In the Leafy Treetops

In the leafy treetops,
the birds sing, "Good Morning."
They're first to see the sun.
They must tell every one.
In the leafy treetops,
the birds sing, "Good Morning."
-In the Leafy Treetops, Children's Songbook, page 240, verse 1

We lost a tree. It died really early last fall, so I thought it had just turned early. But none of the leaves fell and it didn't bud this spring. I wonder what killed it? Mr. Bug has been helping me pull it out. And LadyBug is always anxious to help out as well. The tree is perhaps only five years old, and dead, so I wouldn't have imagined that the roots would be so stubborn. But it has been a fight to get it out.

It is a little sad to see it go. Someone told me that you should plant a tree in your yard for each of your children. This was Grasshopper's tree. It was a Norway Royal Red Maple and LadyBug's tree is its twin. I'll eventually get a new tree for its spot, when money isn't so tight, perhaps something with green leaves to contrast the red of LadyBug's tree. In the meantime, I'll let Grasshopper choose if he wants the unclaimed tree in the back yard or if he wants to wait until we get a new tree for the front.

In any case, the loss of this tree didn't make much difference to the birds. They like to roost on the far end of the porch under the cover of the eaves there. I think they are little mud finches, but I'm not sure. This is the 5^th summer they've built a nest here. The first year we had them we thought it was lots of fun and even named the birds; Charlie, Lola, Lotta and Marv. But the mess they left behind wasn't so fun and Mr. Bug worried that we'd all get the bird flu. We quit naming the birds. One year another kind of bird laid eggs in their nest and so the little mud finches built another nest on top of the lamp right by the front door. I've started knocking the nests down in the fall, after the birds have moved on, but every year they come back and build a new one. I count five birds in this nest. Lola must have brought Soren Lorensen this year.

In my pretty garden,
the flowers are nodding.
"How do you do?" they say.
"How do you do today?"
In my pretty garden,
the flowers are nodding.
-In the Leafy Treetops, Children's Songbook, page 240, verse 2

While we're out on the grounds of Bug Cottage, here's a little tour of some of the pretty flowers that are growing up about the place. First the Foxglove, growing along the railing in front of the porch. They brighten up a really shady spot, not to mention that they bloom fairly early in the season and keep going for most of the summer.

These pretty yellow roses are just out my back door. They are gorgeous and came from one of my dear friends. She's a beautiful gardner and is always moving her perennials around. One year she pulled out all of her roses and gave me first choice. Of course I picked yellow because it is such a cheerful, sunny color and yellow means friendship.

I love these dainty coreopsis and the deep pink Desmond carnations are so pretty next to them. They are next to the walk as you come up to the front door; it makes such a cheerful greeting.

I love daisy-like flowers. These Black-Eyed Susans are kind of a miracle in my garden this year. I haven't had much luck growing them as perennials in the places I want them. They usually die back and don't come back, so I was pleasantly surprised to find these amidst the hardy geraniums that are threatening to take over this bed.

The day lilies are starting to bloom. I love this pretty {but common} Stella de Oro.

I think that these old-fashioned orange day lilies and shasta daisies are so charming along the fence. It makes a beautiful arrangement, which is why I have such a hard time cutting any flowers to bring into the house.

Gardening is such a forgiving and therapeutic hobby. I'd love to see your leafy treetops or pretty garden. Leave me a link!