New Tenants at Flown Piggies Farm

 

Violet-green Swallow on balcony

Huzzah! One of the 2 bird boxes put out a couple of weeks ago. The boxes are between 5 & 6 feet off the ground, within easy flapping distance of shrubs or trees. They face open meadow for birdie convivence. I expected, that like the Violet-green Swallow shown above, it would be additional Violet-greens that would go for the boxes. Nope!

Westernmost bird box, with a Tree swallow (on right) swooping by

It was Tree Swallows that adopted a bird box. If you look at the swallow at the top of the blog, you can see this Tree Swallow doesn't have white feathers above its eye. In Sacramento I used to enjoy peeking into Tree Swallow dens, to see the nestlings cuddled up in cozy tree cavities. Bird boxes recreate the 'tree hole' experience for the birds.

Tree Swallow perched at box

Because a pair of Swallows take on a nesting box, does not guarantee they will be successful in raising a clutch of itty-bitties.  Other bird species might try to evicting swallows. Most likely such species would be House Sparrows, which I'm happy to state, aren't found at Flying Piggies Farm... thus far anwway.  Sometimes evil wasps get into the boxes, or perhaps the magic just doesn't happen for the Swallows. To keep out the instances I can do something about, I'm required to check each nesting box about once per week. I feel a little timid about doing so, but I must be a good landlord to my feathered tenants. 

The happy Tree Swallow couple

Nice house... but where's the hot tub?

Whitney Gardens and Walker Mountain

 

Approaching to amazing vista on Mt Walker

Of all the things missed during Covid 19 lockdown, the most indulgent one is probably restaurant dining with friends.  You know - the shameless sitting one's rear on a chair inside of a restaurant. Such decadence. Locally, here in Washington state's Clallam County, restaurants are now opening up to sit-down dining. Rejoicing reigns. 

I'm actually already beginning to lose track of the various places I've dined at in the past month. After the Port Townsend Airport we visited Nourish, a cute restaurant surrounded by a beautiful garden here in Sequim. 

After dining we wandered the beautiful garden surrounding the restaurant. I particularly admired the tulips. Did you know that another name for tulips is 'Deer Candy'? It's not? It ought to be. I can't grow any until I get a yard area fenced off. 

This past weekend I meet up with friends Diane and Judy (a Mom and daughter team) and we went to see the Rhododendrons, Azaleas and the like at bloom in Whitney Gardens.

Whitney Gardens is a plant nursery

At these gardens it snows bright pink petals

The nursery people were very nice. When they saw Judy and her walker, they immediately offered us a wheelchair so Judy could relax and see more than she could have otherwise. Nice!

I think we covered about 75% of the grounds. Massive blossoms and flowering beauties everywhere you looked. 

The bridge crossed a little creek that took us to the outback of the nursery. 

Blossom lined trail

A poof of purple

The big white tree is a magnificent Azalea...
or a Rhodie... I can never tell the difference 

When we meandered back to the nursery store, who was exiting the shop? My friend and former Port Angeles housemate, Ingrid! We ought not have been so surprised, but we were. Ingrid, Diane and Judy had heard about each other many times but never met before so introducing them was fun. Ingrid was shopping for a couple of Rhodies to plant under her dining room window. I think she went for a variety with large pink flowers.

Ingrid and Diane 

I really admire Hostas. Back in California I tried growing
them  once,. Snails wolfed them down overnight. I guess I only grow tasty stuff.

Diane and her new Amie, Jean Marie

Diane was on the lookout for rhodie for her own garden. She chose a bright red flowering Rhodie variety, 'Jean Marie'. 

Nursery staff bundled up the Rhodie, then we headed down the road for lunch at a local dinner. Again, we sat right down at  a table. Can you believe it?

The 'Half-way House Restaurant. That's halfway between Chimicum and Skokomish or something like that. Lovely luncheon, enjoyed by all. 

Once full up, Diane drove us up to Mt Walker see the view. my first thought on stepping out of the car at the trail head, was 'I must return...'. All around me I could hear birds singing up a storm. Using my phone app I identified Hermit Warblers singing their little hearts out. Heard many other species as well - chickadees and the like, but didn't see a single bird, they kept to cover so stubbornly.

The height of the trees on Walker Mt are stunning. 

South facing 

The view was breathtaking, looking out over Quilcene Bay, and past Hood Canal. The photos barely do the view justice. 

Though the camera doesn't pick it up, we could see the skyscrapers in Seattle

It really was a short walk from the parking area to the vista - the proof of that is that Judy found the trail to be a breeze. Loads of people came and went, many with dogs, which we enjoyed petting and chatting about. I took a group photo for some visitors and they took a nice photo of us in return.

Combo of Black Cherry & Mocha Almond Fudge

After leaving Mt Walker, there was a final treat in the ensy village of Quilcene. There Diane drove us up to a teeny, tiny, hole in the wall Mom & Pop 'Quicky Mart'.

Diane said the store had the best ice cream in these parts. We each an massive and tasty waffle cone that made me so-called goals to get & stay in shape. Yeah. Right. Well. The ice cream was made in Oregon and tasted like the best gelato I've ever had. A sweet ending to a sweet day.