Springing Forward

In a little over a month it will officially be summer, but a just a week before Memorial Day it finally feels like spring.  And despite repeated attempts to go outside and finish the first pass at weeding and leaf clean up, but driven inside by torrential rains and hail (!) over the past couple of weekends, today I was able to spend a full day outside blissfully reconnecting with my yard on an intimate level.

I was not the only hard worker in the garden.  When weeding under the PJM rhododendron I could not escape the hum of bees all excitedly flying around bloom to bloom.  There were several kinds, but this guy was the only one who stayed still long enough for a clear photo (I really wanted one of the bumblebees, who seemed to be the size of golf balls, but they were surprisingly fast).

Next to the PJM is a Boulevard False Cypress that had dropped quite a few needles over the winter.  When I was clearing underneath I find a little nest that seemed to be constructed from straw and dryer lint.  It was uninhabited so I brought it inside to show my daughter and I put it on the mantel.

The bees and bird's nest are evidence that when we garden we restore the balance we disrupt when we clear the land for homes, driveways, streets, and other buildings.