Laowai

A bad photo of one of my old friends – Mr. Bunny. A fellow gardener lamented the large number of bunnies this year. They are big and healthy and numerous! Someone mentioned that it's because they had so many cicadas to gobble up last summer. Maybe?

I like the bunnies because they are cute and they keep me company while I'm in my garden. I like to spot one stretching. I like to see one taking a nap in the sunshine – white belly fur catches my eye. Sometimes I see them taking a dust bath under a pine tree. Once in a while they get the zoomies, chasing each other all around the yard. And sometimes I spot them being still in amongst the daffodils. 

But then I gnash my teeth because they mow down my favorite plants and then I have to put up all manner of barriers. Improvised fences and cloches dotting the garden are not so attractive. 

And so it's a battle. I wonder if Mr. McGregor secretly thought of his nemesis, Peter, as a friend.

Here's another photo, even worse quality, of a new friend. It's an indigo bunting! I don't think I've ever seen one before. I started seeing two several days ago. They've been visiting my bird bath fountain. They're so blue and so sweet!

Here are some other things that are making me happy around my garden.

My peas are looking happy. I put little twigs in to help them get started climbing up the trellis.

Lilacs – must stick my nose in the blossoms each time I walk by.

Lots of spring flowers that you have to get up close to see – the bleeding heart, violets and wood poppy.

Let's talk about the Mayapples – my neighbors and I share a big colony between our houses. They form a sea of floating umbrellas. They are magical. 

Here's a view of the undersides.

And here they are from the top. They will disappear by mid-summer.

I always thought this shrub, with the white flowers, was a viburnum but I recently learned it's called a black jetbead. It's native to China and Japan and it's part of the rose family. Hmmm.

Meanwhile, Brian is finishing a trip to New York and Europe with an extra day in Copenhagen.