bad plants

In the same way (from a relative/arbitrary point of view) that there are good and bad birds, there are good and bad plants. I usually just mention the good plants, but the bad plants are appearing; poison parsnip, bishops weed, garlic mustard. No photos of these plants, they are bad, all invasive species along with the multifloral rose, barberry, asian olive, japanese knotweed, and others. Here on the other side of the creek, we've already lost the battle with the bishops weed. There's too much of it. Fortunately we don't have too much of the poison parsnip. Currently I'm battling with the garlic mustard. It's gotten a toe hold here, but with a little work, I think I can keep it under control. Last week, I filled up two big construction bags with the stuff. I thought I was mostly done, but today when I went out to the mailbox I saw a pretty big patch along a fence line down by the creek. I'll be all over that patch before long. As I was making my way through a patch of brush along the stream bank the other day, I discovered two things. One was that there was a woodchuck den amid the pucker brush. It's pretty close to the house, but I didn't know it was there. Allyn did. Secondly there was quite a bit of garlic mustard around the den, and the woodchucks were eating the tops off the plants. I guess we're both trying to get rid of it in some fashion.

On a more elevated note, the redstarts are returning. They are a beautiful bird but somehow I always forget about them until they show up. It appears that a pair of redstarts are nesting in a lilac bush right next to the garage.

from All about Birds