Nesting time for Orioles.

Hi there Mary and Jeni,

I have been putting out nesting materials for the Orioles that visit  my garden.

It has been quite successful.

I use two types of string and some fur donated by Alice and Abbie who love to be brushed.

I twist open the ply's of the string and cut them into less than 6 inch lengths.  I read that somewhere.  More than 6 inches is a problem for the birds somehow.

Then I add some milkweed silk that I save every fall.

Then I wait for a mother Oriole to arrive.

She picks up a little, then forages and picks up more, then forages and picks up more!

Then when her beak is just as full as can be she flies off into the woods.  It takes her about 15 minutes before she comes back and starts all over again.  

As you can see, if they have a choice they choose the milkweed silk.  However they will take the string if nothing else is offered.  I can always tell when they want the nesting material because they keep trying to pick up the string Jim puts out to mark our garden rows.

Quite a mustache there Mrs. Oriole!

Love,

Nancy

Speaking of flowers

Hi there Mary and Jeni,

It is the purple flower time in my garden...  Here is an Allium.

Some purple Chives.  The bees and butterflies love it so early in the season.

A Johnny Jump Up

The 'Clifford' Iris. Named because it is from the Clifford Post Office flower bed.

A 'real' Geranium, also know as Cranesbill from the shape of the seed pod.

And more Johnny Jump Up's..I love them!

Love,

Nancy

Flowers in pots, on trees, and growing wild.

Howdy Nancy, Jeni and etc.,

I spoke with Mom & Dad last week and they thoroughly enjoyed having the kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids visit. They were also enjoying the peace and quiet afterwards. I'm sorry I missed that visit - hoping to be there over Thanksgiving.

I've been busy planting stuff, trying to figure out how to put in a raised bed on slanted ground (the ol' bear will be here next week and he'll do the figuring out I haven't done), and messing about in Billings.

I've planted some of my favorite flowers on the front deck - gerbera daisies;

they are watched over by the blooming horse chestnut.

These blooms are yellow - in Whitefish they were always white. I wonder why?

I've also found some places in town to take walks. Lake Elmo State Park is one (they have a Whale Watching Club policing the area),

and the Zimmerman Trail up on the "rims." The rims are the cliffs cut by the Yellowstone River in ages past, and they rim the north and northeast parts of town.

The meadowlarks were singing away at the top of the park, by the trailhead. As I went down and walked among the rocks, I heard and saw other birds, and saw lots of flowers. The only one I recognize is blue flax - but I've never seen it such a deep blue.

On the way out I saw this sign again -

I'd completely forgotten about watching for rattlesnakes while I wandered. I'm glad I was wearing boots!

And here are two pictures just for Jim: Dehler Park (where the Billings Mustangs play)

and the newspaper section of Parmly Billings Library,

including but not limited to the Star-Tribune, Wall Street Journal, the Denver Post, the Salt Lake City whatever-it-is, and assorted Montana dailies and weeklies. Oddly enough, there are no New York Times or San Francisco Chronicle. Is the library too conservative for those papers? Hmmm. But - you can bring a cup of coffee with you if it has a lid on it.

Four Generations

Hi Mary,
We had a lovely Mother's Day this last weekend.  Liz and Paul came with their two children and we took pictures on the porch.  I think we had better take some of Grandpa with the kids too.   We were sort of focused on Mothers this weekend though.

Liz and Dresdon

 Bijou Margaret Darrow

Bijou, Paul and Liz

That's all for now.  

Love,

Nancy

First Rummage Sale, Minneapolis

Hi there Mary,

Jeni and I are jealous of your nice dishes.  Are they Fiesta ware?  We went to an Estate Sale and then to a Saver's store on Saturday.  Jeni found items but I didn't.  We chose the Estate Sale because the ad said "Singer Sew. Machs."  However they were all gone when we got there about 11a.m.  So my friend Annie and I went outside and waited for Jeni.  She got this huge basket with a cover, a vintage cookbook, a tiny plate and a knife and a tiny slotted spoon.  Oh yeah, and a yellow tupperware container with lid.  She claims we rushed her.  She may be right.

Since I didn't score at the cheap sale I will also give you a picture of the Great Blue Heron statue that I paid full price for at Sunnyside Gardens.  I think it will go in the area around my pond very nicely.
Sunnyside is remodeling.  They have changed the way they route cars through the lot.  I think it will be a lot safer because the cars will no longer go across the area between the two sheds.  That is now covered so it will be lightly shaded and the cars make a left upon entering and park along the chain link fence dividing the garden center from the parking lot for Needlework Unlimited.  I suspect they had problems with people driving too close to pedestrians and so made this change.  It looks good.
When we drove over there again today we noticed that the former Super Value is also under construction to change it into the Linden Hills Co-op.  Hard Hat area only there and a fence around it.  I am excited to see it finished.
Love,
Nancy and Jeni

First of the year (for me anyway): Rummage Sales

Billings does have good rummage sales, as I was told. I kept my spending in check though and didn't come away with anything out of the ordinary. I did get a stand for my TV ($2) which was previously on a box... and a set (more or less) of dishes to fill my mostly empty cupboards (includes the plates on the rack by the sink). Since many of the cupboards are up high, I don't want to fill them anyway. It's too hard to get stuff out of them. I also got some clay pots - but at a gardening center: I'll show you what I'm going to do with those pots after I do it. And this last is especially to tease Jim, as I'm sure he doesn't have one of these: a minor league ball field. It is one half block from our place.

It's called Dehler Park, but it's known locally as Cobb Field which it was for many years until they tore it down and built the brand new park.


Last year was the first year that the Billings Mustangs played in it - and I heard that they "stunk up the field." Maybe they'll be better this year. Last week from my driveway I clearly heard the sound of an aluminum bat hitting a ball. It was a legion game or Babe Ruth league - which also uses the park as the Mustangs don't start until June 21. I wonder if I'll be able to smell the hot dogs and hear the 7th inning stretch? I'm ready - I packed my scorebook.

Yardwork

The  Backyard

Today Jon came over and did some cleaning up in the backyard.  When he was done he was quite proud of his work.
Jim had been gone the entire time so once he came home I took him to the landing and showed him the view you see here and asked him my favorite question.  "Do you see anything different in the backyard?"
This is a question I have asked him many times over the years.  Only the last word of the question changes.
Jim looked at the yard carefully for a while and said.  "The green table has been repaired"  I told him "No".  He thought about it for a little more time and said "You moved the birdhouse".  Well, yes it had been moved, but that was not the change.
Do you see it?
Jim and I have been living here in the winters for 21 years now.  Mom laughed and laughed when I told her the story.  Then she asked, "Does Dad know Jon was here?"  I had to tell her yes that he knew about the change.

Here is another picture from the south corner of the garage.  We have seen two bunnies at once in our yard this spring.  I seldom see even one, so this is a big bunny population year.  Probably we will see bunny babies again this year.
Love,
Nancy

Art Deco Billings Montana

Well, as you know, I moved to Billings this weekend - to an "apartment" in a house that was rented sight unseen. While there was reason to trust that it would be a Good Thing To Do, renting without seeing even a picture does have an element of risk.

Nancy W. and I pulled up after 8 pm Saturday night. The first thing we thought was what a nice residential street it was. Since we couldn't read the house numbers, we got out of our respective vehicles (mine was a Budget Rental, and Nancy drove my car over), and went up to see. We found the right house, got the key out of the mailbox and went inside.

Built-ins in the hall closet

detail of living room cubbies

In the Dining Nook

Finally after oohing and ahhing for fifteen minutes or so, I realized the truck was out in the street still running.

Today, Nancy left to drive the Budget truck back to Evergreen. The house is filled with boxes and plenty of stuff to do. I ran errands today and managed to be lost somewhere in Billings for about 45 minutes on various roads, streets, etc (but at least I haven't gone the wrong way in their one-way rabbit warren of streets - yet.) Tomorrow I will walk - to my drug test. Gee, I hope I pass *smirk*