I’ve been away on holiday. Thought I would skip the end of winter and hop back in just in time for spring. However, the freakish, equinox-ish weather continues to rave. Yesterday we woke up in a blizzard, by the end of the afternoon most of the snow was gone and we had also experienced torrential rain, howling wind, hailstones, sleet-ish squalls and sunshine.
Stuck for a timely topic for this blog post, and still feeling a little spaced-out after my travels, I decided to join a group meme….Six on Saturday….check out The Propagator for the details.
Number one on my list of six things garden-wise this Saturday is this birdfeeder full of Oregon Juncos (Junco oreganus). We have recently been mobbed by these little black-capped gangsters! Yesterday, fewer than two pounds of juncos consumed at least two pounds of wild bird seed!
Number two: the flowers of spring at my back doorstep. Bergenia (Saxifragaceae) is a perennial evergreen (except in the coldest areas); native to the Himalayas and the mountains of China. Forsythia (Oleaceae) buds and shrub. “When the forsythia blooms”, they say, “It is time to prune your roses.”
Number three: this nest of eggs, hidden under the woodshed, by Mrs. Chicken, wife of Mr. Chicken; the last two survivors of the flock.
Number four:
…the last two apple trees waiting to be pruned.
Number five: C.’s new and beautifully composed compost piles along with buckets full of ready-to-use compost awaiting application on the garden.
Number six: the over-wintered kale, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, new garlic shoots, and emerging rhubarb stalks; early spring tonics.
Those are my Six on Saturday for this sunny spring day. What are yours?
©ClaudiaLake,claudlakeblog,IslandTime,2018
Island Time 
Those eggs are a lovely sight!
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When I lived in the States, we called the juncos ‘snow birds’. For us, they were a sign winter had come. Are they signs of spring further north? Your compost look heavenly. Are you hoping for some little Chickens pitter pattering around the garden?
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Thanks for your comment and your interest. Here on our island, mid-coast of B.C. in Canada, the juncos do show up in spring, heading north after spending the winter a little farther south. C.’s compost is heavenly indeed, and those chickens, if nothing much else, do provide some very good litter that goes into the layered mixture in the compost bins. In the past we have had little chicks trotting about, but it usually ends in disaster; too many predators: mink, ravens, hawks, cougars, wolves. The remaining hen is a cagey beast, hiding her eggs and very suspicious when I loom up in sight. I might just leave her be and see what happens!
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Very nice compost. I want some like that.
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Yes, lovely compost, I have to thank my mate C. for that!
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Nice compost!
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You sure keep busy!
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It sounds as though you live in quite a wild place with those predators around! I haven’t heard of juncos before, had to go to Mr Google to see some. They look like sweet birds. It must be lovely to see signs of spring after such a long cold winter.
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Yes, it is pretty wild alright, though we see more songbirds than we do predators! Thanks for visiting my blog, and for your comment.
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