Spring Sunset

It's a peaceful spring evening and I am outside on the back deck enjoying my new fire pit and a pretty sunset. The birds are singing their evening serenades and the bull frogs are tuning their banjos. I love this time of day when the creatures go to bed, the air calms and the colors wane. I am enjoying the crackle of a pine wood fire and the smell of wood smoke wafting through the air. My senses are calmed and soothed by such pleasurable surroundings. It's moments like this I thank God that I'm alive.

This afternoon I planted lettuce and spinach seeds. Since I don't have a conventional garden I decided to use them at the front of the flowerbeds as edging plants. Granted, lettuce and spinach make odd edging but once we've eaten them all, they will be gone. I also planted some tomato seeds at a corner of the back deck and placed a tomato cage above them. It's a hot location, something tomatoes are fond of.

A Bald Eagle flew over our field tonight and I just now saw a Red-Tail hawk soar just feet above it, heading to the windbreak to roost for the evening. How lucky I am to have so many large raptors feel this safe here on the Twelve Acres! How many people get to see a Bald Eagle fly through their back yard so regularly?

My cousins are out enjoying this lovely weather too. I hear them going around the family property on their four wheeler. I checked all the trees I planted and so far it looks like they are doing well. I lost a few that were planted last November, but they were free so I'm not upset about it. I planted 6 white birch trees yesterday before I went to work and I used them to replace those that didn't make it.

On a very sad note, Oscar was ousted from his nest box yesterday by Starlings. I was so upset! I put a bounty on those Starlings though, and rest assured, we will kill them. I am not worried about Oscar and his family. There are plenty of cavity nests all around the property. It's just that I was hoping I'd get to see him and his mate raise a brood so close to the house. I absolutely despise Starlings and I'd like to slap whoever it was that decided it would be a good idea to import them from England. They are a scourge to our native cavity nesting species!