Great Frog Spring Awakening

 We can always tell when spring in nearby when the frogs wake up from their winter sleep and party in the pond.  Due to the cold this winter, this annual awakening was two weeks later than normal.  We've been observing this phenomenon since 2006 and the earliest was in March 6, 2008 with the others between March 10 and 19.  Soon we'll see eggs all over the pond from this night of celebration. 

3 Heads and a Tail

Two weeks ago our camera captured some pictures of a herd of deer grazing in the front yard.  There were at least 14 deer nibbling on something in the yard.  I'm not sure what they are eating since the grass is still brown and new growth has not yet started. 

Color Guard Yucca

 As a recognition that the deer are going to decide what we plant in the front yard, we replaced the two Elderberry bushes with two green and gold Yucca.   The Elderberry bushes were moved to the back yard inside the fence.  Our all green Yuccas are doing ok verses the deer so we are hopeful.  As insurance, we put some shaved Irish Spring Soap around the new plants.  Research indicated, the deer don't like that smell.  On the front porch, we replaced the Ligustrum with a Rhododendron.  The many flowers on the Ligustrum bush was attracting too many bees.  We hope that won't be the case with the Rhododendron.

First Sign of Spring

 We finally had a couple of warm spring days and the Daffodils behind the shed responded with a beautiful display of spring.  These plants have been pushing up for a while but kept getting delayed by extreme cold and snow.  In warmer years we get this spread of flowers in February.  Now the prediction is more very cold weather later this week.  So we are keeping our fingers crossed that the flowers will survive.

Holly Tree in Front Yard

 This weekend, we decided to transplant a Holly tree from the woods in the back yard to the front yard as part of our make-over.  The decision was really made by all the deer roaming the neighborhood.  We have fenced most of the plants we placed in the front yard which somewhat protects them but the deer even nibble through the fence.  From our experience, one thing they won't eat is Holly so that tree should have a good chance.  The deer leave the spiky Yucca plants alone for the most part so we are considering planting more of those.

Midnight Takeoff

The other night our camera caught an interesting picture of what I think is an Owl taking off from the snowy pond. The Owl didn't stay long since only one picture was taken.  The camera is set to take three pictures with a short delay between each picture.

Hawk at the Frog Pond

 Our camera snapped a couple of pictures of the Hawk landing a standing at the frog pond.  When landing, the Hawk looks like he is on a mission with his claws extended and he beak open.  I'm not sure what creature in the pond is at the wrong place but i suspect it became lunch.  I think the Hawk has something in his claws in the second picture that he is enjoying.