Landscaping envy

I just thought this was pretty. It was a house neighboring one where we were at a party. I liked the trees overhanging the path/patio area. And the ground cover was pretty. This was actually the side of the house; I didn't even look at it from the front.

Frail flowers and flourishing fawns

While the plants in front are doing well on the whole, some of our perennials in back are muddling along.

The hydrangea's blooms are pathetic.

I guess our chewed-up mystery plants were coneflowers? I think? Not exactly thriving, but at least blooming!

I really should weed. Yeah. I really should.

And if they're not all doing great, this may be one of the reasons: here comes the next generation of garden gourmands! Cute, but naughty.

Two fawns and a doe

Unrelated to struggling foliage, I have had my eye on a brown mystery bird when it has appeared very briefly in the yard a few times. It drives me mad not to be able to identify it. I am lately thinking it is a type of wren - perhaps a winter wren? It moves around so much that it's hard to get a good look, much less a photo.