The News from Kenabeek

More beautiful days, not so warm but sunny and bright. These days I can hear birdsong in the trees from time to time – not as full and rich as the dawn chorus in full summer, but still lovely. After a shower the other day I heard the robin’s rain song, and one twilight his evening song. The gold finches have finally arrived – I’ve seen at least two females and four males, in their bright summer outfits. There are still chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, and the occasional purple finch at the feeder, but traffic there has dropped right off as they find more “natural” food in the neighbourhood.

In the sunroom, the calla lilies have yet to sprout. It may be that their sojourn below freezing in the sunroom in February has discouraged them. I won’t be too disappointed if they don’t, because they’re very tender, so if I plant them outside I have to dig them up every fall. I prefer tougher plants, true perennials. But they were given to me and I’ll give it a shot. I established last summer that they don’t like being in containers – lots of leaves but no flowers. The violas appear to be sprouting at last, and everything else is doing fine. I still haven’t heard the tree frogs so spring isn’t all the way here yet – but it’s close!