A Second Look--July 3, 2013

This is a great time of year because new kinds and colors of flowers are blooming everyday. Soon we will hit the really hot and dry part of the summer when nothing is happy except the weeds. But for now, the flowers are outshining the weeds.

On the bird front, the baby bluebirds have blue feathers on their wings and will probably fledge soon. The sparrows continue to build a nest in the other box the sparrow kind of way--messy.

The deer haven't been as prevalent this summer in the yard, but I did see a mother with two fawns passing through. It was fun to watch as the mother had to nudge one of them along. I guess kids of all kinds can be distractable.

Here are a few things I saw this week during a Second Look.

This marigold is a volunteer from last year.

Coreopsis and blanket flowers.

The enemy has arrived-- Japanese beetles. We are seeing a lot more holes in things as they eat away.

Balloon flowers

On the left is the box containing the sparrows nest. It is made mostly of twigs like the one they left hanging outside. On the right are the baby bluebirds in their typical pile. When they know it's not one of their parents coming to the box, they play possum.

Day Lilies

Yellow trumpet lilies have joined the white ones that were blooming last week.

This squirrel is enjoying some of the old seed that Wally threw on the ground when he cleaned the bird feeder.