The hummingbird feeders installed early last week are now drawing frequent visitors. Never more than a few birds at a time so it is hard to tell how many hummers are using the feeders.
The overgrown azalea bed (covered in prickly vine in most places) contained an existing bird feeder and a bird bath. The bird feeder was overgrown with a non-prickly vine (ornamental perhaps?). The bird bath was no longer level and the water sprayer attached to the top was an unknown. After a little trimming, a leveling job on the bird bath, and some fiddling with the water valving near the back patio all items are now functional. A variety of bird feeders and bird food are now out in the backyard - some moved from the previous house. The bird bath is sporting fresh water every morning after the sprayer runs for a few minutes. A male cardinal found the weave poles a convenient spot to wait until it was his turn at the feeder.
Next door neighbor Harry was not home over the weekend. This allowed access to the fence from the clearer side. After some quick trimming (it was $%#@^& hot out there!) and cleanup, I sprayed the entire fenceline with Roundup from Harry's side. Hopefully this will provide additional fenceline clearing. Once the fenceline is cleared it can be secured to keep Ms. Grace in the backyard.
After pruning the prickly vines again this weekend, I selected an expensive pair of rose trimming gauntlet gloves to use next time I prune. I'm not anxious to have to use them but hopefully they will help. I found a nice garden cart at Ace Hardware and a cypress swing to replace the one in the backyard at Vernon's Hardware. I should be able to purchase these before it cools down in the fall and being outside is actually fun again.
