A day at Mom's

We spent the day at my Mom's house, partly just to visit, but also to help her with her bluebirds.
Yep, she has BLUEBIRDS. I haven't even seen one around here since winter!

I am working on a gif animation that includes this picture. Lorelei was swishing her hair back and forth, looking for all the world like a Pantene commercial. She has the most beautiful hair. Sigh. My hair used to look like that.
She got dizzy at the end...it was goofy.

Here is what the bluebirds have been up to in the last few days.

Show off.

Thank goodness Mom's thistle feeder is near the big red garage. It makes a nice background.
I don't know if the speck above the goldfinch's head is a fly or a flea.
Click to enlarge....."Wheeeeee!"

It's not pretty, but I made it.
I tried to talk Mom into letting me move the nest to a better box, but she was too nervous. My Dad made about 4 of these, and we have an attachment to them, just because he made them. But they aren't the best choice for a bluebird. These are 3 1/2 inch pipes sunk into the ground and the wood on the boxes are questionable. And the bolts are too rusted to remove the box.
But, Mom wanted to try it, so I got an aluminum serving tray, cut a hole and slit in it, painted it primer gray (so the birds aren't blinded by the shininess of the aluminum), and put it above a clamp I added to the pole. Not perfect, but I found some sheet metal in the garage and instructed my Mom to ask my brother the welder on how to fashion it into a better baffle.

And now, a bunny chase:
We saw a very large rabbit across the field, and Isabelle really wanted to go after it. I told her she wouldn't be able to get very close, but she is rather insistent.
I have no idea who she got that from.

Closer.....

A little closer.....

This is as close as she could get. The bunny's bubble of comfort was popped and he or she took off just as I was snapping this picture.

A question for Laura, Rachel or any other Mistress or Master Gardener...
I found this pretty little plant growing in a corner of the yard. I had scattered seeds here last year, but the only thing that came up was dill.
Is this Blazing Star?

Sorry the photos aren't better. The sun had already gone down. And the blossoms aren't all the way bloomed yet.