June has busted out all over.
With all the wet stuff falling from the sky, the month has lived up to the
phrase, “Rain in June is a silver spoon.”
The landscape centers and
greenhouses are stuffed with trays of flowers and potted plants. My neighborhood is a kaleidoscope
of flowerbeds, filled with marigolds, petunias, dianthus, and other vibrant blossoms
Even my frosted ferns have sent up
fiddle heads that have unfurled into leafy fronds, ’though not as high and lush as
in other years.
In the wisteria beside out
backdoor deck, the robins have hatched three little ones and are busy feeding
them. This year we have a robin's nest in the rhododendrons and bushes on four sides of our house. Here is a little one that fell into one of our buckets and was rescued by my husband. 
And speaking of birds, my
feeders with sunflower seeds, mixed songbird seed, and Nyjer seed are emptied
each day. The pesky, unruly grackles, perching in the adjacent treetops and
singing their creaking, grating songs, have found a way to balance upside
down on the suit cake and try their best to devour it before the woodpeckers.
I’m especially proud of my
bucket garden which is thriving. It’s a work in progress. I’m learning the ropes
and have my fingers crossed. We already have lettuce and parsley.
What do I miss most about the
month of June? The sweet smell of new mown alfalfa or clover drying in the farm
fields. Maybe it’s time to take a ride
into the countryside nearby to find a hay field and get the repetitious, famous lyrics of Carousel by Rogers and Hammerstein out
of my head: just because it’s June, June, June!
Before I forget, HUCKLEBERRY HAPPINESS
releases on the 24th as well.
