Groundhog and chickadee

(S)he was headed down the hill on the south side of our house. As many animals (deer, groundhogs, cats) seem to do.

And shortly thereafter this black-capped chickadee alighted on a rhodadendron.

Groundhog and Woodpecker

Our fat friend was out munching on fallen leaves this afternoon. As a side note, this rhododendron is slightly behind its neighbors, just coming into bloom a couple weeks behind the others.

I think this is a downy woodpecker on our dead tree in the front, although it was kind of too far away for a certain identification.

Garden happenings

Mary tells me that I have azaleas and a hydrangea next to our solarium - the former is starting to form buds, and the latter has bright green new leaves.

And this is a beautiful surprise - a bleeding heart plant, which is apparently deer-resistant. (You can see the hydrangea next to it on the left.)

I have been attacking the lower lawn in back because it has a little crab-grass and a LOT of mint. It is war, with this mint. I pulled out a bunch a week or two ago and there is already more even in the spots I covered. It has a root network throughout the patch.

We have now twice seen a groundhog, who must have just emerged from hibernation, and we have some alarmingly large groundhog droppings in the lawn. Neither of us has the stomach to remove it yet.

Finally, I don't know what this is - probably a weed, but it's pretty. There is some in the middle of the back lawn, too. I suppose I ought to pull it up. UPDATE: it appears that this is Lesser Celandine, an invasive weed.