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Sunday Letter: 04.16.23

April 16, 2023 By Talya Tate Boerner 18 Comments

Sunday Letter

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

Oh my goodness! I have been so excited to tell you what I discovered in my garden this week that I’m just going to swan dive right in. And yes, I will probably use an excessive quantity of exclamation marks to tell you.

Migrating Monarchs ❣❣❣

I have noticed a couple of MONARCHS this week. These monarchs are extra special because they successfully overwintered in the mountains of central Mexico and are now migrating north for spring.

Although the picture I took isn’t very clear, you can see this lady flitting around our milkweed. Yes, she looks a little weary because, well, migrating is not a small thing. And even though our milkweed is barely showing itself, she found it through the miraculous sensory receptors in her legs and antennae.

Nature truly is a wonder. I can’t find my iPhone five minutes after I lay it down yet she had no trouble finding our milkweed sprouts among all the sprouting plants.

The day after I saw my first monarch, I was outside crawling around looking at the milkweed (as one does). Just as I hoped and somewhat expected, MONARCH EGGS!

So many eggs.

Probably 30+ eggs. Maybe 50 even.

Sunday Letter

=

 

 

Sunday Letter: Monarch eggs!

Believe me, I took about forty-five other pictures of eggs on our milkweed plants, both swamp and orange butterfly varieties, but I imagine you don’t want to see all of them.

A female monarch lays 100-300 eggs during her short life; we were lucky enough to be the recipient of so many. Soon we will have baby caterpillars. Maybe today!

Two Other Sweet Surprises

I’m telling you, it was a week of sweet spring surprises.

While working in the rose garden at the Headquarters House, I came upon a robin sitting on her nest. She’d built her nest high in the trellis where I happened to be removing deadwood from a vining plant. Oh, we startled each other, that’s for sure. I apologized profusely while she perched on a nearby rooftop and fussed at me. Finally, realizing I meant no harm, she returned to her nest and watched as we mere human gardeners tended the area nearby.

I did manage to snap a quick picture of her nest.

Sunday Letter

See her sitting in her luxury high-rise at the Headquarters House?

Sunday Letter

Back at our house, a robin has built her nest on top of our electrical box. She chose a more modest location, although this particular area is filled with spicebushes and redbuds above a carpet of wild ginger, so maybe she prefers those plants. While I cut down a small dead dogwood nearby, she kept her eyes laser-focused me.

Later, when she was off foraging, I took a picture of her eggs.

There were only two eggs in her nest, but I wonder if she hasn’t laid another egg or two since then. Robins lay one egg a day, up to a total or three to four in a clutch.

Two robins. One lives within the white trellis of a rose garden, the other on an electrical box. At first glance, the rose garden home might seem the best, but I can assure you the bird of the electrical box has a steady supply of seed and mealworms, and fresh water in the bird bath daily.

They both added a little magic to my week.

What’s Blooming & Growing This Week

Wow! Everything is changing so quickly in the garden. Mr. Blue Sky has been smiling down on us all week, bringing the first iris and salvia blooms of the season. Also, our strawberries are in bloom, ferns are unfurling, and my favorite double ruffle peach daffodils are showing off. Of course, dandelion wishes are a’plenty, as are wood violets. (We leave the dandelions growing in our yard and allow wood violets to pretty much serve as an early spring ground cover in our flower beds.)

Sunday Letter

I love puttering around in the garden this time of year. Translation = I am not getting much serious writing done…

Things Momma Says:

Note: While Momma has been home on the farm the past few weeks, I’ve not been privy to her wisdom. So I sent her a text last night…

Me: Momma, I need a quote for this week’s Sunday Letter.
Momma: I may be in a lawsuit this time next week.

So there you have it.

***

Before I say goodbye, I want to tell you the gorgeous cut flowers in the first picture (and below) were grown by Dripping Springs Garden in Carroll County. I purchased a bouquet last week at Ozark Natural Foods, and they are still fabulous today.

Whether you grow or purchase flowers, a few fresh stems can sure brighten your home. I highly recommend it!

Happy Sunday, and thanks for reading today’s Sunday Letter.

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

 

Filed Under: Sunday Letter Tagged With: milkweed, pollinator garden, spring gardening

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Comments

  1. Cathy Voight says

    April 16, 2023 at 7:18 am

    Oh I miss your your Mama!
    These early days of spring always delight me.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 16, 2023 at 9:51 am

      I’m sure she misses you too! She will be back soon (unless she’s embroiled in a legal battle of some sort…)

      Reply
  2. Colene says

    April 16, 2023 at 7:44 am

    Oh my goodness, I feel your excitement! It seems like each day another bird has migrated back to us here. This past week the Brown Thrasher has returned and also a pair of Towhees. The robins and bluebirds are busy and the mourning doves coo all day long. Yesterday a wild turkey passed by our window and an unwanted visitor, a ground hog. As far as growing things, I will have to enjoy yours until mine bloom. Daffodils are beautiful now and my bleeding hearts are slowly beginning show some life but they are way behind schedule. Nature is amazing. Your next book can wait for now. Enjoy each new discovery!

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 16, 2023 at 9:52 am

      I LOVE hearing our mourning doves. We have a pair who live in our yard. Wow, you have so much nature!

      Reply
  3. Lou Perry says

    April 16, 2023 at 9:22 am

    Enjoyed your Sunday Letter!

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 16, 2023 at 9:52 am

      Thank you!!

      Reply
  4. Winnie says

    April 16, 2023 at 12:09 pm

    I do enjoy your Sunday letters and the changes in your garden!

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 16, 2023 at 6:55 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  5. Sissy Abbott says

    April 16, 2023 at 3:05 pm

    Loved your Sunday Letter and I love your Mama’s saying! I was home this weekend and wish I had known she was there. Would have gone to see her!

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 16, 2023 at 6:55 pm

      She would have loved that!!

      Reply
  6. Molly Bieshaar says

    April 16, 2023 at 3:34 pm

    We live in Colorado and it snowed again on Friday. The Lilac leaves have burst through and grass is greener. Tulips popping up but nothing like you are experiencing in Arkansas. Always look forward to new beginnings.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 16, 2023 at 6:56 pm

      I have lots of family in Colorado and I’m amazed that they are still having snow. Not sure I would like that even though I love snow (in winter). We are having a great spring.

      Reply
  7. Glenda Rose says

    April 17, 2023 at 11:07 am

    Even after being in Florida for 57 years, I still miss two things; Spring flowers and Fall leaves. I will be closing my garden this month until October, our nights are already too hot for most vegetables to set fruit. Fortunately, I am in Memphis every April so I visit ‘home’ in Leachville and Kennett, MO to get a little dose of Spring.
    I hope the weather settles down for you soon. Happy Spring.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 20, 2023 at 11:38 am

      Oh wow, you call Mississippi County home too?! Yes, one of the best things about living in northwest Arkansas is our four distinct seasons.

      Reply
      • Glenda says

        April 24, 2023 at 12:04 pm

        Yes, my family has been there and Dunklin County MO since the Civil War. My great-grand father owned a land company in Leachville. It still has a pull for me. When I see cotton, I long for for really simple childhood pleasures.
        Thank you for your Sunday Letters, I look forward to them.

        Reply
        • Talya Tate Boerner says

          May 4, 2023 at 2:02 pm

          Thank you!

          Reply
  8. Gracie Campbell says

    April 18, 2023 at 10:54 pm

    Love your Sunday letters!

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 20, 2023 at 11:35 am

      Thank you so much!!

      Reply

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Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

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