It has been interesting observing the part of my driveway that burned in 2021.

2023 saw an explosion of wildflowers, but they have tailed off somewhat. Not sure if it is just the climate or a natural progression. You will notice a green wash over the ground. This is a whole forest of new pines coming up. However, there were still some spring flowers.

Fumitory

Wild strawberry

Cut leafed anemone

Silky phacelia

The magnificent Richardson’s penstemon

And we had a wonderful crop of wild roses. Every trip along the driveway was filled with their amazing scent.

At a craft fair I saw a hand-painted bird house and bought it for decoration purposes. I’ve had a box for years close to the pond but the only thing that has moved in is a squirrel. I was delighted when a family of tree swallows took over this one.

They were not early risers. I guess they needed to wait for the insects to wake up before they moved. Mum enjoyed the morning sun, though, and spent a lot of time sitting in the doorway. They successfully reared a brood.

There were a lot more hummingbirds than there have been during the last few years. They seemed more aggressive. Possibly the young were all males. I think it’s fascinating that the adults leave a month before the young but the young still know where to go.

We always hear and see a few sandhill cranes. This one slowly walked across Highway 20.

One day a magnificent moth rested on a hanging plant on my deck.

It was right around then that Trump bombed Iran, and the stealth bomber was in the news. I could not help but notice the similarity.

On June 17th, we had our first fire. It was hot and dry with strong winds so the fire was quite aggressive. We were supposed to have the gymkhana at Martin Lake to the west, but it had to be cancelled.

I could see the smoke column from my yard, and at night the fire glowed into the sky.

And then it rained. The rest of June was so cold and wet I had to reseed some of the garden.

I tried a couple of new wrinkles this year. I irrigate from the beaver pond below the house. Instead of having the water spray in all directions (I didn’t drill the pipes accurately enough) I put half sewage pipes over the sprays and concentrated the water near the seeds. On the other side of the rows I laid cardboard. It would help retain the water and also suppress weeds. Both innovations worked very well.