Sassy and I took our morning walk, and it was cool and breezy, ideal for planting. When I get help with the blueberries later today, it will be very hot and humid, but in the shade.
Every time I start digging, I think of the Russian tale, How Much Land Does a Man Need? He gets to walk around the perimeter to earn free land, but he over-reaches and dies from trying to get back to the starting point.
I had gallon pots of blackberries, the ones coming out of every window of the Ichaboat, so I only needed six of them.
One of the most pleasant occupations is re-arranging a little of God's Creation to have a new effect. I had plants galore in the back, including a vine with unusual growth, ampelopsis I think - not poison ivy. The vine is subtle. From a narrow stem it reaches up for sunlight and spreads in every direction. I snipped that initial feeder and the whole vine began wilting. False doctrine is like that - find the weakness and everything dies with it, but the seeds spring up later to try again.
The idea is to have a solid green fence that also bears fruit.
I planted a Beautyberry near the original Jackson Bird Spa.I am building up bird and insect friendly plantings near the spa.
The rain kept the baths full for a time, and they were really dirty. The Community Pool was used by starlings - even on rainy days. They gave back some of the seed and suet they have been eating, and I fertilized and watered the sunflowers they will soon be eating from.
The abundance of stored rainwater means I could give favored plants a boost. The wilted big store plant recovered right away with rainwater.
I soak plants before digging them in, if I have time. Otherwise I add rainwater afterwards.
A reader sent me a story about water for birds in the hot weather. They showed a typical bird bath, really just a sipping bowl. I have 12 of those - very useful. The two community pools are appreciated more. The birds like to get plenty of water around their feathers, wash the grit off, and shake dry. Then they preen in a private location up in the trees or on the fence.
Birds take dust baths, whether to eliminate bugs or - who knows. I have seen groups of birds getting their baths in the dry ground. There are little clouds of dust. If all the birds do this, that would explain the amount of soil at the bottom of the pool.
