We feed the woolly-necked storks that live in our retirement village. But they have become very demanding. My neighbour didn't have anything for them this morning and they kept tapping on his door. When he went out he discovered they had almost destroyed his fern in their anger/frustration  Other neighbours have also complained about them ripping up plants if they don't get fed.

Yeah, that's not cool at all.   

We feed the woolly-necked storks that live in our retirement village. But they have become very demanding. My neighbour didn't have anything for them this morning and they kept tapping on his door. When he went out he discovered they had almost destroyed his fern in their anger/frustration  Other neighbours have also complained about them ripping up plants if they don't get fed.

Pics from the afternoon of May 23rd.

Hydrangea is in full bloom:





Gardenia:





Fun fact:  There's a brown thrasher nest somewhere under the gardenia.  It was there last year, too.  When I approach the bush, the birds get a little nervous, and I can hear the occasional rustle of them moving around.  I can also hear the little ones cheep when one of the parents returns with food.

Fun fact 2:  The brown thrasher is our official state bird.  We named our short-lived NHL hockey team after it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_thrasher

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Thrashers

Baby Joro spiders are already hard at work controlling the insect population:





I think that trophy is a tiny winged ant, but I can't tell for sure. 

Looks like there's also a cast-off exoskeleton; babies grow up so fast!   

This spider built her web very close to where the whole bunch of them were clumped together after leaving the egg sac, so that's how I know it's a Joro.  She simply decided to stay in place instead of going ballooning like most of the rest of her siblings.

What a waste, Jeff. Thank goodness for the gardenias--love them so much.

Quote from: Jeff Tanyard on May 22, 2025, 11:28:07 AM

Last night's thunderstorm tore a large branch off the black cherry tree.  The berries on it are still green, not ripe, and now they're wasted.   

How heavy a branch?  Is it a clean break?  Can you graft it back on?

It's big.  No, it was torn off by the wind.  No, I can't graft it back on.  This is typical of our spring/summer weather here.  Branches and whole trees get felled by thunderstorm wind all the time.  There are still dead limbs stuck high up in the trees from previous storms.

I just wish this broken branch had waited until after there was no longer any fruit on the tree.