Front yard happenings...

I'm feeling quite chatty tonight well I guess now it's Friday morning. Maybe you will find some of my random happenings interesting.

Jewelweed(photo from the internet).....Yesterday I didn't know the name of this fun little plant, isn't the internet wonderful. I discovered that the plants seed pods actually explode when touched. Creative way to make sure your two little seeds get spread huh! How did I make this amazing discovery? While waiting for the bus with Sydney and Paige we sit on the cement edge to our driveway over our ditch. I was reaching out to play with the seeds of the next plant shown below, when pop, pop, pop. Seeds were flying everywhere. Sydney and I have shown lots of friends this amazingly fun little find. Fun to watch a grownups face when little seed pods explode in their fingers.
Quincy and Reese Sadowski will be happy to know that I found these really cool seeds in my ditch. You see the Sadowski children find and feed Monarch Caterpillars. What does such a caterpillar like to eat? Well, milkweed of course. During a visit to their home my dear friend Kelly would drive Quincy at least half a mile to procure such a delicacy for children's small guests on a daily basis. That is dedication! When they came for a visit to Ohio two years ago. I had no idea where they would find Milkweed but they did find it somewhere. Yesterday when I saw these cool seeds! I had to find out what they belonged to. Well. I guess you already know....we have got us some Milkweed. I guess next year we'll be much more prepared for a Sadowski visit.(All milkweed photos from the internet.)

Paige and I were surprised to have an invasion of our Pokeweed yesterday. Which is actually a weed that I let, gasp,overgrown in our front garden. We were sitting in the armchair in the living room when a flock of Cedar Waxwings descended onto the plant outside our picture window. They came and went for over an hour and by the time they were done not a single berry was to be found anywhere. Here's a short video clip and some photos of our very curious little visitors. Be forewarned, turn your sound down now....or else you will have to listen to some seriously loud Strawberry Shortcake in the background.

Tail feathers look like they are dipped in yellow paint.

Little black eye mask, incredibly small edge of red on some wing feathers.Hope you learned a little something from this post, I know I did!