It finally rained. No, that’s not an April fools joke. Earlier in the week I emptied .27 inches of rain out of the gauge, enough to clean out the bird droppings and wash dust off the grass. It didn’t stop me from continuing watering, though. I run the traveling sprinklers around the perimeter any day it isn’t too hot or cold. It’s a slow process and only time will tell whether it makes a difference. Much to my shame, there are still trees standing along the perimeter that perished in the drought of ’11. I’m hoping we don’t lose any more. Continue reading “April fools”
April fools
by rakeeter 
I could complain about the weather. I could complain about the cold, the wind, the drought, yada yada, but that would be boring so I won’t. Let’s just say Joyce and I survived February and the befuddling flu, although the effects of the later still linger. Some weeks I wasn’t able to work outside more than a day or two because of the cold. Last week I was outside Monday through Thursday, but Thursday was March 1 so I guess that still counts as only three days for Feb. 
All winter we have had a hawk in the neighborhood. It is smaller than a Coopers hawk which we see from time to time and bigger than a sparrow hawk. Chris snapped this picture of the hawk perched on the garden gate one late afternoon. He said it had been harassing the chickens when he first saw it but I think that was just wishful thinking on its part. Though I’ve glimpsed it many times over the last few months, I’ve never gotten a good look at it. The Audubon bird field guide says Merlins 
like the treeline of foothills next to a prairie but will winter south of this normal range. We’ve got the treeline next to the prairie so maybe that’s what it is. A Merlin is also called a pigeon hawk. We have plenty of doves around, which would work just as good as a pigeon, I’m sure, and every once in a while we’ll come across a pile of dove feathers. Circumstantial evidence, I know, but something is dining on dove so we will pin it on this fellow.