Camera Roll This Week-- Backyard Project, More PLANTS!, the Cocoon HATCHED!

In the background you can see the area behind the "'brick house".  This is where we swim.  This photo was taken on Memorial Day as we started to set up our small pool.

There's a huge pile of logs from the trees we cut down from my old house in 2007 that need to be run through the saw mill.  There are excavator buckets and just "things".  I thought to myself, WOW, my husband has really been busy.

Yesterday I came around the corner on the 4-wheeler with exciting news (to be announced later in this post) and realized this was happening...

Another building is in the process of being built.  Looks like measurements are being taken to figure how much of the hill he is standing on needs cut away.  Looks like a good summer to play with all of his big toys...  That's some of the building material laying on the hill already.

The cement blocks below were just on a big pile.  Now they are neatly stacked and ready to be repurposed.  They are from a very old garage we took down a few summers ago.  Owen is always a happy helper!

The exciting news is that the cocoon we found in mid March and have kept in the kitchen in the bug box HATCHED today!  It is a cecropia moth! 

You can see the cocoon that it came out of on the stick on top of the brick in this photo to the left.

I have a very dear friend.  She lives over the hill from me now.  We met in the pool at the Y about 12 years ago.  We have so much in common.  Our husbands are so similar.  I delivered eggs to her yesterday and commented on one of her plants in her flowerbed.  She is an amazing gardener.  She told me that she tried to get rid of that plant last year and thought she moved them but more popped up.  Before I knew it she had a shovel in her hand and was busy digging and splitting up her plants.  She has been meaning to do this and I guess today was the day.  I came home with ten bags of perennials.

I planted them the same day and made sure they got a lot of water.  It rained early today and that helped as well.  Look at all the curious chickens gathering to see what I brought them.  You can also see the two new piles of wood/dirt that is in the chicken yard.  It was left over from when my husband was cleaning up the log pile.  The chickens LOVED it when he dumped it out on Monday.  There are all kinds of yummy bugs and worms and beetles and larva in there!

Here's another view of the dirt pile.  The cats are very interested in it too.

I planted this perennial and covered it with a crate.  I'm thinking the ducks and chickens will eat the lettuce like leaves before it gets established.

I added to this group of plants by planting dwarf iris plants.  These will be blue.  The flock hasn't bothered any of the iris plants thus far so I planted some clusters without protection.

My dear friend gave me three different types of sedum.  One has a silver leaf.  I LOVE sedum!

There are three sedum plants on the right of the below picture.  I also planted some more hens/chicks.  The chickens totally tore up the one I got a Lowes a couple of weeks ago.  All of these plants are protected by the dog kennel.  Usually this area is for new chickens or newly hatched chicks with their hens.  I don't have anybody that wants to be broody this year yet.  Normally by this time of year I am in the process of hatching more chicks.  I really don't need any more chickens at this time, but you never know when a fox attack will happen.

The plant below is a gorgeous striped leaf lily of the valley.  I planted this one unprotected to see what happens.  I planted others in the fenced area.

 I forget the name of the plant below.  I know it gets a yellow flower.  I think it is the same plant as the one in the pink milk crate above.  I can't wait to see what it is!

I can't believe how long my hair is getting!  For years it did not grow.  Once my SIL started cutting it for me about five years ago it has gotten amazingly healthy.  Owen wanted a pic of my on the 4x4.