The cedar waxwing invasion in Texas is an annual event which goes on for weeks. Surely it will come to an end very soon. There are hardly any berries left on the yaupons, hollies and the pyracanthas. Despite the fact that our local mockingbird has tried valiantly to keep them from landing on the bushes the waxwings won in the end. With the bushes stripped they are now busy foraging on the ground for the berries that have dropped there.
They wait patiently in the oak tree waiting for me to move out of the vegetable garden so they can descend on the berries. In fact they are getting quite tame. They recognize that I am going to continue working there so in the end they just can't wait any longer. Poop all over the airconditioner and my plants. I love them but I wish they would get on their way.
Everything is in a big hurry to bloom with our recent 80 degree temperatures. California poppies,
Eschscholzia californica.
Orange and white poppies.
The poppy is one the few flowers that photographs well in the mid day sun.
Purple and white winecups
Callirhoe involucrata.
In the late afternoon the little blue eyed grass,
Sisyrinchium ensigerum, flowers open. It has been an unusually bountiful year for all native flowers to seed in the garden.
The cedar waxwing invasion in Texas is an annual event which goes on for weeks. Surely it will come to an end very soon. There are hardly any berries left on the yaupons, hollies and the pyracanthas. Despite the fact that our local mockingbird has tried valiantly to keep them from landing on the bushes the waxwings won in the end. With the bushes stripped they are now busy foraging on the ground for the berries that have dropped there.
They wait patiently in the oak tree waiting for me to move out of the vegetable garden so they can descend on the berries. In fact they are getting quite tame. They recognize that I am going to continue working there so in the end they just can't wait any longer. Poop all over the airconditioner and my plants. I love them but I wish they would get on their way.
Everything is in a big hurry to bloom with our recent 80 degree temperatures. California poppies, Eschscholzia californica.
Orange and white poppies.
The poppy is one the few flowers that photographs well in the mid day sun.
Purple and white winecups Callirhoe involucrata.
In the late afternoon the little blue eyed grass, Sisyrinchium ensigerum, flowers open. It has been an unusually bountiful year for all native flowers to seed in the garden.
Beautiful blooms & birds. Cedar Waxwings do tend towards an excessive desire to spread fertilizer; if I could only train them to fly over my garden, and not my deck and grill.
ReplyDeleteI guess I got off lucky that my cedar waxwings left without making a poopy mess on the sidewalk. But I miss them -- their visit at my house was too short! I get to see them around town, though. Great pics!
ReplyDeleteWonderful blooms. Those poppies are lovely. Something I wouldn't have thought to plant, but I'll put them on my list of possibles. I've never seen Cedar Waxwings. They *do* come through here, I've heard report of them at Kleb Woods, but I've never seen any myself.
ReplyDeleteEverything in this post is beautiful, from the cedar waxwings with their bandit masks to the orange and white poppies. Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteCedar Waxwings are gorgeous. They left our farm this winter when the weather turned cold and they didn't come back.
ReplyDeleteYour flowers are gorgeous too. I love that jar tipping water into the pool.
I agree with Pam...what beautiful post.
ReplyDeleteThere were Cedar Waxwings, eating berries off the nadina, over my head, as I was digging and remodeling my front bed. By the time I got the camera, they were gone. You got some great shots. Thanks for sharing.
Have a Happy Easter.
~~Linda...
Spring is lovely in Texas. Summer not so much.~~Dee
ReplyDeleteRBell- Yep, they are pretty messy, but i think they are now gone. Not a berry in sight.
ReplyDeleteMeredith- They are a joy to watch and such lovely colors. I hope they have a safe trip wherever they are going.
Jayne- Just throw out those poppy seeds int he fall and you will have poppies. I must check where the waxwings come from and where they are going. Maybe on the way back from Mexico.
Thanks Pam. I would like an owl though!
Sweet Bay- So do you know where they go to? Maybe they are on their way to you.
Patchwork- They are pretty easily spooked but the ones here were so desperate for those berries they started not to mind me.
Dee- Yes- we have to take the rough with the smooth. However I spent too many winters in Canada. I'll take the heat.
Your garden is a delight, I've spent some time looking around at older posts. I fell in love with Central Texas and Hill Country gardens a few years ago~~Yours is a wonderful treat and the hardscape is phenomenal. I was inspired by Pam to get a stock tank~~and I am in Nashville~~It's not set up but soon.
ReplyDeleteThe cedar waxwing photos are delightful... gail