Hugging My Aga

This large tea kettle came with the AGA. Sitting on the boiling plate it boils water in 90 seconds.

On a chilly May morning, I cozy up to the Aga and brew a hot cup of tea. I understand in the milder parts of England and Ireland where it never gets really cold, small cottages are heated just with the radiating heat from an Aga cooker.

My Aga cooker is my cooking stove and a gentle source of heat.

Pileated Woodpecker Excavation

I am always startled to walk out of the house and hear  raucous, completely mad sounding laughter from the woods around the house.  It always takes me a few seconds of wonder to remember that its the call of the pileated woodpeckers who live there. We are getting quite a colony of them and they are great fun.  I was looking up some information on them and saw a similar picture to this one of the tree taken in Adams county. It was tagged as a pileated woodpecker excavation. It's fairly low to the ground, but so was the one in Adams county. 

I suspect this is a pileated woodpecker excavation of a dead wild cheery tree.

Pileated Woodpecker by Photograph by Bates Littlehales

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New Favorite Perennials

Varigated Jacob's Ladder and blue Ajuga

My two new favorite perennials, varigated Jacob's Ladder and blue Ajuga also known as Bugleweed. The very green plant in the background on the left is an Astilbe.  Below, on the east side of the house with plenty of morning sun and afternoon shade, hosta, astilbe, ajuga, coral bells and fox glove. 

Hosta and Ajuga