Last Spring a lovely lady Robin made her nest in our front porch wreath. It was really quite interesting as she built her nest flush up against the glass of the door so we had a front row seat to the bird rearing process.

After she and her offspring flew the coop, I carefully took down the wreath and left the nest intact, hoping she would return again this year.

Lo and behold, return she did. However, she was apparently unimpressed by my nest saving abilities as she shunned her previous nest and chose to build an even more precarious perch on top of the wreath...this bird likes parenting on the edge.

Although this particular wreath is only weakly attached to my window with one of those suction cup hook thingies (and a crappy one at that...) it managed to stay attached through many a Spring storm, pizza deliveries, asshole mailmen and local tornadoes. So, yay Mother Nature!

I snapped these shots just a few days ago, so I was shocked to see the babies with their parents hopping around the yard this afternoon. My they do grow so fast...

It's that time of year again... the time when school is out and I find myself with a large amount of creative energy and not much to do with it. Thus I began blogging…again... just like I did last year..uh, and the year before that. So okay, I admit that I may have blogging commitment issues. However, this year I am determined to stick with it even if it is just photo updates…okay, here goes.

One of the main reasons I started this blog (multiple times) is that I wish to document successes, failures and cool things I would like to try in my garden, but will most likely forget unless blogged about. So, for the sake of nostalgia, here is my introductory post from last year.

Summer Projects

Aww…summer will soon be here and I, of course, have many projects planned. In hopes of not forgetting what they are and actually completing a few of them, I will list them here.

Dog Poo composter

That's right you heard me…Dog Poo Composter! I am the proud owner of three wonderful dogs who just happen to poop...a lot…seriously…why….its ridiculous! Everyday I wander around the yard collecting poopie and depositing it into a trash bag lined canister. After the container becomes full of waste, I face the issue of what to do with all that dookie. Ashamedly, I usually resort to sealing the bag up tight and hiding it at the bottom of my trash can in the wee morning hours.

This is the year that will change all of that non-environmentally sound dog pooping! I have seen the light and found a fairly simply way of creating my own mini septic system. If only I could train the dogs to poo directly into the composter… that would be stylish.

Nature Compound

I have decided that it will be necessary to turn my garage into a nature center. This should be fairly simple. All I have to do is clean all of the junk out of my garage.

In hindsight, this might take all summer.

Potatoes in a trashcan

Well, not really a trashcan at my house. But in theory, you could you use a trashcan like this one. I don't have extra trashcans lying around . The one I did have already has been dedicated a special assignment (see Dog Poo Composter). I do, however, have several large black tubs that once contained young saplings. I think these leftover containers will be perfect for my potato experiments.

Squash in a tire

Squash need space. My garage needs space. I have four huge tires in my garage that must have once belonged to the previous owner. I certainly don't need them and since I'm cleaning the garage anyway (see Nature Compound) I might as well cut the center out of the tires, fill them with dirt and plant some squash. Perfect.

Bamboo trellis

I have lots of climbing things. They need something to climb on. Instead of wasting a bunch of money on fancy trellises, I've decided to build my own with bamboo. Its cheap, durable and renewable. Sweet.

I know I have more things planned…but I can't remember what they are? Thus, the point of this list is already realized. If I do think of more summer projects I will add them. If I actually complete any of these projects I will certainly tell you all about it.

So, what are you doing this summer?