Flock of Vultures

Flock of Vultures


There was a huge flock of vultures in my backyard this morning. Our house backs up to a large wooded ravine with a small creek down below, and we have all sorts of wildlife back there - deer, raccoons, Sasquatch.....

I was in my office checking my e-mail this morning when there was a flickering shadow across my face and I looked up to see an enormous bird - I thought it was a hawk at first - swooping past my window. As I followed his path I saw another huge winged creature, then another... then I grabbed my crappy camera (with no zoom) to document the swarm of at least 20.

They didn't linger. They mostly swooped around the ravine and looked menacing - like The Jets looking for a rumble. They perched on tree limbs, acted all cool, and then left about 15 minutes later. It wasn't their scene, I guess.

My bird-watching neighbor called, "Do you see those birds? They're Turkey Vultures! Is there a dead deer in the ravine?"

I see nothing dead down there, but you never know, there's a lot of brush and it's a large area. My guess is that they were just passing through. Giving us all a reminder of life's brevity....and a case of the willies a la Hitchcock.....



Yes, Mattel did actually create a Tippi Hedron from The Birds doll.

Nature can be strange.

When we bought this house the former owners told us all about the Wood Duck nest boxes they had constructed in the back yard. Then, totally randomly, the husband said:

"Yeah, one morning I was having my coffee, watching the birds, when I saw this raccoon climb down a tree, reach into the duck box, grab a baby out and snap its neck in two."

I gasped in horror.
He shrugged. "It's just nature."

Yes, well, I'm one to hide my eyes when clicking through nature programs that show lions eating zebras, or animals suffering in any way. Yes, I understand Survival of the Fittest and all that, but I can't help but think there must be a less barbaric way..... Clearly, I'm delusional....


Turkey vultures are menacing as hell:



Uggh, look at that razor sharp beak and those talons!!!! It looks like an alien creature from Star Wars.


Anyway, this is what I've learned this morning (from Wikipedia):

• It finds its meals using its sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gasses produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals. *shudder*



• In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air, flapping its wings infrequently.



• Lacking a syrinx—the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses.

Ack! Imagine having a little nap out in the backyard, communing with mother nature, the bees, the butterflies, when suddenly this hissing, grunting, Skeksis-like beast swoops down from the heavens with kamikaze intent, baring his flesh ripping claws and snapping his snarling, hatchet-like beak, sniffing your aura for a whiff of decaying flesh...

*bristles*
I'm going to look for some pretty flowers now....
Unicorns, rainbows and bunnies....Oh my!

And another year goes by undocumented

Having 2 kids has made gardening difficult. My free time comes in the evening, when Husband comes home from work, usually anywhere from 6:30 to 8:00 and I'm usually too tired to drag all my tools out by then. Weekends lately have been busy. So much to do, so little time.

"Baby" girl is now 4. And Baby boy has turned 1.

I had to hire someone to re-do the flower bed beside the driveway last summer. He spent several days with a hatchet and a RotoTiller and he carted away two pick-up trucks full of weeds and overgrowth. He laid sod where the beds used to be, but we kept one section as a small flower bed for the zebra grass, rose bushes, and misc. little decorations.

I have yet to get out there and play in the dirt this year. But, I shall be creating time to do it soon - for the sake of my aesthetics and my sanity. (It really is theraputic).

So no more empty promises. Pictures and updates coming soon. Cross my heart!

Still here....really!

Ok, I realize that nearly a year has passed again. I had great plans for last summer. We planted a gorgeous dwarf weeping cherry tree by the house (hopefully it will bloom in the spring). I had started to clear out the mess by the driveway and then....

*cue dramatic music*

Guess who wound up preggers??

So, my hoeing came to an abrupt end. We had to halt our backyard tree project and re-direct our budget towards converting a screened in porch into a year-round heated office, so that our spare bedroom could actually be used as a bedroom. (Project still not complete).

Winter was once again uneventful, garden-wise. The inflatable snow man made his appearance again. In fact, Husband did not remove him after Christmas and he's still out there. Yup, still out there.

I'm ready for spring, sunshine and warmth. Baby Boy is due next month. Baby girl is turning 3 next week.

I hope to escape into the garden much more this summer...and I hope to post more pictures to document the transformation.

To be continued......REALLY!!!

Tiptoe through the Tulips...

Ok, I know it has been far too long since my last post, but winter (garden-wise) was pretty uneventful. I meant to post some snowy pictures but I was far too lazy and unmotivated. Plus, Husband bought one of those huge blow-up snow globes with a snowman and "blowing" snow inside. I was so appalled I couldn't even look outside at my blighted landscape. During the day the grinning snowman was a heap of crumpled plastic marring the pristine lines of my carefully plotted beds. Every night it inflated at 8 PM sharp and I would fall asleep to the jet engine drone of the motor outside our bedroom window. And of course Husband positioned this monstrosity as close as possible to the house of our much-abused neighbors. Christmas cheer all around!

But anyway, I'm quite pleased with how my "mound of dirt" turned out. It seemed to take forever to fully blossom, but these flowers have been giving us an attractive show for several weeks now. So, the squirrels did not triumph in the end... *evil snicker*




I'll post more photos soon. Our grass is coming along nicely so far.

Plans for this year:

• Re-do the awful overgrown mess by the side of the driveway. I've already started to "hoe" out all of the violets and weeds and it is taking a very long time. I'm going to make this bed much smaller, and easier to maintain! Plus I will add more of our infamous sparkly rocks.


• Cut down major trees in the backyard. It pains me to do this as many are VERY old and VERY large, but we had a tree fall on the house last Fall and it was not fun. Many of these trees are starting to die, and it will ultimately be cheaper to have them all taken down at once. Plus I want to re-do the backyard landscaping some day and it would be silly to do so when we know these trees will have to eventually come down. Heavy cranes will be involved, extreme messiness will ensue. But I do love trees, honest!


• Add a dwarf weeping cherry near the front of the house and a few nice shrubberies surrounding it. Seee???

Back to the hoeing now.

Squirrel Patrol

NOTE: We do actually love squirrels in this house. We feed them and worry about them when they look ill. No squirrels were harmed in the writing of this post, they just enjoy taunting me.

After much planning and debate, we finally have our new Sugar Maple (Acer Saccharum Fall Fiesta). It's very tall. I hope we have lots of shade next year!



So all is right with the world, right?

I feverishly planted many Spring bulbs in the new rock garden. I became a bulb geek, carefully measuring the depth and distance between each bulb with my measuring tape. It took me over an hour to lay out the bulbs just right. It was like assembling a mosaic. I was very smug and proud.



From John Scheepers I had ordered 50 Glowing Pink tulips, 25 Spanish bluebells (Hyacinthoides Hispanica Excelsior)and 25 species tulips (T. bakeri Lilac Wonder). BTW - the John Scheepers catalogue is addictive, its like plant crack. I stare at their lush tempting photos and crave more bulbs! I also planted pink allium (Allium unifolium) from Dutch Gardens underneath the new tree, and I still have to plant some white crocus bulbs that I got cheap at Big Lots.

So anyway, in my mind I see this glorious eruption of glowing color next spring, something out of Monet's gardens. I see a lush, colorful canvas in full bloom. Birds singing, sun shining, the hills are alive, etc. etc.

And then they came.
Like a Biblical plague.
Those destructive, devious little devils, with their deceitful little button eyes and fluffy little poof tails.

SQUIRRELS FROM HELL.


I've tried training the cats for squirrel patrol. They don't go outside, but they can look mean and menacing through the front window. They could tap the glass with extended claws and hiss viciously to defend our turf. You know, earn their keep for once but NOOOO. One morning I awoke to find a fat squirrel happily digging trenches and munching my bulbs. I started banging on the front window like a mad woman, shouting "Drop that bulb you &#$*&*>@# thief!!!!" The cats just looked at me lazily, like 'yeah she needs to take more meds, man'. Ingrates.

Then I tried to recruit Baby to be my little squirrel soldier, but she just thinks they're cute. At this point, she honestly believes they are little dogs and when she sees one she squeals in delight, points excitedly and barks repeatedly. I'm not kidding.

*sigh* It's an uphill, lonely battle.

We'll see what remains (of my bulbs AND my sanity) in the spring.

Sculpture Garden Pics

Husband and I spent Saturday night at the Amway Grand in Grand Rapids for an early 4th Anniversary vacation. If you're ever in Grand Rapids, you must try The Grill at 1913. The food was superb. It isn't cheap, but hey it was our yearly "treat!" We had a tower suite on the 20th floor, near the white-colored window:



On Sunday, we spent several hours touring the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. It was spectacular! Here are some favorite pics:

Exterior of the Lena Meijer Conservatory:



Cacti inside the conservatory:



Color:


Palms:



"Herb Gardener":



In the Children's Garden:



Da Vinci's horse (Bronze):



Listening to History, Bill Woodrow (Bronze):



I heard a tour guide say that the following piece was carved from the same stone as Michelangelo's David and The Pieta. Odalisque IV, Manuel Neri (Marble):



Juan Munoz (Sorry, didn't write down the name). We saw a Munoz exhibition in Chicago when we celebrated our 1st Anniversary. I loved it, but Husband was not impressed with the "modern" art. I don't always love modern art, but Munoz really charmed me:



Waterfall:



Two views of my favorite sculpture. Of course I don't currently remember the artist:





Eggs! AKA: Full Circle, Carolyn Ottmers (Industrial Porcelain):



And finally, Visitation, Joseph Kinnebrew:




We didn't get to see all of the grounds. You would have to dedicate a full day to see everything. A visit to the gardens is highly recommended! I am now inspired to do better things in my garden.

Hmmmm, where to go to commission a sculpture.....

Traveling

Ok, today I ordered a large Sugar Maple for the front lawn. We have to dig the hole before they deliver it. We are currently arguing, erm, discussing, exactly where the hole should go.

I recently planted three dwarf junipers in the rock garden. (Juniperus procumbens 'Nana'). Of course now that the rock garden is set up as a full sun area, we're planting a tree that will eventually produce lots of shade. Figures.



Anyway, we're off to Grand Rapids for the weekend. We plan on touring the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. Will post pictures soon, hopefully.

It all seems a bit frivolous in the shadow of what is going on after hurricane Katrina. I had always wanted to visit the Big Easy. What utter devastation. I pray somehow, in some way, something good will happen to the survivors to make up for what they're living through now. There, but for the grace of God, go all of us. I feel humbled, and grateful for the simplest things.