Shadows In The Darkness

Today is mostly sunny and mild.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.





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Today is cloudy and mild.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

I am excited to see that the yellow violet has propagated itself, and now there are two little clumps blooming in the forest garden.  :D

EDIT 4/10/26 -- I pulled weeds out of two pots so I can plant pansies and violas in them.

I've seen a male cardinal and heard a squirrel barking.

EDIT 4/10/26 -- I made one pot with a black viola and a black pansy, intending to add some other black plant later.  I made another with a black viola, a black pansy, a purple-and-white viola, a blue-shaded viola, and a white alyssum.  I watered the pots and added some sticks to discourage squirrels from digging in them.

I also tested out a trick that I saw in a video.  Take a large garden staple, push the tines down into a narrow pot, squeeze together like tongs, and pull the plant out.  It takes a bit of practice to make it work, but it does work better than other methods I  have tried for safely extracting plants from those multipacks.

EDIT 4/10/26 -- I made a pot with a black viola, a black pansy, a purple-and-yellow pansy, and a white alyssum.

The weather is turning cooler and the breeze is picking up.

EDIT 4/10/26 -- I made 3 pots with various shades of purple, yellow, and orange pansies and violas.  For now these are on the white planters alongside the big pot of mixed Johnny-jump-ups.

EDIT 4/10/26 -- I made a pot with a mauve pansy, a couple different violas, and a white alyssum.

EDIT 4/10/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 4/10/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night. 

This poem came out of the April 7, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by janetmiles. It also fills the "Request" square in my 4-1-26 card for the Flower Fest Bingo.

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This poem came out of the April 7, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from alatefeline and a previous discussion with siliconshaman about the life aspects of geodes. It also fills the "Lilac" square in my 4-1-26 card for the Flower Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles. It belongs to The Blueshift Troupers series.

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Today is sunny and warm with howling wind. :/ The wind really complicates my plans to plant anything today, so I'm trying to think of ways to compensate for that.

I fed the birds. I've seen a fox squirrel on the ground and at the hopper feeder.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/9/26 -- I used salvaged string to fasten together 4 white single-pot plant stands, with the taller 2 in back and shorter 2 in front, forming a square. Due to the angled legs, it is not snug, but at least they are more stable than any one would be alone.

EDIT 4/9/26 -- I put the pot of mixed Johnny-jump-ups on one of the tall white plant stands. This is not necessarily its final location, but allows me to get it out of the house without exposing it to too much wind.

I sorted out the black single-pot stands. There is a tall one, a medium one, and two short ones. I started by fastening the tall one to a folding multipot stand.

I've seen a flock of house finches, a male goldfinch molting, and a male cardinal.

EDIT 4/9/26 -- I did more work securing the black one-pot planters. There's one left to attach. Progress.

EDIT 4/9/26 -- I finished securing the last black planter. The resulting structure, while not perfectly tight, is still a great deal more stable overall due to more legs connected in some manner. It doesn't have to look fancy, just do better than last year's constantly tipping pots.

I've seen several sparrows in the forest garden.

It got up to 80°F today, but is cooling down now.

EDIT 4/9/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 4/9/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 4/9/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

Today is Draw a Bird Day. You don't need to be "an artist" for this. Your drawing (or painting, or whatever) does not have to be fancy. Just squiggle out a bird!

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