match as they vie for a place at the feeder.  If you've seen Harry Potter movies...and who hasn't...you'll understand what it looks and sounds like.  It's a great sport to watch  and it's free admission! 

Any attempt to photograph this territorial game results in just a big blur.  This is as close as I got to capturing it:

 

Here are a few solo shots of them coming in for a landing.  They're not that good, but they're better than the ones I took in previous weeks.  Hopefully, the  pattern will continue and the ones I take next week will be improved over these. 

 

One thing I know for certain: they're drinking up nectar so quickly that hardly a day goes by before I have to refill the feeders.  Here's the dinner party from yesterday evening:

 

Post Note
It seems the quidditch has made it to the muggle world.  You can read about it here or have a look see here:

Birdbath

Part of the renovation of our rock garden was the addition of a birdbath.  We originally had thought making a water feature in it to get some running water in sight and sound, but in the end, we opted out of that expense. 

We found an old concrete birdbath at Finders Keepers here in Floyd and  we sprinkled some colored stones in its bottom.  No moving water, though.  I'm thinking about getting something called a Water Wiggler to at least stir things up. 

In the meantime, I've waited anxiously to see the birds take a liking to it.  So far, nobody's wanted to take a bath...it may be a bit too deep for their liking...but much to my delight, they've started to drink from it.  It took a day or so.  First, a goldfinch, but then  Mr. Cardinal came.

Hopefully the word will get out and I'll see many more at the trough!

Dog Days

This weekend Judy's sister and niece and their dogs paid us a visit. We spent most of our time visiting on the mountain porch while watching the dogs run and play.  Barney and Charlie lost no time in enjoying the freedom of being in the country. 

Worn out, they came with tongues wagging for some water.

Meanwhile our Shaynee left the running around to the youngins and found her pleasure in digging for voles.

The Hay Man Cometh

The hay has been up for weeks now and I've been patiently waiting for our neighbor to come harvest it. While I had gotten right fond of watching the wind blow through  the golden stalks,  I always enjoy the process of haying and looked forward to seeing it happen:  first the mowing, then the fluffing, then the collecting until out burps a bale.  And too, I loved the days of pastoral splendor as bales dotted the landscape. 

This past Wednesday we took weekly trek to Christiansburg to buy and return things that can't be found in Floyd.  When we left at noon, there was hay.  When we returned at 8 pm, not only was the hay mowed down, it was fluffed and collected and the bales were on a flatbed truck being hauled away. 

I missed everything!  In years past these things were done in stages separated by days.  Why they did it all in one day this year, I do not know, but had I known I would've certainly postponed my trip.  Even if I didn't get to enjoy the bales for a while, I would have at least gotten to watch it happen. 

There was a small patch down the hill some that hadn't been completed.  It was  only mowed . Daylight had run out.  So when he came back the next morning to finish up, I went out to watch.  

 

It didn't last long and I didn't even get to see one single bale pop out.  Bummer!  And with the drought, a second cut is iffy.  So sadly, I may not have another chance to watch this year. 

 

BBR Tour

Some have asked to see pictures of what I've been sweating over the past couple of weeks.  My sweat...our sweat...has actually been flowing for five years now, so I've decided to put up pictures that reflect it all.

Just to give some perspective, I've started with one of the house under construction in 2003.  

 
Now fast forward to 2008.  The first two photos show the mountain view side of the house.  

That's the deck and rockers we sit on to look out at our "kingdom" and you can see the sliding doors that yesterday's little bird flew into. 

The bushes along the deck are red hibiscus.  When I arrived here on Memorial Day weekend they were all just the stubs that we had cut them back to last year.  As you can see, they've grown a lot in just a couple of weeks.  I expect they'll be in full bloom soon.  They actually get to the height of the railing by mid summer if the beetles don't get 'em.  You can tell by the grass how little rain we've had!

Below is the side flower bed.  You've been introduced to the daylilys there along the porch.  The foreground part of it is new this year.  It contains shasta daisies, fothergilas, split rock false cypresses, and some blue grasses.

This bed bends to the front of the house around a thunder pine. That boulder doesn't look like much in the photo but in actuality, it really makes an interesting focal point.

The thunder pine is an interesting specimen.  It has thick needles with cone sprouts called candles and its trunk twists and turns as you train it.  You do that by snipping the candles.

 

More of the same in front except there's a small Japanese Maple and behind it...and out of view in this photo...are two clematis vines that will eventually decorate the lattice on the dog run. We put that up a couple of years ago so we could go to Christiansburg all day without worrying about Shaynee's bladder.

Everything looks...well...new.  Try to picture it after everything fills in and up as you look at the photo below.  It's actually the front and the official back of the house.  The front door is straight ahead.  The "back" door to the mudroom is to the right.  I'd have planted something along the walkway and/or brought out the bed a bit further, but there are compromises to be made when you don't live alone.  Judy wanted to leave grass to drive on as a practical matter. 

 

Coming up next is our rock garden...this week's project. I thought I'd never get that trench/edge made!  All I had was a shovel to do it with and breaking through the grass and hard earth was  tough.  But I did it, and on the same day we laid the soil and planted both rocks and foliage. Yesterday we spread the mulch and Judy planted her little seedlings...flowers that she's been nursing in egg crate like incubators for weeks.

By the way, the dead tree branch is there by design.  We pick a new one out each year from downed branches.  The birds love to perch there..especially the goldfinches. Sometimes there are so many that they looked like Christmas tree ornaments  as they cue up for a place at the feeders and  hopefully soon, the birdbath.  Here's the rock garden before...first in 2004 and the next in 2005:

 

 

 
Moving around to the northwest side,  a red oak tree has joined a redbud and a couple of dogwoods.  The dogwoods have started blooming since this picture was taken...

We added two river birches to the front.  One is off to the right of the driveway and the other is on the left.  The bigger tree in the second picture is an ash that we planted last year.  The river birch is to the left and behind it.

Not counting the hundreds of white pine twigs that we got through the Department of Forestry in our first year, our maples are our oldest trees.

Two of the three are looking mature now. The third...over there on the right...is younger. Deer destroyed its predecessor.  We learned the hard way that we needed to protect their trunks.  By the way, the pines that made it are now about 4-5 feet high.

Why so many new trees? We've been trying to get some shade on this this ex-cow pasture.  I believe we're done now though.  We now have a mix of trees and grasses that seems to please the birds.  And that suits us fine since we love to watch them!

Finally, there's the entrance area...long neglected. This week I finally got around to planting three barberry bushes there to give it some color.  

 

I think we're finally at a point where we're satisfied to let it be, let it mature, and let us sit back and enjoy it.  It's been a lot of work, but it's been a labor of love!  
 

 

 

Close Call

It's not the first time it's happened, but it's the first time I've seen it happen.  A little bird busy flying somewhere flew right into the window of our living room sliding doors.  Bam! He fell lifeless to the deck.  He just stayed there, seemingly unconscious, or worse...dead.  It was a pathetic sight.  But after a while, lo and behold, he righted himself.

He stayed just like that for many more minutes...legs flat on the deck for stability.  I imagined him dizzy with things spinning in his little brain.  

Thankfully, after a few moments more, he flew away A-OK.  No doubt he told his close call story to his friends and family.

 

A Known Place

No global positioning system needed,
No need to check any source beyond myself...

My neck is red.
My hair is blonde
My weight is down.
My arms are scratched and bruised and tan.
My soul is lifted.

By these things alone I know where I am:
Blackberry Ridge.

First Summer Bloom

The irises have stopped their show, but the daylilys are standing in the wings ready to take over for the summer.  Here's our first bloom:

We first planted daylilys at our shed.  In one year they got thick enough to thin and we planted those taken alongside our porch.  FYI, the fuller bunch of leaves to the left are irises.

It looks like they're on the verge of bursting out. It's going to be so wonderful to sit at the table and be able to look at them. 

BBR Storm Cloud

This ominous cloud hung over us at Blackberry Ridge the other day.  Remarkably, no rain came from it.  That came the next day without the drama. 

Looking Good, Feeling Good

I'm sitting here with a glass of merlot, sipping it slowly as I look out at the fruits of the past week's labor.  It's been a week filled with pick-axing holes to plant trees, hauling water, and the like...but not once did I feel like I was doing chores.  Everything looks good.  The challenge now is to keep it that way.  The weather's turned very hot and very dry.  I wonder if this is the start of another summer where rain is sparse.



Post Note
In addition to the satisfaction I'm feeling, there's been an added bonus to all this sweat equity:  I dropped 5 pounds since getting here.