Update on the prairie restoration and our fecund birds. After months of rain (We are now declared caught up on our rainfall) the prairie is lush and there are many insects for the birds to feed to their young. This is the THIRD clutch for the bluebirds in the nest box this summer.
She didn't leave the nest so I was able to get a snapshot. Not sure how many eggs were there. They raised four the second time because I saw them learning to fly -- the last one leaving the nest, perched on top of the box.
Meanwhile, the House Wrens are incubating a huge clutch of eggs in the other box.
I count 14! Mom and Dad wren were really scolding me for looking at them.
And the prairie, after all those storms, is magnificent. This year there are many Hoary Vervain, the ones on the long stems with purple at the top, the Black-eyed Susans are still there but scattered and small, unlike the second year when they took over. This year, too, there is some butterfly weed for the first time and the prairie sage I planted two years ago is now spreading and healthy. I wanted sage because it is one of the the sacred plants for the Lakota.
prairie phlox, yarrow, hoary vervaine
bright orange butterfly weed and white yarrow
Prairie sage and wild bergamot (not flowering yet)