Orioles, etc

I fell asleep on the sofa last night. I'm all right with that though. It's a damn comfortable sofa. I woke up at about 2:45 am and realized Guapo (our horse) was a few hours overdue for his midnight snack. I headed out and was greeted by some seemingly brilliant stars, and a nickering horse. Nice to see the stars after the dank, rainy weather we'd been experiencing. After tossing in a flake for Guap, I headed back to the house. One of my favorite constellations, Scorpius, was in perfect view in the southern sky. I spent a few moments watching it, wondering when I last saw it. I decided it was in Tucson, AZ last April on our way out to the airport early in the morning. Once inside, I crawled into bed and tried to go to sleep again.

I actually did fall asleep again, but woke at around 5:30 and was up for good. I had some coffee and a little later made my way back out to the barn. Fog had set in, but it was obvious this would break. I heard the distinct whistling song of Baltimore Oriole followed by the chattering they do. They had come in overnight. We saw a couple or a few throughout the day along with several more hummingbirds.

Peep-less, for now....

We planned on the peeps arriving today. The brooder was set up and our anticipation was pretty high. At about 10:00 I decided to call the feed store and check in. No deliveries so no chicks today. Maybe Tuesday. We decided to go anyway to get some supplies and found out that the poultry supplier was way behind and we had been pushed to the next group of chick recipients. No birds until the first week in June. Oh well. A setback for the day. I picked up some potato sets as well. I think I have a spot for them though I really did not think I would have room for them this year.

We headed to another grain store in West Barnstable for horse grain. After that we took a ride to Sandy Neck. I nabbed a 'year bird' there - white-winged scoter - so it was a worthwhile trip. Mrs. took some pictures of the area with her digital.

Tiller Success

I decided to try one more time to mess with the Troy Bilt to see if it would run for me. I tore it apart and after a little cleaning and some ether, the engine finally came to life with one or two pulls on the starter cord. I was able to create an asparagus bed within thirty minutes. I am SO relieved. I came across a spring peeper, captured it and moved it to a safer location. A nice, little frog!

Here's the bed. I filled two rows with 25 asparagus sets at 18 inches apart. I'll be picking up some more asparagus to fill the last row and moving that little spruce tree, though I have not picked a spot yet.


What asparagus looks like out of the box...... This is one plant.


Finishing up the first trench.
Now the question is.... Will they grow and produce for the next15 or 20 years?