Spring at the Sabine Farm seems at last to be in full swing, though the nights are still very chilly indeed.
The Red Bellied Woodpecker is getting some high nutrition snacks from the suet cage.
Yum.
This is not the only place where he dines, however. I caught him later when I went to the mailbox.
Once again, Mr. Sayornis phoebe, has a nice juicy bug!
In a comment, below, I was corrected about this bird, which I originally thought was a Pewee.
The crab in the front is grand. I don’t know trees very, so I can’t tell you its variety.
I do know what strawberry blossoms are, however.
Mr. (Mrs? Miss?) Honey Bee is helping out with the blueberry patch.
He is very busy, along with a zillion of his friends. The patch, and all the trees, utter a low but very discernible mmmmmm these days.
I am very glad for the bees, which will help us have plenty of berries and fruits and vegetables.
I favor bees, who are featured in the Exsultet. If only I could get them to make candles.
Strolling down toward Sabine Pond…. we find…
… The Mallards, Mister and Missus.
Ducklings are sure to follow. This same pair comes back each year.
It just has to be said: ducks are hilarious.
A view of one of the Sabine houses, with The Mallards, Anas platyrhynchos, Mister and Missus, in the foreground.
The chapel apple is doing nicely. It too utters a low mmmmmm from the bees.
The blossoms on the tree are fabulous. I took some of the little out-of-place "suckers" on the trunk and branches and put them together with lilacs for the altar this morning. Every year this tree produces some of the best apples I have ever tasted, very firm and tart, perfect also for baking.
In the greenhouse.
The ground is still too cold to start much planting outside. It wouldn’t be prudent. But the herbs and some veg are doing well. I will start some more things from seed later today if I have a chance before my workout.
Here is the jasmine. Later today I will cut some and put it in the chapel at Our Lady’s statue, as May draws to a close.
It should produce a fine fragrance in the evening, which I very much miss from Rome.
I am determined to eat spaghetti tonight, and perhaps drink a glass of cold white wine and reflect on the jasmine and my apartment.
I always enjoy seeing the rosemary bloom. In these parts that is not often experienced.
Rosemary is a material proof that God loves us.
