So, what did I see this morning looking out the window? Baby bunnies. Baby bunnies are the cutest thing in this world. So little, I could easily fit one in the palm of my hand. I mean, hey, rabbits are adorable anyway. Bunnies??

Oh, and on the subject of cute baby critters, we have baby deer again. We’ve seen at least one momma and her 2 fawn. Last year we had 2 mothers and 4 fawns, I’d guess that there are at least another 1 or 2 mothers and their babes all fairly close. Last but not least, apparently we have our first chipmunk. I’ve not seen many since being back in Missouri. Lots of squirrels but only a couple chipmunks. This one (maybe two) seems to have taken up residence under our sidewalk and seems to be pretty happy in our garden.

The garden is now going into its third summer… at least the 60% that was put in the first year. The 40% I put in last year is now going into it’s second summer. I think it’s looking pretty good. Lots of plants are starting to spread through seeding. Most noticeable would be Columbine, Butterfly Weed, and Purple Coneflower. I started with 4 Columbines and now have 30 though most of those are still very small. They’ll flower next year. I think we’ve gone from 2 Butterfly Weed plants to 25 or 30 some of which have already started blooming. The Purple Cone Flowers have produced maybe 20 new plants this spring via seed. I’m generally pretty happy with how it coming along. I’ve inter-planted herbs and a few veggies this year: basil, garlic chives, oregano, sage, thyme, tomatoes, peppers, and pumpkin as well as a few others. Got more to put out too as soon as I figure out where.

I didn’t expand the garden much this year. Just letting things fill in a bit and trying to take extra care of all the little babies mentioned above. The two years of wood mulch are doing great things for the soil. As it is, there’s lots of clay under just an inch or two of soil. Some places it seems to be just pure clay and almost no soil. When this third year of mulch degrades things will be even better.

Currently in bloom: Missouri Primrose, Foxglove Beardtongue, Columbine, Purple Poppy Mallow, Pale Purple Coneflower, Purple Coneflower, Yellow Coneflower, Butterfly Weed, New England Asters. Best bloomer of the spring, thus far, Missouri Primrose: Amazing yellow flowers that just keep coming.

One last note, I’ve been walking more these past few months… everyday at least an hour which means I’m seeing more birds. My favorite (changes all the time!) is the Indigo Bunting which I rarely see. I’ve seen at least three this year while walking.


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