Bird scaping the Garden

Last year, I cut down several cherry laurel trees. I felt like my garden was getting overrun.

Seems like the wrong thing to do now.

So cute!

3 cedar waxwings in the cherry laurel.

4 waxwings and robin

Cardinal

 I'm moving some seedlings to the fence line. I don't know if they'll do well there; other trees I've moved to the perimeter have died. Still seems like a good spot if I can discover plants that will tolerate the conditions.

I have several hollies that I keep eyes on, but the birds haven't yet decided the berries are ready.

 

American Lady

 This American Lady butterfly came out with the warmer temps this last week.

It got me researching the difference between this one and the painted lady.

Seems there's a white dot on an orange bar that the painted lady doesn't have, which doesn't seem real noticeable when they're out in the garden. Otherwise, count the eyespots.

The missouri prairie foundation explains with pictures

There are other differences. 

In 2016, I posted several pictures of the American lady depositing eggs on cudweed

The painted lady uses thistle as a host plant. Unfortunately, I can't seem to keep thistles growing in my sandhill garden. I had a nice patch one time, back in 2013. I can't recall caterpillars on the thistles.

End of January 2026

This winter, I've gone through a lot of firewood. Burned most of the oak that I could split with an axe... Needed a handle in the maul before I could work on the elm.

New ironwood handle

This elm isn't easy to split.

8 homemade handles, 4 osage orange, 3 ironwood, and 1 maple.

I am very glad to be south of that ice storm that so much of the country is dealing with.

The hellebore are in flower.

Early daffodil

Ebony spleenwort

 

Snow Day 1-18-2026

 I woke up to wet steps in the dark, the tv was going on about how snow was coming.

I got busy digging out some poppy seeds, to scatter over bare spots in the garden, & I scattered seeds by flashlight.

And I started seeing snow flurries  before it got light.

Wall 2 wall snow coverage on the tv, Atlanta sent down snow chasers to drive around and talk to people out in the weather. 

The news from atlanta were encouraging people to get out and enjoy the snow, as the roads were fine to drive on.

The Macon crew said that there was no need to go anywhere, that the snow wasn't going to be any different from in our own yard.

Snow is rare here, I take lots of pics, this snow is supposed to be gone by afternoon.

The hazard hedge

House

Open area

Woodland.

Winter wonderland.

Hazard Hedge

 

When we don't pick up the fruit, we get clumps of seedlings under the hardy orange 
(Citrus trifoliata) shrubs.

 One year, I dug a bucket full of these little trees and planted them in a big patch in the vegetable garden, intending to grow them out enough to make a showing when I set them out on the property perimeter.

Unfortunately, these intentions don't always get accomplished in a  timely manner.

 They're taller than I am.
Getting in there with a shovel is a messy job. Waiting for winter means that I get protected from thorns by winter coat, and I wear fireplace gloves to work with these thorny trees.

All the clumps that I set out last winter seemed to do alright, so... dig a clump carry to new location in wheelbarrow to set out. carry water in truck afterward. I water once.

 Last Autumn, I was digging mahonia in town, seems like a hundred of them, they woulda been ideal for this hazard hedge, too bad I tossed them on the brush pile!

December Colour!

 The camellias have begun to flower!

I grew these puppies from seed.

Autumn colour on the fragrant sumac.

berries on the American holly.

And on the yaupon holly.

Wood shavings from the handle-making process

Mid December

 Cold this morning, ice on water barrels...

Had this guy in one of my traps...

Little grey fox... Kinda cute.

Carried it to the front of the property and released it. Foxes are kinda scarce around here... not like those raccoons, possums, and armadillo... Gonna give this guy another chance to stay away.

New axe handle... Carved from one of the osage-orange trees that I grew from hedge apple found laying next to the road in town...

Citron Reprise

I found a recipe

I don't follow recipes... I read them through and then try to figger how to use the ingredients I have...

The important ingredients in that recipe seemed to be the citrons, some citrus fruit and sugar.

even the cooking of ingredients separately seemed unnecessary.

I have all these hardy oranges (Citrus trifoliata) that fall from the thicket each year at this time, and rot enough for the seeds in each fruit to come up and expand the thorny barrier...

 

So...

after gathering up fallen 'oranges', I sliced them up and removed all the seed I could...

Added to sugar water already on the heat...

 

And diced up some slices of citron melon (no pics), sorry...

 Cooked until citron melon turned translucent...

 

Ok, it doesn't actually look too good while cooking...

But, after turning down heat on first batch?

I ate half the fruit while still hot!

 After refrigerating as advised in the recipe linked to, I felt like the fruit would be nice in pancakes...

 

Made a very nice breakfast... Poured the liquid into pancake batter and sprinkled fruit on top of cakes while cooking...

 Incidentally, placing a bowl of the liquid in the freezer produced sherbet...

 Surprisingly versatile fruit... for something not grown anymore...

October 2025

 This Spring, I planted some unlabeled watermelon seed...

After the fruit got ripe... They turned into citron melons... Now what?

They taste like cucumbers... I've tried adding to chicken salad sandwiches, I've tried cubed into ramen noodles... still looking for an ideal use that doesn't involve pounds of sugar...

When searching google... seems the South Africans use the leaves and seeds in stews... too late for that, the leaves all fell off the vines...

Made a new shovel handle that I'm pretty happy with.

I have a hop hornbeam stump sending up sprouts that make acceptable tool handles...

I've been making a few collages...

The zebra longwing and caterpillar...

Pawpaw collage, I originally planted pawpaws for the zebra swallowtail, but after getting ripe fruit... I'm planting more...

Some of the butterfly & moth photos I've taken in this garden...

September

 A few weeks ago... I saw a giant swallowtail butterfly laying eggs on a seedling lemon tree... didn't have camera... butterfly flew away before I got back...

But... Here's one of the caterpillars:

Also saw a monarch last week... again, the same deal  with camera...

Here's a caterpillar... On a ragged looking milkweed.

Raccoons and possums are back...

Gorgeous pear last month...

Not too bad for a tree that I thought was a callery...

Here's a papaya 'tree'.

They want longer seasons than we have here...