Couldn't Resist !

Every Dandelion in the County got the word to open up today, it seems ! Thousands of the gorgeous little things are everywhere...in lawns, on roadside edges, in fields. In light of the awful shootings at Virginia Tech down in Blacksburg, and my brother's and father's cancer...these obstinate, persistent YELLOW flowers are a strong cheery sight. Grazing animals eat their leaves ( our chickens love a basketful of their leaves, stems flowers and roots) and flowers...people even cultivate Dandelion greens for themselves. Insects collect pollen and nectar, and the seeds feed various finches...including Goldfinches. Last year, out at the Blue Ridge Center, Jamie and I saw hundreds of Goldfinches lift off of a field of Dandelions gone to seed in a single undulating wave. I'll never forget it.
Who knows what sort of microscopic agreements, arrangements and connections are happening underground between the Dandelion and the incredibly abundant world on the other side of the grass ? Despite being labelled a Weed by some people, it carries on its multifaceted life, laughing all the way, I hope !

Off To Arizona

Jamie and I leave for Sunlakes, Arizona , to visit with my Mom and my 4 brothers. The main reason for the gathering is that one of my brothers has pancreatic cancer and we all want to have some time together. Dad can't make it..he's staying behind to deal with one of his own cancers, and then he's off to Hawaii to spend some time with his son and his wife, who I got to know some when Mom and I went out in November '06...I'm so glad that they have each other. I really like her down-to-Earth attitude, and her compassion :>
We'll be gone from Virginia for a week....a lot can happen in a garden in a week ! This picture is of a big Dicentra (I took today ) that puts on quite a show for weeks in the Spring, and wears out later in the Summer. I'll take another picture when I get back and see how much it's grown. No sign of the Garden Toads yet, although we've heard some frogs/toads or peepers in the area. We are honored to host an area for some toads to live. Each Summer evening they patrol the Stone Patio for bugs and slugs. We leave out little Toad Pools ( shallow dishes of water ) for them to soak in when it's dry, hoping to create a nice toad habitat.
We've had close to 3" of rain over the last few weeks...maybe more...our electronic rain gauge fell over, and I didnt keep perfect records of the manual gauge...and it looks as thought it is finally going to warm up. The Stitch Club is on Junco Departing Watch...we're trying to figure when they leave the area. Their numbers have definitley fallen in the last few weeks...they are off to the Boreal Forests to nest and raise their young on the forest floor...I can't get over that...why not up in a tree ??!!! We'll be looking for the first Catbird before long...last year I saw the first ones in our yard on April 25th. It was a great year for Catbirds...they were everywhere it seemed ! Love their tiny little black caps.