Birds and Blooms in the Creation Garden

The male Finches went through the sunflower seeds to court
their girlfriends, feeding them only the best.

Our birds are numerous in the front and back. They especially like the back, where we have three hanging feeders. But they do quite well after emptying the feeders. They work over the ground for fragments, earthworms, and bugs in the midst of the mulch.

The Finches and Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks ate so many sunflower seeds that I switched to cracked corn, bagged for farmers shopping at Walmart, in 40 pound bags - $6. Likewise, WM has seed in similar bags for chickens. One accountant suggested using various grains, which are inexpensive and popular with birds.

 The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is the only bird I have seen
to step sideways to knock a bird off the bird-swing.
They are heavy feeders.

 Last year's blooms are a hint of what
may come from the Crepe Myrtle this year.

What Is In Bloom?

1. The Elderberries are in bloom and starting to produce berries. Enormous white flowers get darker and make tiny dark berries.
2. The Blackberries are farther along, the berries are plumping up.
3. Chaste Tree is about to bloom.
4. Mountain Mint is ready to bloom.
5. The big Crepe Myrtle is full of buds, getting ready to flower.
6. Cat Mint is blooming and feeding the bees.
7. Borage is growing in the front but flowering in the back.
8. Hundreds of Buckwheat are blooming all over.
9. The small Butterfly Bush burst into bloom. Butterfly Weed is in full bloom - bright orange.
10. Now that we have summer heat, tomatoes are in bloom.

 Easy Does It has been hogging the spotlight
with a constant harvest of orange and bi-color blooms.

Roses

• Mr. Lincoln is producing perfect blooms.
• Pope John Paul II gets more attacks in the early summer, but the beneficial insects soon make meals of the aphids.
• Tropicana began blooming in the back.
• Veterans Honor is bowling people over with long lasting pure red flowers.
• Easy Does It has out-produced all the roses with orange, fragrant flowers on long stems.
• Double Delight bloomed for Sunday's altar, and California Dreamin' (a cousin in coloring) has flowered several times.

 Fragrant Cloud is not only fragrant,
but intensely colored in the bright sunlight.