Trisha’s ducks come to feed every morning a few minutes after sunrise then they spend the rest of the day in the little pond at the north-west corner of our lot.  This afternoon I heard a lot of splashing sounds and decided to take a look.  The little quackers were flapping wings, dunking themselves and darting about like crazy apparently taking advantage of the sun and calm conditions to take a collective bath.  It was a lovely sight.

Ducks on the pond

We were treated to a couple of hours of sunlight today and I took the opportunity to get a photo of our little witch hazel, just planted a couple of months ago.  This brilliant golden color will be quite spectacular when she reaches adulthood at over ten feet tall.

This little guy is changing colors quickly and I doubt he’ll keep his leaves much longer so I got a photo today before the next windy day leaves just naked branches.  In the forefront at top left you can see a bit of the red berries from the Hawthorne and to the right some of the Paperbark Maple.  The low shrubs in front of the Coral Bark are varieties of variegated dogwood.

This little piggy planter moved with us from Michigan and has spent all those thousands of days outside, its natural cedar taking on the elements for over fifteen years. We figured it was time for Pig to get a little cosmetic updating. So loose slats were reattached, lost eyes and tail replaced and a glossy coat of pink paint applied. He looks pretty spiffy now.

The latest addition to our 2010 landscaping projects is complete: a garden shed. We purchased a pre-fabricated resin structure from Costco and managed to clear the area (four trees and stumps), build the wood foundation and put it all together is just a little over a week. It’s an 8 by 7.5 feet building that looks nice in our wooded setting and keeps our garden tools out of the garage and near where we use them.

A year ago this month we built a new elk-resistant fence in the north-west corner of our lot where the critters repeatedly broke through our old filament fencing. Now we’ve finally completed the additional 120 feet of fencing to the north east lot corner. Gone are the mangled black filament, logs, sheets of bamboo and metal posts bent by the bear break-in last fall.

Now we have a consistent run of green metal fencing strung on eight-foot high 4×4 posts each set in 120-pounds of concrete. And a gravel path leads to a nice cedar gate opening to the neighbor’s lot, a cedar bench and bird bath. It’s a great place for a morning cup of coffee or to watch the sun set on Mailbox Peak to the east.

We have a new baby on the block. A flicker and her chick are living in a large snag in the next door neighbor’s yard and we have an excellent view of them. The little one makes regular bursts of piercing chirps to call for food and mom dutifully provides the meals.

Among the flock of ducks that regularly feed in our back yard, one pair seems to have taken up semi-regular residence spending many hours just lounging in the grass. Lately, they have become more comfortable with human presence and occasionally feed just outside the kitchen window. But today there was a special site: Mrs. Duck hopping up on the rock and getting into the bird bath.

Some of our earlier bloomers, especially pulmonaria and rhododendrons, are beginning to show off. This is a bloom from a ‘Starbright Champagne’ rhoddy, tucked away toward the back of our property and rarely seen. It’s particularly beautiful this year.