Admiration

I have a new admiration for the bloggers with a job and children. I have a blog, a job and children. One of these things has got to go!! I don't have the type of job I can blog from and by the time I am done in my own garden each night, I am exhausted. I work really hard, but it is enjoyable and satisfying.
My own landscape is in it's infancy and needs me every day. There are huge, labor intensive chores to do every day, in my yard. Today, I mowed and de-thatched everything that hasn't been newly seeded. Then, I scraped off five 5 gallon buckets full of sod for my perennial bed. I took the scraped sod to the septic field where the earth has settled so badly the tractor has a hard time mowing it!!
I then began the watering, slipping and slopping thru the mud even tracking it into the garage and making a huge mess everywhere. I planted the dianthus "Desmond" and Phlox Moerheim Beauty in the front bed. I got those plants free from Audobon Workshop and they are beautiful!!
I also planted the Silberfeder grass from BloomingBulb, I was not impressed with their order...I won't order from them again.
The grasses I received from Bluestone last fall did not come up, yet! I did contact them and they said to give it some time, but they were guaranteed!
I am really sunburned, it's stinging!

On a sad note, after all these years in all these houses, we finally got bluebirds to nest in our yard!! Jeff and I fed them and worried about them-we watched them fly back and forth, always going back to their bluebird house!

The house used to be on a giant green pole, but Jeff tied it to a tree along the back, with a zip tie. While pulling weeds last weekend, I was buzzed by the momma, she had a meal worm in her mouth...I was so amazed! She seemed so tame! I followed her back to the tree line and found the daddy sitting on top of the house. The house was lying on the ground, the nest smashed, and an egg broken open on the ground. The parents were hopping around nervously-trying to figure out what was wrong.

I couldn't bear the site. I put down my bucket full of weeds and cried. Even with my daughter watching me, I cried. She ran in to check the book to be sure bluebird eggs are blue, just to be sure it was their egg.

Bluebird eggs are blue. I picked up the house and my weed bucket and went inside. I cannot explain why I felt so bad. I felt like I let them down.

The next day, Jeff put the house on the pole, away from the trees. I think a cat may have climbed up and got them. A whole bunch of purple martins are living in the house, now. I don't have the heart to chase them out. I don't ever see the bluebirds, anymore... We still put out the meal worms, but the robins get them. I like the robins, too, but I would like to make it right with the bluebirds some day.