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Recently the hedge in the back that screens my house from the apartment dwellers was pruned. Once the crew cleaned all the cuttings up and deposited them in their trailer to be mulched at Grab n Grow then left, I was checking the hedge. Below is what I found. Home for some well taken care of baby birds. I had noticed a very young warber in the tray with sunflower seeds and cracked corn. S/he seems surprised to find itself there as though to say "how did I get here?" Perhaps s/he came from this nest?

The nest was comprised of some dried herb, pieces of long grass and wood bark and seemed to be lined with some of Shasta's fur as well as my long hair. What a labor of love the parents took to provide such a safe place for their young.

Once I had retrieved the nest, I thought "oh no, I should have left it for perhaps another clutch of babies birds to be raised." However, I did not think like that when my curiosity drove me to take the nest out of the hedge. Now what? It is way too an awesome home to just throw it away. So I have it sitting on a small table where I can see when I perform my morning qi gong.

Before when the sunflowers 

were just beginning

to grow after all the "extra" plants

were removed.

The grass is Muhlenbergia rigens (Deergrass).

I plant quite a few seeds in each planting area. Then once all the seeds have sprouted and are growing, I cull all but the healthiest plant in each planting area. This practice seems to then produce the most spectacular 

Helianthus annuus macrocarpus (Hopi Black Dye Sunflower Hopi name: Tceqa' Qu' Si) flowers. As I have probably shared on an earlier post while in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I learned of these sunflowers.

This morning my project was to fetch arbor mulch from Grab n Grow. Without a pickup just my Prius I filled a large plastic barrel I took with me + white plastic bags provided. Luckily the bags I can return . . . YEAH . . . rather than deposit into my recycle bin from Sonoma Marin Recology.

So as is my practice I laid down saved cardboard boxes, cutting them carefully to leave adequate space around each plant. This area use to be my compost pile which attracted rats . . . eek! so I removed the rats food. 6 Ricegrass plants, purchased from Native Foods Nursery, and 3 Grindelia hirsutata (Hairy gumplant) recently shipped from Annie's Annuals were planted. Each were planted on designated leaf and flower planting days respectively. I find planting in this manner gives all plants I bring to PageRefuge their best chance to thrive.

Holodiscus discolor (Cream bush)

Heteromeles arbutifolia (California toyon)

This year is unlike no other

that I remember for this

particular Epiphyte.

The blossoms have been bigger

with the plant is producing 

more flowers than I can ever recall.

The neighbors to the West of me are so impressed. They have visited, taken pictures and requested some cuttings. Of course, I provided "a cutting" from each of the three Epiphytes I have hanging in the maple tree.

As I enjoy all the wonderfully amazing flowers in my garden I