Jaci Dawn

For all of you who just got snow or  who are about to get snow: the rain is returning to Portland and I’ll be complaining again, soon enough.

But not today.

Today was another gorgeous day.

I hung out clothes to dry.

I filled up my hummingbird feeders.

And I hung them up. According to the newsletter from The Backyard Birdshop, now it the time to get the hummingbird feeders out because the Rufous hummer will be migrating north soon. This year I have two feeders and am aggressively planning a hummingbird and butterfly garden.

Speaking of which, I spent the sunny part of the day pulling up old rotting weed-guard from one flower bed (I have decided it is no longer useful: weeds just grow on top of it and the plants I want to plant are inhibited by it). Then I planted 19 of the 45 gladiolus bulbs (I plan on staggering the planting date to extend the blooming time).

I marked each site with a little white plastic marker so I would know where to plant the next round of bulbs in two weeks. I also powdered everything with Dog/Cat repellent to keep Murphy from digging the bulbs back up and eating them. He’ll still walk on them, but he won’t dig.

I also planted my red-hot poker (kniphofia uvaria, torch lily) root stock and put up a frame to protect them when they come up. I picked a spot for them where I can easily see hummingbirds when they come and go.

I dug up a little fern and a bit of wild English ivy (ever the invasive weed) and filled my little glass terrarium.

I’m hopeful.

Lastly, I went off my rocker and bought a houseplant. I kill most houseplants, but I thought it was worth the try. I got a new fern for the bathroom.

A nice big Boston fern.

All in all, it was a wonderful, quiet day at home.