Mock Orange, After the Rain.

More Mock Orange "Virginal.", a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

The mock orange looks great this year, thanks to Kristen's meticulous pruning. Unfortunately, I never have an easy time photographing it, because the wind always bounces the branches around and throws the picture out of focus. At least today I didn't have the strong sun to contend with!

At ten feet, this mock orange is the second tallest tree in our front yard. The tallest is the Rose of Sharon, which started out as a weedy, three-foot sapling in a nursery pot in 1999 and is now taller than our house. Yesterday, I caught two mockingbirds poking around inside that Rose of Sharon like a newlywed couple checking out a condo. XD

News from the rest of the garden: I have baby tomatoes! Also, my Black Beauty Eggplants and Butterfly Bush "Petite Plum" have spider mites...time to break out the insecticidal soap!

Floribunda Rose "Moondance" has two flower buds.

I saw the rabbit again this morning. =_= It was on the edge of our property, munching weeds. It was the skinniest rabbit I've ever seen.

The Chronicles of a Failed Birdwatcher.

I'm not sure if there's much of a point to talking about it, because I didn't manage to take a picture, but...

I saw a Baltimore Oriole in my yard today! Two of them, actually! I haven't seen one of those birds since I was about seven years old. I thought they were gone from the state of CT entirely.

For those of you who aren't familiar with these gorgeous orange-and-black birds, you can find out more about them here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Oriole

Since we started fixing it up, our yard has turned into some kind of freaky wildlife paradise. I'm not really sure why. We have several large mulberry trees on our property, but we've always had those. Is it deforestation? The elimination of a nuisance species like the starlings?

As I mentioned before, I saw that rabbit again this morning. It doesn't seem to have the same appetite for destruction as the groundhogs, which often make a bee-line for the most expensive plants and ignore patches of grass in favor of eating sunflower seedlings right out of their pots...I hope it stays away. I have hot pepper spray, but I'm afraid to use it. It seems like it would qualify as Haz-Mat.

I make a terrible birdwatcher. You should see me run out of my house with a digital camera in hand, chasing our resident cardinals around the yard. "I'll catch you yet!" I vow--but I still haven't.