Getting her trained

I've been thinking that a jay this young might be easier to train to eat out of my hand than the crafty older ones I've tried with before. I set a peanut out on the little green table quite close to the patio...so far she's flown down onto the grass twice but hasn't had the nerve to land on the table and pick it up. She's also snacking on sunflower seeds out of the regular feeder in between peanut runs, so she's getting some good meals out of my yard!

Score!

Looking for a Handout

A young scrub jay hoping for goodies in the garden this morning. Scrub jays haven't been around as much this year and I've run out of peanuts--off to get some for him/her. She's being so patient! (Her new feathers must itch as they come in. She's spending a lot of time picking and scratching.)

Tiger Flowers

Planted these bulbs in the early spring not really knowing what to expect as I'd never seen the flowers pictured on the label. They've got very tall fan-like leaves which need to be someplace where no wind gets at them or they fall over (mine look pretty shabby). The first blossom withered immediately on coming out of the bud stalk and I figured all 35 flowers would do the same. But I looked out this morning and saw this beauty! Many more bud stalks to go--they're a variety of colors (the first one was golden yellow) and I'm excited to see them blossom.

The Terror of the Terrace

This is Bruno...a broad-tailed hummingbird (I think). Yesterday I decided to move the hummingbird feeder into a shadier spot, so I hung it from the big elm tree, about ten feet closer to the other bird feeders. Within a couple of hours Bruno was not only eating at the new location, but guarding it as well from every finch or sparrow (and even one dove) in the area. Fortunately, he does it occasionally but not non-stop, so the other birds have time to eat and drink. He flies at birds at the feeders, chasing them into the trees and then zooming back and forth, back and forth, like a guard in a jail, letting them know they're trapped. Quite the feisty little guy!

Goldfinches a la Bunch

The pretty little lesser goldfinches flock to the thistle feeders, then an incoming house finch (which comes in like a big thug compared to the goldfinches) scatters them for a minute or two before they can fight their way back in.

Siberian iris (which, sadly, havent bloomed this year) reflected in evening light.

Sunday afternoon in the garden

Toby enjoying his catmint plant

I have no idea what this little flowering plant is...it's a volunteer that came up last year but never bloomed. This year it's got small white daisy-like flowers on it. It's about a foot tall, the flowers very small--about an inch across. The foliage has a minty smell. (Although the flowers look similar to the English daisy, this is a completely different plant--much taller and the blossoms are definitely different.)

And a female lesser goldfinch gets a drink.