April Blossoms & Eastern Bluebirds Update

We had a storm last week with strong winds that caused half of my lilac bush to break off. I salvaged the broken blooms for several days by floating them in one of my birdbaths. (I'm an avid birder, so I have several baths for the little peeps.) This swallowtail butterfly found it a nice spot to rest for a while.I've neglected my azaleas the past few years, but as soon as these blooms fade they're in for the trimming of a lifetime. Snip, snip. They've become so scraggly it was hard to get enough blooms in a shot for a good colorful picture. They don't look like this all over, trust me. ;)
This creeping phlox smells wonderful.
Happy Bluebird family is in the setting stage now. Incubation takes 12-14 days so it will be awhile longer before the eggs hatch. Meantime, Papa makes regular trips home with lovely worms for Mama since she's the one staying on the nest. We/they/all of us had a little scare on Friday. A big, gawky blackbird lit on top of their house and bent over, upside down to look into the opening of their house. (They eat the young of other birds, ya know.) I happened to be watching from the kitchen sink and nearly broke a window banging on it, trying to get him away from there. Thankfully, he flew off with no harm done. Whew, that was close. Btw, the trees are completely leafed out now, so it's really hard to get a new picture of them. I went out to check on the bluebirds today & what do you think appeared at the opening of their house but little beaks reaching up for a meal! Mama & Papa were out looking for dinner so I took advantage & ran to get my camera. This is a bit fuzzy, but you get the picture. I have no idea how many babies are in there; I don't want to be too invasive. I'm just tickled pink the birds decided to nest here, since they usually nest in a box we tacked onto the side of the barn. (We checked that one last week, but there aren't any birds using it, yet)
Aw, aren't they darlin'. :)
Knitting? Um, not much...there's a little story there. Remember when I posted the crochet patterns? A rep from P&C saw them on Ravelry & contacted me about writing patterns for them. I was a bit skeptical but thought about it for a while, then reluctantly agreed to try to help out in exchange for yarn. Well, as soon as the yarn arrived my mind went totally blank. Go figure. So, I fretted & fretted, tried to come up with something for them, then fretted some more, but it was such a pressure (that I didn't need) I finally returned the yarn to the company just a few days ago. Now, guess what...a new design for a scarf has just come to mind & I hope to show it to you soon. When it's finished the pattern will be free, of course. ;) All I have to show in the knitting line is this lonely dishcloth...along with what's left of my lilac bush. It's the Dots In Stripes Dishcloth from Monthly Dishcloths KAL.
Hope there's lots of blooms in your path, Y'all! Knitlikeyoumeanit!