Busy summer days can be satisfying. Geraniums are blooming profusely thanks to weekly fertilizer, daily watering and "deer stopper" sprayed around the perimeter. The purple salvia is attracting hummingbirds and the marigolds are prolifically insulting the deer. Flower season didn't begin well. Preparation of a flower bed for daffodils that bloomed while we were away was successful but disappointing as we returned to waning blooms bending over in the wind and rain. The orange day lilies that bloom just beside the steps down from the kitchen were devoured by the deer (and I don't mean dear ones!) who usually just nip off a bud here and there. This year, they ate them down to the ground. Some of them must have developed a taste for the "not deer friendly" plants.
A bird feeder just outside the front window attracted a proliferation of birds from tiny finches, tufted titmouse, cardinals, and small to large woodpeckers. At least until the squirrels discovered it. Ol' Abner made several passes daily to shoo them off until the arrival of his new air-rifle. Now he sneaks around the corner and drops them like rocks with one shot. He's still quite a marksman. Unfortunately they all scatter quickly when one is shot, but they must run into the woods without warning others of the danger. Another group shows up to indulge in the bounty within hours and the panic begins again. Downside of the project is the disappearance of most of the birds. I guess they've decided to move to feeders without so many hazards.
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