Hello, friend! I hope you are doing well. We’ve had a stormy spring in Southwest Missouri. Matter of fact, last week we had SIX confirmed EF-0 tornadoes in and around our city and the region of the Ozarks! Several people had property damage in our area and many trees were uprooted causing road obstructions and damaging electrical lines. Clean up in our city is ongoing and some are still without power, though they expect it to be fixed in the next few days. Thankfully, we just had a few branches down and never lost electricity. Tornadoes are a fact of life here and it’s wise to have a healthy respect for them and a safety plan.
On the upside, we’ve had a lot of rain making the leafy forests of the Ozark Mountains look like a lush, green sea. My plants have been thriving with the joy of spring too.
My yarrow is coming back strong. Pincushion flower Last fall I cleared a small patch in the backyard and sowed several different native Missouri wildflower seeds. It’s been so exciting to see them take off 💚.
About three weeks ago I noticed a house finch with a yucky eye, a sign of a contagious infection among songbirds that can be passed easily at feeders. So, I took all the feeders down, disinfected everything, and raked the ground under them. I just put the feeders back up a couple of days ago, I sure missed my little friends and am so happy everyone looks healthy.
House Finch, male
House Finch, female Common Grackle The Chipping Sparrows are back for the summer, one of my favorites. Northern Cardinal, male Northern Cardinal, female
Though they don’t hang around long, it’s always exciting when the first red breasted grosbeaks arrive in the spring on their migration north. This is one of two females I’ve seen at the feeders, no males so far. A pair of robins nested in one of our evergreens in the landscaping near the front door. I had fun watching them grow up through my binoculars, their Mom and Dad were excellent parents. I saw one of the babies stretching its wings in the nest yesterday and thought they might be close to fledging soon. Sure enough, the nest is empty today!
I made my hubby’s favorite cake earlier in the week. I had put the cake pan on the counter, turned around to get some ingredients out of the fridge, turned back to put them down, and this is what I saw. 😸 (Don’t worry, I washed the pan and Frank got to hang out in the bedroom while I made the cake.)These three 😻!
Amy's Axons 