Happy Earth Day, 2023 edition

Shockingly, it did not rain all day. I didn't manage a bike ride, but I did finally shift the mower out of the garage and get the grass cut for the first time this year. I was pleasantly surprised to find that shifting a push mower through slightly wet grass, some of it pretty damned long, wasn't as impossible as I expected. The front yard seems to be less thick with moss this year; I'm not sure why that should be, but it made for a much easier first mow. 

After that bit of labor (and some raking and sweeping because the magnolia and the camellias are dropping a lot of petals), Scott made me a small pot of tea which I carried out to the Folly where I sat for some hours with my book and my camera. Alas, the very gold goldfinches did not pose for me, but some other very attractive birds stopped by. 

Black-capped chickadee in the magnolia (not all the petals have dropped)

Very handsome white-crowned sparrow, first appearance

Plum blossoms, sadly not being visited by any mason bees

Steller's jay coming up the path to pay a visit

Tulips in the hillside block. A passing dogwalker declared them to be a kaleidoscope of color.

White-crowned sparrow with, I'm thinking, a very fresh white crown

Molting goldfinch

Taking the scenic route home

Arty still from the accidental video; 20-second video below

 

It wasn't raining and, in fact, there was blue sky when I emerged from work this evening so I opted to take the right towards Alki rather than riding up Avalon, and that made all the difference. The turnstones were out in force and making a bit of a racket. (Honestly, who would live anywhere else?)

Nap all day. Sleep all night

 I'm just so damned tired these days, and I don't know why which is vexing--or would be if I weren't too tired to care. But I hate to have no record of anything so I'm throwing up a handful of unretouched photos in no particular order as today's installment in the Waving/Drowning/Who Cares series and calling it good.

Some goose prints on Harbor Island pavement a few weeks ago

The Greenman and bits of the patio from across the yard

The sign alerting this year's mason bees (see below) to the location of this year's mud

Mason bees were ready to get out of that damned tube as soon as we installed their house.

A less-than-entirely-successful panorama of the backyard a week or two ago

My motto and my life's aspiration on the back of a Suzuki

Space Needle! From the night we went to see Seattle Shakespeare's "Drum and Colours," aka abridged Henry IV

The Spring Equinox Greenman while his new hair was still fresh and green.

Seeing what would sprout from slightly outdated tomato and pea seeds (a lot, as it happens)

A portion of the tulips on the hillside block with bonus grape hyacinth under the Japanese maple

Slightly out of order pea starts (from last year's saved peas because I'm just that Little House

That day they had baby goats at the West Seattle Farmers Market (I did not bring Jubilee home.)

My new favorite spot in the back yard: Scott's Folly

 There should be some sort of finale photo here but, well, there's not. If I could rearrange to end with the sloth I would but I lack that level of ambition. See also, so damned tired. Oh wait: 

Happy Springtime!

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