A Wild Geranium blooming in our pond garden

Nasty year for invasives. The Swallow I took to be tending her nest proved to be dead, her eyes poked out. Placed her and her nest in the woods. Have read about a "halo" put around the entrance to the Bluebird Houses; it is supposed to keep House Sparrows out.

The Creeping Charlie in the back lot is over a foot tall, and the dandelions are overtaking the edges of the lawn in thick, spreading clumps. Sadly, we've had to resort to using a preventive and a spray this year. I would rather do things organically, but have not heard of anything that has much effect on the dandelions. We'd be less militant against them if their airborn seeds and deep, resilient taproots didn't make them one of the most ravenous invasives to compete with native fauna.

Won't allow the chemicals anywhere near the native gardens, so spent several hours pulling out crag grass, dandelions and other non-natives.

Prairie Smoke in full bloom

First Monarch Butterfly spotted. Tree Swallow seen in other nest. Unfortunately couldn't check for eggs or young as the mother was very ardent about us not opening it.

Saw a black-and-yellow dragonfly (believe it was a darner) hunting mosquitos near the pond, and a number of delicate light-blue damselflies in the tall grass.

Raided Bluebird nest

Opened the bluebird house to find each of the eggs penetrated with a jagged hole and swarming with ants and small flies. Classic sign of a House Sparrow raid. Sadly, while death is part of nature, this is not nature's way. House Sparrows are an invasive, non-native species, introduced (both intentionally and accidentally) by European immigrants.

While many birders use glue traps or even electricity, we can't stomach killing them, and have attempted more passive measures, such as controlling what we put in the feeders and pairing bluebird houses in the attempts to draw Tree Swallows, a native species that can coexist with the bluebirds, but often repel House Sparrows. Will have to try monofilaments to frighten them away the next time a Bluebird makes its home in the box.

If you ever see this in one of your bluebird houses (from what I've heard, it can be a lot more gruesome than this), clean the house out, and keep an eye on the house to make sure the House Sparrows do not move in. If House Sparrows do enter a nesting box, it is perfectly legal and advisable to remove the nest immediately.

Swamp Buttercup in pond garden

Swamp Buttercup is a common, hardy wildflower that will grow in seasonal wetlands, can thrive in the running waters of small streams, and does quite well in pond gardens. The flowers attract all manners of pollinators, from bees and skipper butterflies to flies and beetles, while their seeds are eaten by a variety of animals; from squirrels and rabbits to Wild Turkeys*.

Shooting Star, a perrenial favorite of many native gardeners, but a relatively new addition to our pond garden.

Chilly for late May. Highs in the 60's with lows in the 40's. Sprinkles this morning with the possibility of more thunderstorms this afternoon and evening.

The recent wet's been good for the garden. The first Columbine burst over the weekend, and has since exploded along the edge of the pond garden in bursts of red and yellow. Shooting Star's just started to bloom around the center of the garden. May divide it in the fall and start to cluster it right around the pond shore. Eggs in the Bluebird house are still unhatched, though I see the happy couple tendiing them constantly.

Garden Report:

What's Emerging:

• Brown-eyed Susan
• Butterfly Weed
• Early Meadowrue
• False Dragonhead
• False Indigo
• Fiddlehead Fern
• Harebell
• Monkeyflower
• Purple Coneflower
• Showy Goldenrod
• Swamp Milkweed
• False Solomon's Seal
• Starflower
• Tall Boneset
• Virgin's Bower
• Wild Bergamot
• Wild Grape
• Woodland Goldenrod
• Woodland Sunflower

What's in Bloom:

• Aborted Buttercup
• Columbine
• Hooked Violet
• Jacob's Ladder
• Mohican Viburnum
• Rue Anemone
• Shooting Star
• Swamp Buttercup
• Wild Geranium
• Yellow Violet

Wildlife Spotted:

• American Toad
• Baltimore Oriole
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Blue Jay
• Chorus Frog
• Crow, Common
• Eastern Bluebird
• Goldfinch
• Grackle, Common
• Gray Catbird
• Grey Squirrel
• Mallard Duck
• Mourning Dove
• Northern Cardinal
• Nuthatch
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Purple Finch
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Red-shouldered Hawk
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Robin, American
• Ruby-throated Hummingbird
• Sandhill Crane
• Spring Peeper
• Tree Swallow
• Turkey Vulture
• Virginia Opossum
• Wild Turkey
• Wood Duck
• Wood Frog
• Yellow-rumped Warbler

Blueberry Flowers seen in Linwood Community Park and School Forest

We took a walk Saturday evening (somewhat out of order here) in Linwood School Forest. Fat cumulus clouds of mosquitos drifting across the wetlands(a feast for the vocal Tree Frogs, American Toads, and Chorus Frogs), but the hills were less infested.

Sweet White Violets seen in Linwood Community Park and School Forest

Stands of blueberry and clusters of tiny Sweet White Violets seen from the boardwalk that crosses the bog near the middle of the park. St. Solomon's Seal blooming sporadically in the wetlands, while Wild Geraniums, interspersed by the occasional Columbine, Canada Anemone, Rue Anemone, or Wild Sasparilla could be seen in the hills. Flowers in this forest do not occur in the large clusters you'd see in William O'Brian or even Pine Point Park in Stillwater, but these forests are much more densely packed, and there's not nearly as much sun let in by the intrusion of hiking trails or bike paths.

Pasque Flower seedhead

First flower of the year goes out of bloom in the pond garden; the Purple Pasque Flower has officially gone to seed.

Wild weather yesterday in the North Metro. Hugo saw deadly tornadoes and Forest Lake, less than ten minutes down the I35 corridor, saw torrential hail. All we got was a noncommital burst of dime-sized hail and a few hours of Dish TV fuzz. Temps in the mid-upper sixties today with overcast skies and a cool breeze; supposed to be dipping into the thirties tonight with the possibility of frost!


Landscape at William O'Brian State Park

We took a trip to William O'Brian State Park today with the dog. William O'Brian was the first places I really realized just how fluid life is. In their wake, the glaciers leave left a litter of boulders. Over years, water erodes a strean just wide enough for pine needles, oak leaves, dead bugs, or bird doo to dam it. Moss latches on to this organic detritus, preventing erosion and making way for small plants and trees, which eventually grow and cover the lifeless rock; a small-scale analogy for our planet.


Stream running through William O'Brian State Park

Interesting hike, though the combination of a skittish dog and overcast skies made it somewhat less conducive for photography. Tree swallows are everywhere now; performing their acrobatics over the wetlands and ponds, sitting on the wires near the restored prairie or atop their houses by the visitor's center. You can tell Spring is fading; not a Marsh Marigold to be found (though their foliage (as seen above) is still quite prevalent in areas of moving water), and the calls of the peepers have already died out.

Wildlife Spotted at William O'Brian:

• American Toad
• Chorus Frog
• Painted Turtle
• Robin
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Ring-necked Pheasant
• Swamp Sparrow
• Tree Swallow

Columbine growing in William O'Brian State Park

Wildflowers in Bloom at William O'Brian:

• Columbine
• Declining Trillium
• Hooked Violet
• Large-flowered Bellwort
• Marsh Marigold
• Meadowrue
• Pussytoes
• Rue Anemone
• Wild Blue Phlox
• Wild Geranium
• Wild Strawberry
• Yellow Violet