April wrap

First sighted, a Western Kingbird on April 25th.  That’s a sure sign of approaching summer.  About the same time we began getting regular visits at our feeder by Black Chin hummingbird(S).  The cherry trees we planted a few weeks ago have little green cherries on them.  Not many, but some.  The weeds are defiant though I do my best to keep them mowed down.  Other than a couple of gales in March, it has been a nice spring.

It was prom week and we made a fuss over Abigail and Aaron.  They made a handsome couple, as you can see.  Abigail thinks the whole prom thing is overrated and she’s probably right.  But it’s a rite of passage and something she may appreciate more when looking back from later stages of life.

A&A

We had a nice visit with the Wylies over Easter.  Only Rebecca was in town to represent the Zbindens.

Kari and Abigail took advantage of Chris working just across the river in New Jersey to visit the Big Apple.  They had a good time and were impressed with its bigness but were glad to get back home.  While the Wylies were here, the cat climbed up in the pine in front of the house and absconded with a dove chick from a nest there.  The chick apparently wasn’t harmed and Jill rigged up a box over the nest to keep the cat out.  It took a little while for the mother dove to figure out how to reach the nest through the opening in the front of the box, but she did and as far as we know the story ended well, thanks to Jill’s ingenuity. 

The Wylies also brought their dog and cat, which added to the levity.

We continue to get moisture.  One day last week it came in the form of hail.  The stones were in the pea-size-to-marble range and knocked a few leaves and small twigs off the trees but didn’t do any significant damage.  My grapes suffered some, as may have some of the other fruit on trees around the place.  Neither the grapes nor any of the other fruit were going to be in abundance anyway.  We accumulated nearly two inches of moisture over the month.  That’s not a record but is the third-most for April in the last decade.  So far it has rained every day in May.

Hail down the gutter

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