Female Downy Woodpecker

We watched this Downy for a while and speculated that the Red Squirrels had hired her to peck at the peanuts so they'd fall on the ground for easier access. Red Squirrels are wily that way.

The flowers are coming on slowly. Today was quite warm and a lone Spring Beauty was abloom in the yard.

The Virginia Bluebells should open any day now. I adore the color changes they go through in their brief time out.

Dutchman's Breeches, one of my favorites.

(Okay, okay, they're all my favorites.)

Leatherwood flowers

Black Gold

This represents our food scraps from two years ago. We're lazy composters, no bins or turning for us. Everything goes in a pile, we add some leaves when they're available, and let it all rot. It all comes out the same in the end: great nutrients for the garden.

The tomatoes are growing, and behind them are two kinds of basil, jalapeños, zinnias, snow-on-the-mountain, and globe amaranth.

The outdoor garden holds new seeds, too: lettuce, macha, spinach, hakurei turnips, and red and black radishes.