Garden Update and Blue Jays

With dirt under my fingernails, I am happy to report that our recent rain has helped the weeds spring back to life. And my vegetables are starting to perk up, too.

We've already been eating lettuce from the garden, of course, and I think our radishes and peas will be ready soon as well. I spent lots of time mulching the garden since hot weather is predicted soon and I want to protect the plants and soil from the heat.

Earlier this spring, I observed lots of activity in a small pine tree near the edge of our yard. A pair of blue jays built a nest, using lots of sticks and one of my broccoli plant markers. We set a milk crate nearby so the short ones in our family could peer into the nest as the baby birds grew. And grow they did. We could barely see the eggs, then we saw fuzzy heads with open beaks, later we saw a few feathers with eyes that looked right as us, and finally the crowded nest with the fledglings in their blue feathered glory ready to fly away from us. The next day they were gone. I miss them, and I watch the feeders looking for blue jay siblings in that awkward stage of flight.