the greens are growing

The garden greens are happy with the cold weather this spring. The lettuce, greens, and spinach, are growing like crazy.

Vine with hyssop sprouts

Spinach sprouts

Red Lettuce planted a month ago and ready to harvest

Cilantro and creeping thyme, just planted

Kohlrabi (planted first) and swiss chard

Lettuce, planted three weeks ago and ready to harvest

Basil and thyme, just planted

"Baby" maple trees (from last fall)

The garden gnomes guarding the plants

utah phillips, 1935-2008

We have lost a great man. Utah Phillips passed away on May 23. He was a phenomenal Legendary folk musician. He was an organizer, union activist, peace activist, storyteller, anarchist, and folk singer. He sang songs about the labor movement and the power or direct action. He taught respect for our elders. He taught us to learn about the past and to listen to the stories of our elders.

"U. Utah Phillips has passed away in his sleep at 11:30PM PDT on May 23, 2008. Utah has caught the westbound, and I am at a great loss. For myself and my wife Pam, to Joanna and to all Utah's family and friends we express our deepest sympathy. We have lost a truly caring man. -Chris 05/24/08" - From Utah's website

http://www.utahphillips.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Phillips

deer in the yard, mpls

This morning there was a deer in the yard. It's somewhat unusual because we live 4 miles from downtown Minneapolis but close enough to the Mississippi River Valley for a deer to show up.

The deer in between the houses.

She ran down the sidewalk to the direction of the river. I hope she found her way home.

sfgirlbay blog

I love sfgirlbay blog. It's "bohemian modern style from a san francisco girl." It's a blog with an incredible style for design and great style. It's eye candy for the your mind.

http://sfgirlbybay.blogspot.com/

warbler migration in minneapolis

Warbler migration in Minneapolis is winding down. This has been an incredible spring for seeing warblers. The cold weather may have contributed to a warbler migration back up.

Black Throated Green Warbler

These are the 18 warblers I've seen this year in the Mississippi River George. Notes on numbers of warblers are in parenthesis. There were a ubiquitous number of Yellow Rumped Warblers.

Backpoll Warbler (a few)
Wilson's Warbler (many)
Tennessee Warbler (abundant)
Common Yellowthroat (many)
Yellow Warblers (many)
Nashville Warbler (many)
Ovenbird (a few)
American Redstart (many)
Blackburnian Warbler (many)
Black and White Warblers (a few)
Yellow Rumped Warblers (abundant)
Chestnut Sided Warblers (a few)
Magnolia Warblers (a few)
Northern Parula (one)
Northern Waterthrush (a few)
Bay Breasted Warbler (one)
Black Throated Green Warbler (one)

Mourning Warbler (one)

watching warblers, not politics

I'm sick of politics. I've been watching the warbler migration and ignoring the news. The warbler migration has picked up in the past few days and has been the best warbler watching for years. You ask, "What are warblers?" Good question. They are beautiful small (4-5 inch) colorful birds. They are neotropical or tropical birds that winter in the Southern U.S, Mexico, Caribbean Islands, Latin American, or South America and migrate to the Northern U.S. in spring. They have been described as being the "connective tissue" between the Amazon River and the Mississippi River and the "butterflies of the bird world."

The trees have been "dripping" with migrating songbirds. This is the time of the year birders dream about. Over the past few days I've seen, Backpoll Warblers, Wilson's Warblers, Tennessee Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Yellow Warblers, Nashville Warblers, Ovenbirds, American Redstarts, Blackburnian Warblers, Black and White Warblers, Yellow Rumped Warblers, Chestnut Sided Warblers, Magnolia Warblers, a Northern Parula, a Northern Waterthrush, and a Mourning Warbler

Migrating sparrows have been moving through the are, White Crowned Sparrows, White Throated Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Lincoln Sparrows, and a Harris Sparrow.

Male Yellow Warbler, Minneapolis 5/14/08

Male Yellow Warbler, Minneapolis 5/14/08

A blurry photo of a Wilsons Warbler, Minneapolis 5/13/08

Yellow Rumped Warbler, Minneapolis 5/14/08

American Redstart, Minneapolis 5/14/08

American Redstart, Minneapolis 5/14/08

American Redstart, Minneapolis 5/14/08

Mourning Warbler, Minneapolis 5/14/08

Ovenbird, Minneapolis 5/13/08

Cottontail Rabbit, Minneapolis 5/14/08

Mourning Warbler, Minneapolis 5/14/08

Mourning Warbler, Minneapolis 5/14/08

Mourning Warbler, Minneapolis 5/14/08

Mourning Warbler, Minneapolis 5/14/08

Mourning Warbler, Minneapolis 5/14/08

Mourning Warbler, Minneapolis 5/14/08

Lincoln Sparrow tail (right side)

Magnolia Warbler, Minneapolis 5/14/08

Blackburnian Warbler, Minneapolis 5/14/08

American Redstart, Minneapolis 5/14/08

Links:

How to identify warblers

children's farm

The kid arriving at the farm

We took the kid to the farm, for some fresh air and fun. There's a lot of work to do on the farm. The kids learned about gardening, raising chickens, gathering eggs, ridding a horses, farm cats, feeding the animals, and the difference between straw and hay.

The farm "to do"list. The list of stuff to do on the farm. there's lots of room for the creative and the adventurous.

the chicken coop

horseback ridding

chickens (they are so cute)

moma cat

barn loft