country letter May 5th

From: Caroline
Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 6:22 AM
Subject: May 5th

I have been creating a glade – or what I think is a glade –albeit a very small one in the “back forty” just before the bridge crosses the drainage ditch. I was inspired by the description of a primrose in the Avant Gardens catalogue. Now how could I resist this? “A candelabra primrose with whorls of fragrant yellow orange tubular blossoms in late spring. A must for the moist garden, it grows well in low lying areas and along streams and ponds.” As there are already rushes AND this primrose is hardy to zone 4 (as very few are) it is indeed a must. I have sworn not to plant anything not hardy to zone 5 anyhow. Remember that spell of minus 10 days we had several winters ago? The one in which lavender and roses and Buddleia were all killed? They weren’t meant for that kind of cold.

The Tree Swallows still haven’t come but I have been destroying the English Sparrow nests in the birdhouses almost every day. Their industry in building anew is unbelievable. And don’t tell me that birds can’t see color! In almost every nest there is a scrap of blue – a piece of a blue label, a blue jay feather or a scrap of torn tarp, and always a little bit of green grass or leaves from the ubiquitous Rosa Multiflora. In one nest I found a most enchanting feather- tiny and white with a completely round black dot in the middle, like a little beady eye. Fortunately I have a friend who seems to be able to answer all my questions whether mammalian or avian, so I mailed him a feather and the answer came back – from a Flicker.

The squirrel trapping is proceeding well. The trade name of the trap is Safeguard but I feel One-A-Day would be better. There are a few times when the sight of a squirrel gives me pleasure – when it is trying to get around the slippery plastic dome over the bird feeders – or if by chance I see one coming down the path from the “back forty”. Then the sight of it making those crazy loopy bounces make me laugh.

People have been complaining of what a cold spring it is. I don’t think they realize that the cold maintains that haze of tiny leaves which give each tree and bush an individual color – bronzes and yellows and the palest of greens. Pretty soon everything will be green and that early phenomena will have

disappeared. I can usually count on the Orioles arriving on May 6th, but this year none of the trees on my windy hill have leafed out – and without insects to eat the orioles won’t come and the insects won’t come until there are green leaves. So I shall just have to be patient and not put any orange slices on the deck for them – yet.

PS Well no Orioles but the Humming Bird came whizzing by last night. It investigated the suet and flew on but I am sure he’ll be back as I immediately got the feeder out and filled it with red syrup.

Love to all Caroline