Not every sign of spring is welcomed here at Abbey Point. Barn swallows are intensively working the area again, hoping to raise their young in mud nests on our white stucco. Vigilance is imperative, this nest startup (right) was built overnight, says a disgusted Katie. It must go, she says. It will. She rules their roost. We don't care if they eat tons of insects.The barn swallows are as persistent as Mormon missionaries and return immediately after each scraping to reattach mud.
We've also got a nest of robins under the deck. They can stay. Different rules apply there. Overhead, a fascinated Birdie monitors developments, listening for departures and arrivals and sniffing fecund aromas wafting up the cracks.
Across the way, neighbor John Gerken favors dousing his barn swallow hangouts with Pine Sol, full-strength. Says the dirty birds are repelled by such a clean odor. He's pictured here with a newly-awakened grandson, Joe, who is a neighborhood regular.
Speaking of Joe, that's Joe Daly, at right, working over his petunias as he does, daily. Yes, every day he mounts his step ladder to tend to the colorful blooms that greet us as we come up the cul-de-sac. His roses get the same fussy attention. He keeps the barn swallows down by a daily swishing of their favorite targets.Our lilacs are due anytime. They are perennial late-comers to the prom, suspicious of anything happening too soon in Minnesota, unlike the eager flowering crab over on the corner. Those gorgeous blooms were whipped, beaten and lost in Wednesday's 50 mph blow. Shingles were ripped from rooftops. Homeowners Association President Bud detailed
Stan to photograph the damage. Bud will now seek compensation from our insurance carrier for the rude May surprise.It is calm today, we'll get out the pressure washer and chase barn swallow stains, then apply Mr. Clean.
Want more signs of spring? The shady boys from Prescription Landscape (below) are here this morning to get the sprinklers activated. It's finally 72 degrees and sunny in Minnesota. It's about time.
