Around the Yard

If you have been over, you know that we are "bird brains!" All the plantings in the front yard attract birds, bees, and butterflies. Here's what's blooming currently. The red flowers are the quince bush. When that blooms, the hummingbirds are close by. We have also put out oranges for the orioles, which should be flying over soon. A couple of years ago we planted 4 gardens across the front yard with flowering trees and bushes. This year (3rd year) the trees are really starting to fill out. See the cherry blossom above.
Mr Bluebird stayed with us through the winter. We hadn't seen Mrs Bluebird in about 10 days; we decided she must be nesting. Sadly, Rob found her little body in the yard one day when raking leaves. I talked to the folks at the local bird supply store. They said it sounded like a sharp-shinned or cooper's hawk had attacked her when I described how her body looked. Very sad news. So now we are very protective of Mr Bluebird, and hoping that he finds a new mate. We thought he had, but we were mistaken. So we keep watching...