Downy in the Garden

Citronella!  It's supposed to be an unappealing smell to mosquitoes.  We'll see how it works because we'll be putting this on the porch, along with an infuser spouting out citronella as well.  We were at the garden shop, or the nursery today, getting a few plants...

We did get this one arrangement on the bottom, but we also picked up a hibiscus (also pictured above) for the hummingbirds, plus some things for our garden:  marigolds, tomatoes, and peppers.  Here they are, planted in our garden this evening.

One of the peppers we got - in addition to this Mammoth Jalepeño for Maddie - was a Mad Hatter Pepper Plant.  I didn't know about this one, so obviously had to get it.  But right when I was digging up some ground there in the garden plot, there was a tap above me, and plop!  A pretty young downy woodpecker landed right there in the soft soil next to me.  

Immediately I picked him up, and we did a few right things, although there were some that they officially don't recommend.  We gave him some water and food, and that's apparently not recommended.  But we did put the bird into a cardboard box, and that is recommended.  That helps the bird chill out and not stress so much.  After a bit, the bird was more alert and was eating and drinking some.  But it wouldn't fly anywhere.  In fact, it just wanted to hang around Mom a good bit!

Sweet!  Mom and I were out there on the back deck, watching over our new friend while listening to the ball game.  The Braves won again, sealing the series victory against the Cincinnati Reds at the Great American Ballpark.  Our sound bar is working well, and so our audio in the living room is sounding great.  I had "Fantasia 2000" playing on the television earlier, all while straightening up some of the interior cabinets and electronics.  Just some tidying long overdue, but it was indoor work we could do while the weather was a little too warm outside.  But that rain was coming again, and that was good again.

As for our woodpecker friend, that little bird is spending the night inside a cardboard box with holes poked in the top.  This little guy just didn't seem ready to fly yet, so we'll have to see how things work out tomorrow.  Hint:  it all works out okay!

Maddie's had a good day today.  Maddie had Team Edge practice this morning, and then went to see a movie with Nate's family, "The Breadwinner," a comedy that everyone seemed to like.  She spent the day with the family, and the rain came down quite a bit after that - they played it safe, driving home after the rain. 

We were able to read together tonight, with Commander Vimes putting one culprit in jail after hearing all kinds of confessions about a larger more vile plan - the game is afoot!  We read, and we got to sleep after that.  Time for some rest!