Drama and Beauty in the May Garden
Bears: Hummingbirds return here around May 11th. This year, I put out five feeders for them on May13th. In the middle of that night, our dog, Amanda, started barking wildly; we knew something was amiss. The next morning, we found that four of the feeders had been taken down by a bear. We’ve rescued a couple of the feeders from the nearby woods, but will wait for at least a week before putting them out again.
Lost Grosbeak Fledgling: At dusk a couple of days ago, I went flying out the back stairs to scream at deer in the yard. A grosbeak fledgling was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, stopping me dead in my tracks; as soon as it saw me it opened its mouth asking to be fed. How she knew I wasn’t a threat at the moment is rather amazing. I got a shoe box, a tiny bowl of water, and sunflower seeds. I chewed one and tried to feed her, but she didn’t want that. What to do? I remembered a bird rehabilitator who lived nearby, but when I looked her up, I found she had moved. This is where the internet is such a great resource. I looked up bird rehabilitators in Ulster County to find Kathleen Foley who lives about 40 minutes from me. She gave me good advice: make sure the bird stayed warm, there were frost warnings that night. My husband’s man cave office was perfect and toasty. I was spared having to dig up worms, chop them, then feed them bit by bit to the little one. Birds sleep and don’t eat at night. I was willing, but gladly didn’t have to.
The next morning I drove the fledgling to Kathleen’s for knowledgeable tender loving care.
Brown Rabbit: A brown rabbit has been hanging out back in and around the moon garden, adjacent to veggie garden. Our next immediate project became only too clear as brown bunny was sighted inside the vegetable garden fence.The fence must be repaired or all my hard work will be for naught, which is too heartbreaking to consider. Neither one of us feels like doing this task, but here we go.
Such beauty unfolding in the early spring gardens, but, as in life the challenges never stop. Enjoy the moments in between.
Bleeding hearts are such a lovely spring flower.
A gift from Mother Nature, wild watercress growing in the stream at the back of our property. How fortunate we are.
A tender pea shoot, the first of many I planted will elude the marauding of the chipmonks. I still have to figure how to keep them out of the veggie garden. Perennial rhubarb unfolding is so beautiful. The first asparagus shoot is aglow with new life energy.
Chipmonks and Squirrels: They are fat this year; last year pinecones and hickory nuts were abundant. 
There are tunnels everywhere. I’m starting to put chopped garlic in the holes, asking the critters to dig elsewhere, for heaven’s sake, we are in the middle of a forest, don’t hang in my gardens…yea, yea, yea, but the soil is so sweet.
Voles: smaller tunnels and little piles of pellets. The voles are clean creatures that don’t like to poop in their warrens, so make latrine piles above ground. They’re everywhere.
On May 9th it snowed off and on all day. It snowed while the sun was shining. It snowed in dark swirling storminess. The sun came out in between the mini-storms revealing the green grass underneath, a reflection of the very topsy turvy world in which we live.
The flowering plum tree whose scent is so very sweet had hundreds of little pollinators on it. I jumped for joy and cheered, since last year there was far fewer. 
The viburnum flower has a more mysterious subtle scent, a dreamy spice of distant lands.
Oh Dear, the Deer: Our three acres are not fenced in. I try to discourage deer through various methods. Yesterday, I made the first batch of anti-deer bonbons.
Cut mosquito netting or cheese cloth into little squares. Put a dollop of chopped garlic from a jar in the middle then tie up the bundle with a piece of string long enough to tie it to a stem or stake.. Dip into an egg/cayenne solution. I make a bunch at a time, resting them on newspaper before dispersing them around the garden. 
Daffodils, with a delicate sweet scent, are a joyful welcome to spring.
Sweet Amanda barks when deer are close by, but this evening her hair stood on end, her barks were fierce and furious as she put her front paws up on the kitchen sink, a rare occurrence indeed.
