I decided to observe the first day of summer by taking a tour of our yard to look for interesting things to note. First of all, the temperatures have been cool again…really cool at 33 degrees when I get up in the morning. I haven’t lost any of our plants yet to the cold temperatures so I’m hoping they will continue to grow.
Our transplanted sunflowers are looking good in their new box. I think we may have over planted but my husband just can’t bear to thin the seedlings. I’m dreaming of the colorful flowers to come. The only thing to be concerned about are the deer that may somehow get inside our fence and eat the flowers like they’re at a salad bar. It’s happened before!
I don’t think I have mentioned that the sunflowers we are growing come from Renee’s Garden. I have once again received some complimentary seeds from them to use in my garden.
I also have a container filled with Junior Sunflowers.
I will share my results once they flower!
We’re blessed with an abundance and variety of wildflowers in our yard this year. Partly because we have kept the deer out and mostly because I convinced my husband to let a few areas just grow wildly. This has revealed a number of plants we didn’t know we had growing along the edges like the penstemon, the goosefoot violets, and the salsify.
Along with the increase in flowers, there are many more insects to observe. Right now there’s an insect that is rolling itself up in our aspen tree leaves.
We have ground squirrels that are burrowing into our landscaping berms. They are trying to tunnel their way over to the birdfeeder. Our dogs then take the opportunity to dig the tunnels out and chase the squirrels away. This is a problem because they unearth so many of our newly planted flowers in the process. I’m trying to resolve this problem without harming any flora or fauna.
The babies are all hatching in our nests and nesting boxes. There have been a few casualties along the way but I think for the most part the birds are thriving and it has been a successful year of supporting the birds in our habitat.
On a more serious note, we almost had a tragedy involving our puppy and mushrooms growing in our yard. We didn’t realize we had any mushrooms until I started looking carefully when Sierra started acting strangely. She was stumbling around, very agitated, and drooling. I found the mushroom near where she had dug up a small tree stump in our backyard. We rushed her to the vet’s and they were able to get her stabilized with fluids and oxygen. They tried to induce vomiting but were not successful. But, in the end, after a long and scary night, she came out the other side and seems to be recovering. We were very relieved that we caught it in time to get her help and that she’s a strong, healthy puppy.
PLEASE check your yard for mushrooms. Doing more research on this topic, I’ve learned that mushrooms are a common cause of poisoning for dogs. You can bet I will be mighty vigilant from now on and pluck any mushrooms up and throw them away as soon as I see them.
We’re looking out over the next couple months with anticipation for all the summer things we want to do while the weather is warm.
What did you do for the first day of summer?
Here’s a link to the original challenge for many ideas and printables to use as part of your early summer weather study: Outdoor Hour Challenge – Summer Weather
Hello Barbara, Greetings from NYC. I appreciate the sunflower suggestions. They are all very beautiful. I might try growing some in a small pot on our fire escape or on the windowsill.
I hope you share if you find out anything more about the insect in the aspen leaves. It would be fun and interesting to learn more.
In years past we had a few chickadee families, but lately there are more blue jays. They seem to have chased the sweet chickadees away, though the mockingbirds still sing from their perches high up on the building corners. And of course the little house sparrows are the most numerous along with the mourning doves and pigeons.
Thank goodness your dear puppy is alright!
All the best,
Dorina
It was quite scare with the dog eating mushrooms! She is completely recovered.
I will update you if I figure out what insect is in the aspen leaves…keeping a watch on them.
So good to hear from you!