We had a pretty day today, and it turned out to be warmer than I'd thought it would be.  Nice to work outside again for a bit.  Fred got the lawn mowed and I got some trimming done and some of the deck chairs out.  We have to do some repairs to our flag pole and my anemometer that was attached to it.  One of the birch trees that got weighted down with snow yesterday apparently hit the flag pole and broke the arm holding the wind gauge.  Another of the birches is showing stress signs at the base, so I guess we'll have to take them down.  I hate to see them go, but they are getting too big and dangerous - too close to the house and to the power line when they bend over like that.  Young birches are notorious for bending under weight, and although they do straighten back up somewhat, these are in a clump and lean outward naturally, so every time we have some heavy snow, even before they have leaves, they tend to lean a little more.

One more cold night and we may be through with frost until September.  When you think about it, this year we'll probably have only three frost-free months.  Along with that, we've broken daytime  high temperature records a few times this spring, too.  Hard to figure.  

We replenished the humming bird feeder today.  They've been feeding voraciously, both yesterday and today.  They couldn't find any flowers under all that snow.  This cold snap must have some of our spring song birds wondering if they took a wrong turn someplace.

I heard from the Carcobas over on Woodbury Lake that the goose eggs are hatching now.  Sharon wrote that she saw 17 goslings and 16 adult geese going by, and not just swimming.  They are grazing on lawns, too, of course - and fertilizing them.  I'm sure there will be more.  Woodbury Lake has a similar problem to what we have here at Joe's Pond with too many geese. 

We have two sets of nesting loons at work here again this year.  We haven't had a report of how many eggs there are in each nest, but all the parents seem to be "on the job" so we'll no doubt have at least a couple of baby loons in a few weeks, and maybe more.

I hope everyone had a memorable Memorial Day and that you took a few minutes to think about our service men and women, past and present.  We owe so many so much.

I'm glad the day turned out to be a pretty nice one; there were lots of people out to watch and participate in parades and other memorial ceremonies, and lots of folks enjoying picnics and cook-outs.  Memorial Day starts off summer for lots of  us, although it isn't always as warm and delightful as we might like here in the Kingdom.  I recall watching quite a few parades from under an umbrella and thinking how cold the kids in the band must be, especially the girls with nothing between their short skirts and tall white boots except bare skin.  But starting off summer with friends and a BBQ is an important part of Memorial Day weekend ritual.  So summer has begun - if tonight's frost is actually the final one .  .  .  !