Seasons? Well, they SAY we have 4 seasons here. Personally, I've only ever experienced 9 months of winter, then it turns hot & humid for a little while. But seriously... My MIL is in Gilford, and we have relatives in Wolfeboro, so we are around the southern area of the lakes region quite often. Not sure how long you've been here, but you might be interested in our Fall Swap, which should be close to being posted soon. We do that in Goffstown, usually in September. Some seasonal notes: "March Winds" is a good phrase. "April Showers" is a good phrase. "May Flowers" is another good one. They are very typical of how things go around here. Snow. Lots of snow. Some years more than others, but count on it. First hard frost that will kill things like coleus comes Mid-October. Last frost is hard to judge, but typically "they" say ~Memorial Day is safe to start planting. The big "however" on that one is if you winter sow (see that forum here). We break all the planting rules, starting things outdoors in December. In May, I notice that the first blooms out are purples & yellows: Lilacs, Forsythia, Lunaria, Lupine, Daffodils, Siberian Iris, and Dwarf Bearded Iris, followed shortly by early whites and reds such as shasta daisy, Valerian, and Maltese Cross. Late May also finds my "Golden Rose of China" shrubs in bloom. By June, the 'rest' of things are coming into bloom- "early" Daylilies, Lilacs are finishing up, Weigela Bush is in bloom, Spirea is in bloom. Shoot, can't remember if the Bleeding Heart is May or June... Zone 5 is a 'questionable' zone for Butterfly Bushes, and they are LATE in showing signs of life. I mulch them with whatever I can find in the fall- leaves or that fluffy hay-like stuff that Bluestone sent in their box one year. Snow insulates them, too, so I might even shovel extra over it so it doesn't melt away during the January thaw. I cut them back to about 6-8" in late April, and they'll start showing signs of life about the time you think they're not going to make it. I'm thinking this year it was after Memorial Day. Speaking of January thaw...we'll usually get both a January thaw (you'll need a T-shirt for this), and an ice storm. The ice came early this year in December, and put power out for weeks in some areas. The really bad power outages weren't typical, but the ice-storm is. February is usually pretty brutal with "raw" cold for several weeks at a time, usually. It'll start to break about the time you flip the March calendar. If you like Poppies, the first week in March is perfect for sprinkling those seeds. Careful that they don't blow away in the wind. I try to get mine out (sprinkled over the snow) by the first weekend in March, followed soon by the Peas in the garden by March 17th. If you winter-sow, April 1 is a good date to start tender annuals and get them outside. I've been pushing that envelope slightly, and have started them as early as the 3rd week in March. Your nasturtiums that were beautiful in the early summer will likely melt by late July/early August in the heat. Generally speaking (not counting the lovely weather we had last week), there's no such thing as "Dry Heat" around here. "Oppressive" is more like it. Humidity is icky. It's not uncommon to be just standing not moving and sweating. Find out where your local Ice Cream stand is. (Have you ventured to Rochester on the Milton town line yet? Lone Oak is THE best place to get ice cream. They serve no less than a pint of ice-cream on their small & kiddie sized cones- all home-made ice cream.) Gilford Old Home Day is coming up the end of August, and is a nice day-trip if you're into Community Parades, and the whole music/vendors/food scene. It's a nice little event. When you flip the September calender, the weather tends to also 'flip.' It'll still be warm during the day, but there's a "chill" and the air is just 'different.' We've had so much rain this year that the foliage is going to be FABULOUS. Don't miss it! We'll usually get an Indian Summer spell sometime in September with temps back up in the 80s. The Hopkinton Fair is Labor-Day weekend, and September is also our Fall Swap in Goffstown, so you might want to watch for Annie's post here. Deerfield Fair is the end of September, and is another nice fair. Skip the Rochester Fair ;) I've heard Fryeburg Fair in Maine is a nice fair, too, but have never been. By the time October rolls around, we've all hunkered down for the winter, and are gearing up for the holiday season, the kids are back at school, the leaves have been raked up and thrown in the compost pile, or backpack-blown into the neighbor's yard, and whatever fall cleanup garden chores you do are probably nearly done. Oh, watch for fall bulb clearances- I have seen them go as low as 90% off at Agway. That was two years ago when we didn't get winter until December, so I planted bulbs on December 1st. That's not typical, but it worked, and the bulb deals were great! I don't mind 'taking a chance' on clearance bulbs when the bulbs are still firm, the ground isn't frozen yet, and they are cheap-cheap-cheap! Ok, did I cover most of it? Hope you found some of it useful!

Wow this sounds so much like what went on here. I put a bowl full of mealies out the day they fledge but none after that for awhile. I find they don't come for them much until the babies are ready to come with them. If this is your same female that means Dad was left to raise 5 kids and it may take a little longer with just one parent. My Pop showed up with the kids later than normal. He's always been nearly 2 weeks to the day and this time it was closer to 3. I have learned that NO, Blues do not always mate for life. There is no question this is Hussy Mom and that Pop got ditched with the babies. I have been feeling bad for Pop (but I guess more for myself). I hope I have not lost him, I know hes not too far, I hear him but still have not found his new nest. Pop has been here for 3 years that I know of. Something happened to his first female between first and second nesting last year and that's when he took up with Hussy Mom. I never would have know it was a different female untill she quit feeding the babies.(maybe the fisrt female took off on him too)? There was no question this years first nesting was Pop and Hussy Mom. The thing is I could never be certain I had the same pair each year, there was always a little something different about each nesting except for Pop, he's always been in the same branches and been consistant with his behavior. His red goes down much farther in the front also.I really hope that I will have both Hussy Mom & Joe Daddy AND Pop with his new female next year. I am looking at the bright side, I should have twice the Blues and after all more Blues is what this is all about! I hope your Dad shows up with the babies soon and as stated above, mealies have nothing to do with survival especially at this time of year!

Where are you? It is getting a little late in the season, not to say you couldn't still get a nesting. The females are the ones that make the final decision. Do you have 2 boxes, both with cams? I would take the cam out of one of them. It may help. I have had females that did not like the camera for some reason and some that could care less. Sorry I cant help with the Gilwood box.

Leslie...How wonderful to have a Bluebird trail! I have always had only one BB box up at a time but have always had good luck with it. A few years I had only Chickadees in it, but better that than HS. Here on the Cape I have no HS. I have worked hard at keeping them out of the yard. I count for PFW at Cornell so I feed all winter. I offer thistle, safflower, BOSS, sunflower hearts & suet...the HS are not interested. We are all birders in our neighborhood and keep a watchful eye & ear for any HS. My blood runs cold when I hear that chirp, chirp, chirp. That's when I get my sling-shot...and I'm a very good shot! A few years ago I watched as two adult male HS ganged up on a Chickadee, had it down on the ground pecking it until I jumped up and ran them off. I hate those awful birds! I am thankful that we do not have them here! But...I am always on the look-out!