(Photo courtesy of Chris Ganister)

The two red-tailed hawks nesting on a ledge of the  Franklin Institute -- and lately, their three young -- have been the city's ornithological celebrities in recent weeks. No doubt, it has a lot to do with the webcam that's given watchers an eyeful of their every move.

But the folks at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania want us to know THEY have hawks, too.  The parents nested on a ledge in the corner of the White and Ravdin buildings, reports Chris Ganister, Department of Surgery Systems Administrator, University of Pennsylvania Health Systems.

His office is just across from the nest, and he's been photographing the two adults and the two young they hatched.

Ganister says the youngsters haven't flown yet; although they spend a lot of time these days running along the ledge and flapping their wings. He says the best places to see them from the ground are just south of 34th and Spruce, or from 34th and Civic Center Boulevard.

I have to write myself a note so next year I’ll remember: Planting seeds indoors is time-consuming, expensive and frustrating!!!!

Every year I tell myself I’m going to buy plants from the nursery, and instead, every year I get sucked into buying all these seeds from the catalog companies. Last year, the plants turned out great. But this year, an entire flat of tomatoes turned reddish, then sort of blackish, and then they died. Ditto marigolds, of all things, which have to be among the easiest things to grow on earth.

So two weeks ago, my husband and I went to a local garden center, got a wonderful variety of tomatoes for only $30 — very close to the amount we had spent on tomato seeds, if I recall correctly, seeing as how we couldn’t resist buying about six different kinds. 

Two hours later: instant garden! And they were big enough to withstand the heavy rains that followed, whereas even the best of my young seedlings would have gotten thumped.

That said, I still love the act of planting a seed and the miracle of watching it sprout. So I’ll stick to the squashes and beans and cucumbers and such, which you can plant right in the ground and which come up sturdy. And, I swear, NEXT YEAR, buy plants when it comes to the more delicate veggies.

Now if only we could keep up with the weeding. Why is that every time we don’t have plans for the weekend, it rains? And every time we do have plans, it’s good gardening weather?

On a happier note: The salad pots are cranking away like mad. We’re getting several salads a week. Ditto the chard. (Which I started indoors, by the way).

My husband is the chard maestro: He cooks it down with oil, onions and garlic. Adds a little nutmeg. Then ham or bacon. Then walnuts. And at the last moment, Parmesan. Yum!

P.S. We have eight new chicks, tiny things that hop about and peep like crazy, and a new worm bin. Stay tuned.
 

Well, I was wrong in my prediction that the Franklin Institute red-tailed hawks might take their first flights on Saturday.  Oh well, at least it gives us more time to watch the daily dramas in the nest! And more time for Kay Meng to add to her spectacular photo album.

I went by the Franklin yesterday at about 5 p.m. with my binoculars.  The birds looked tremendous. And FOUR other people were there with binocs, too. A popular spot.

If you're watching the cam, don't forget to check out the log of comments on the Ustream site.

Meanwhile, the tree swallows at the Natural Lands Trust's Hildacy Farm in Media have hatched! I've been watching, and I don't even think their eyes are clear. But those little mouths open for sure when food arrives! See the webcam here.

A reader has sent info about a wonderful site that lists scads of bird cams -- including an albatross cam from New Zealand (look for the action in January, not now). Scroll down about halfway and look to the left for the list of cam links.