Apricots, Apricots

Turns out that birds also like eating my apricots.

And so do squirrels!

(Yeah, we have all kinds of critters 'round these parts)

We did salvage two 5-gallon buckets full of apricots though.

So~ what's a gal to do with two buckets full of very ripe apricots???

 Well...

Jam, of course!

 11 Pints of Freezer Jam

5 Pints of cooked Jam (pain in the patootie to make!)

4 Quarts Nectar (or Chewy Juice as Rick's family calls it)

See anything unusual in this picture?

(Besides the really dry, hope-it doesn't-burn field?)

Here's a little bit closer look.

She was in the garden, by the apricot tree. She startled Shane, or he startled her...Or both.

He ran in the house, she ran to the back yard; for her photo shoot.

Shane thought it was a really big buck, but he turned out to be a she...with big ears!  



Well Then...

Birds hate me.

No, really...

It's a proven fact.

First, there were the Robins that started chirping. The chirping started every day, as soon as there was even a hint of light in the sky, and ended never every evening when the sun went down.

It was incessant, and nearly enough to drive me insane!

Now, I normally enjoy birds.

But this was a little much.

5 AM is not a good time for me!

Add to that the latest insult:

We have a cherry tree. A little over a week ago, it was loaded with sweet, juicy, nearly-ripened cherries. We had eaten a few handfuls of cherries and were anxiously awaiting them to be fully ripened.

Saturday evening, things were looking good...

Tree still loaded with fruit.

Monday evening, I walked over to check the fruit trees...

My jaw literally dropped to the ground and I gasped!

The cherry tree was picked clean.

Every. Single. Cherry.

I was so mad!

Those stinkin' birds!!!

I knew we'd lose some cherries to the birds~ but had no clue they would eat every single cherry!!!

I guess I should have been tipped off when I saw the Starling hopping around on the the back lawn with a cherry in his mouth. I'm sure he was taunting me.

I think every bird in the county was perched in our tree, having a sweet little feast. There was quite a variety of birds, which at any other time would have been awesome...

But this time, I was just too mad!

The apricots and peaches are still looking good, but I'm sure the squirrels will probably get to them.

I'm not sure there's even any point to growing my own fruit.

I guess at least the birds won't go hungry.



Mystery Solved

Well, the identity of the "Mystery Bush" has been solved.

Let me tell you, the flowers took their own sweet time in blooming!

Meanwhile, I was doing my best sleuthing work...

I asked anyone who came to the house if they knew what the bush was.

Best/Most Popular guess was lilac...but no one was sure.

I tried finding info online....Nothing was a good match...I was seriously beginning to doubt my ability to "find stuff out".

Until one night, I did a search for "late blooming lilacs" and BINGO, I had a match!!!

 They are lilac bushes, but they are not the standard, "Old Fashioned" lilac, also known as French Lilac, or Common Lilac (Syringa Vulgaris) but rather they are a hybrid, James MacFarlane/ Preston Lilac (Prestonia Vulgaris). I actually have 3 of them, 1 pink & 2 purple. They bloom about 2 weeks later than Old Fashioned lilacs.

Now we can all sleep at night~

A few other plants that have been showing off the last couple of weeks:

 (Red Twigged Dogwood)

 (Iris)

 (Snowball Bush)

 (Red Valerian/"Jupiter's Beard")

I have a lot of these reddish/pink flowers.

 (Chives in the front garden)

(Wisteria off the back deck~ almost ready to bloom)

What's Growing in the Yard This Week?

"A few" more yard finds~

We have a lot of stuff on our yard.

It is getting a bit overwhelming.

We are just slowly working at getting everything back in tip-top condition.

 Chokecherry

There are 3 large trees in the NW corner of the back yard & a couple more that have come up on their own~ I think.

Barberry

 I have a couple of these. A very pretty bush with tiny yellow blossoms.

This bush was covered with blossoms, but the wind got to them before I got a good picture.

 Oregon Grape & Iris

 Ground Cover & Weeds :)

I don't know the name of the ground cover. For all I know, it could be a weed!

 Ground Cover w/ Purple Flowers

 Grape Hyacinth

Not sure what is nibbling on the leaves. Possibly deer.

We also have a snail infestation. Bleh! Little buggers!!!

Mushrooms

 There are a couple of different varieties of mushrooms.

They are coming up everywhere! Interesting at first, now they are getting a bit annoying.

Kids know not to touch them.

 Another purple ground cover. Don't know the name of this one either.

Lots of dead leaves, twigs etc. that we are working on cleaning out.

I just ordered some seed/bulb/flower catalogs so maybe I can figure out what some of this stuff is.

 Iris

A few buds are starting to appear.

 Another mystery bush.

I have several bushes that are close to blooming.

Hopefully that will help me figure out what they are.

Don't worry...I'll post pictures.

I'm kind of obsessed with the yard right now.

(Mostly just wandering around and "oohing & ahhing")

 Lamb's Ear

 Stag Horn Sumac Tree

Very funky looking tree, with these huge blossomy thingies:

 This is in the backyard. I think it was a sandbox/play area.

We prefer to call it the "Indian Burial Ground"

(I mean no disrespect to actual Native Americans or their Burial Grounds, just so ya know)

It is currently growing some nice weeds.

Behind that is a fence & the "natural landscaping" area~ where the deer tend to roam

and try and get through the fence.

I've never really explored this little area too much. But on the right side of the picture, you can see the big rocks~ There is a rock wall opposite the wood posts.

And in that rock wall, I found these:

 (Yeah, yeah...another ground cover that I do not know the name of)

They look so pretty spilling over the rocks.

I also found these growing among the rocks:

Hens & Chicks

And...I have 1 strawberry growing. An actual, tiny green strawberry.

Peach, Apricot & Cherry trees have all set fruit.

Stay tuned for more pictures of random flowers, bushes and plants that I don't know the names of .



Yard Tour~ The Garden

Spring is finally here!

It's been kind of fun & exciting to see what is growing on the yard.

There are a few things in the garden spot that I'm especially happy about.

This is from the top of the garden, looking down. It's terraced.

And it needs a lot of TLC...we are working on that part.

Let's take a closer look...

Concord Grapes growing on the small porch/deck area on the South side of the house.

They are in serious need of pruning, which we'll do this fall. For now, we're working on getting them trailing around the railing again. I think the deer knocked them down.

Last year they produced a lot of grapes. Great for juicing!



At the bottom of the garden is this grape arbor, with table grapes. Also in serious need of pruning. To the right of the arbor is a mock orange which is struggling right now. Hopefully we can nurse it back to good health. There is also a Quaking Aspen (not pictured) that I just noticed the grape vines have attached to. We'll be cutting those vines out! I'm amazed at those little vines. Don't stand still too long, or you may find them attaching to you!

(Not sure what the plant to the left is)

Looking up: The grape arbor is behind me. We have planter boxes & a

rocky terraced area.

Quite a bit of this growing amongst the rocks (and everything else).

(Catnip)

And some of this in various places in the garden & the yard. Don't know what it is.

(Feel free to let me know what any of the plants are!)

And in the rocky terraced planters...I've found several of these little beauties.



That's right...strawberries! There used to be lots of strawberries, but the garden area was not well maintained. I weeded yesterday & found 15 or so plants. We'll see how they do this year with a little care. At the end of the season, I'll transplant them all in the same area (they are spread all over right now). They are blossoming right now and Shane is so excited that we might have fresh strawberries!

This is the raspberry patch. Not a dandelion patch...a raspberry patch.

There are 3 or 4 canes showing new growth...so we are hoping to salvage those. Weeding this planter is my next project. Then some much needed TLC for the raspberries.

I'm not expecting them to bear fruit this year.



Showing some struggling signs of life.

We did find out the sprinklers have not been working in the garden area...

Rick finally found the problem last night (a disconnected wire). So hopefully some good old water will help the plants thrive.

Although these seem to be having no problem growing.



We have 4 fruit trees; Plum, Cherry, Apricot & Peach.

All have blossomed and the apricot & cherry both have set fruit.

The apricot tree was drooping a little, but we got some water on it & I am amazed at the difference!

In just two days, the fruit has doubled in size!

I'm not sure we'll get fruit on the plum tree...I think it might have gotten some cold/frost damage with the last snow we had here. Just keeping an eye on it to see if it will set fruit.



This bush is outside the garden area...but also in the "not getting water" zone!

At first I thought it was a lilac. But sadly, it is not.



If you know what it is...do tell!

I'm hoping the buds will open up soon! This morning there are quite a few more buds on the plant (that water is good stuff!)

Beautiful peach blossoms. The peach tree was struggling. It has been nearly overpowered by the Apricot. All the trees need a good pruning...But I am hopeful that the peach tree will set fruit too.



Hooray for Spring!

(Now I'm gonna go take some Claritin :)