An old pine tree grows in the part of the garden that we call “North Garden”. This tree may have been there from the very beginning. Few of us would know. Over the years, the lower branches of the pine died off, and its south-facing side grew more vigorously than the other sides. Thus, this tree needed some TLC.
We hired Tony to prune our pine professionally. He did a wonderful job and was also very careful not to step on the flowers that are starting to come up everywhere now. They will get more sunlight now, too.
When we were inspecting the tree to see where Tony should prune, he pointed out little holes all over the bark. While he explained to us, that these holes were made by a woodpecker, a beautiful male of just this species, the yellow bellied sapsucker, hopped on a branch in front of us. He briefly looked at what was going on and left before we could take a picture. Therefore, I stole one from the internet. The bird was really this colorful!
What else is new… Today, Jeff continued to work on our water system since he noticed a substantial leak last week. This time, he opened the manhole cover to get a better look. Hopefully, all is well now. We do not want our precious water (of drinking quality, like everywhere in NYC) to seep unused into the ground.
Spring bulbs continue to pop up. In addition to daffodils, there are hyacinths, tulips and the large “summer snowflake” that actually blooms in April and not in July.
We will resume our official open hours next weekend. One of our gardeners will be there to greet guests and answer questions from 2-6 PM, weather permitting as always.