Variegated short-stemmed tulips

This Week in My Viewfinder

Apr 4 — Apr 10, 2021: Winter further in the rear-view

Text, videos, and photos by LensAfield

Sun 4/4: The various mated-for-life pairs of native Canadian geese that nest around my place of employment did, as expected, return in mid-March. Nests are usually prepared, with females sitting, like clockwork, right around the 1st of April. When I arrived at work this Sunday afternoon, I expected to find the same female that has been nesting just a few feet from our parking lot for years, to be sitting on hers, unfazed by my presence.

No nest.

Wed 4/7: It is now a full week into April. While the four local pairs are feeding, there are no signs of any nesting activity. This is very odd and makes me wonder, why the delay?

Thur 4/8: I arrived at work this afternoon and found the female finally beginning work on a new nest!

An odd place for a new nest site. The previous two years, she nested in front of that tree.

Another perspective showing how safe and comfortable this pair feels being around people, the noise and bustle of big trucks, and a parking lot in a place that is active 7 days a week, 5 of them with three shifts!

Work-in-progress, or abandoned?

As I left work later that night, I didn’t see the pair and wondered if she had second thoughts about this location. I guess I’ll find out Sunday afternoon when I start my next work week.

It’s still early spring, but the weather this week has been warm. Perennial development continues:

Left — The cactus are starting to green-up and develop some turgor. Middle bottom — Early growth stage of Aurora Blue Delphinium. Middle right — Early growth of Alium.

This doesn’t look like much of anything yet. Still, this budding Rose of Sharon greenery, new this week, should provide for aphids which will draw ladybugs which will then turn this hedge into their nursery long before it begins to produce prodigious numbers of bee-attracting white, blue, and purple flowers starting in late July.

I ok L — A double grape bud begins swelling and breaking out of its protective winter scale. R — This more developed swelled bud is about to open (thats’ my index finger for scale reference). I think I will need to handle the grapevine as a series of long-form articles as there is already too much to show and discuss in short-form posts.

The Peonie potato has sprung through the remnants of last year and will grow unbelievably quickly. How quickly? I may need to put up the support cage by next weekend!

Let’s see, what else…

Friday, I broke up my first mockingbird nest (I don’t want these nasty noise-makers nesting close to the house. Don’t get upset, it wasn’t finished). I will likely have to do it again on Saturday. After two times they usually get the message to set up house elsewhere.

The only other birds that seem to be displaying mating behaviors this early was this cardinal pair.

This male has been very vocal this week, which appears to have paid off on Thursday when I spotted them both in my grapevine at the same time.

That will do it for this week. Things are moving fast. I may need to do multiple posts starting next week if I can find the time.

Thanks to those who commented on last week’s inaugural post.