JuliesBackyard.com

June is busting out all over. It really is, isn't it? One of my favorite musicals describes it all. Carousel! The Forget-me-nots are taking over the gardens and I have pulled them out leaving all the other perennials to burst through. The Morning glory that my daughter planted years ago when she still lived at home is taking over the fence and any other thing in the garden that it can attach itself to.

The Bee-balm or Monarda is really perking up. They are about two feet tall and have come back quite nicely. The humming birds will enjoy them shortly but for now the they are content trying out the Columbine. I have quite a few colors this year. I'll have to check to see if the yellow one has come back?

It wasn’t as big as a red wood but it was a very big pine tree. This particular pine tree was located in the center of the property and also was supposed to be a highlight of the pond.

But let me tell you the beginning of the story of the huge pine tree. It was over six feet in diameter and the branches hung low. At the base of the tree, there were fox dens and I imagine ground hogs took refuge there also. It wasn’t a scary place because I don’t think animals lived there when we first moved in and after that we would take walks out to the pine tree just to marvel at its height and to walk around the total tree was a walk in itself.

My niece and nephew would join my daughter on the long walk out to the pine tree. Granted, they were very little at the time and to them it was an adventure, especially when you are carrying toy teapots and cups. I remember in years to come I would find little toys under the great pine. About five years after we had moved in we had a terrible lightning storm. Sure enough, the top of the pine tree was struck and from that day on it took on a different look. Certainly not as tall, but it still maintained a giant dignity.

We have a predator in our backyard!

We love our birds and try to keep them coming back year after year. My husband spoils them with different suets and seeds. I try to keep them happy with fresh water. We've had great success encouraging different varieties to our feeders.

We actually have turkeys coming to feed. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not. I'm afraid they have become too comfortable on our property. We are not turkey hunters but there are other hunters in our area. Now the turkeys are safe with us but once they leave the yard....they are fair game!

Last spring while taking a walk out back in the woods my husband pointed out a beech tree that had lots of big holes in it. I knew what they were caused from but I had never seen the bird that had made them.

We have several smaller woodpeckers that frequent our bird feeder, more in the winter when we put out suet for them, but never had I seen a Pileated woodpecker up close. It was at least sixteen inches tall and the colors were vibrant. It flew into our bird station area and landed on our pear tree. I called my husband out into the kitchen to see this great event. He loves birds just as much if not more than I do. He was just as excited and grabbed for the binoculars. The previous Christmas I had gotten him binoculars that focus automatically. Within seconds he had the bird in the viewer and then handed them to me.