"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory".
LLAP
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Monday, February 23, 2015
CAN'T STOP WISHING FOR SPRING
It's less than 4 weeks away but it seems so far!
After our first and so far only "snowstorm" of the season I look out over my yard and keep thinking about spring. The good thing is I have lots of pictures taken by my wife Karen over the past several years here to remind me of all the visitors to our property.
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| Pair of House Finches |
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| One of "many" rabbits! |
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| Put up the sign and they all show upl |
We get so many birds since I grow the flowers and shrubs that they adore but more importantly I spend a small fortune on bird food. Of course several of our "visitors" are neat to look at but not really welcome. We have been fairly lucky with the deer population. They seem to appear now and then but luckily have done little damage to the flower beds. I have been lucky using two products that are harmless but seem to be effective.
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| Not a welcome visitor |
One is called "Deer Tape" which is a ribbon stretched around the yard that repels deer. The other product is "Liquid Fence" It is a safe biological spray that really deters the deer. Stinks at first application but quickly dissipates and remains effective. Lets hope this spring the two work as well as in the past.
The pond naturally attracts frogs or toads that seem to enjoy the rocks and water and manage to keep the insect population to a minimum. We never seem to have a problem with mosquitos.
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| Our pond attracts a number of frogs |
Of course the large number of small birds and even the frogs and fish do attract other not so wanted visitors such as the hawks and the occasional Great Blue Heron. It's nature but sometimes I wish it wasn't so evident in the yard. We have lost fish to the herons but again, it's nature |
| Hungry Hawk |
I guess I am to blame since I did apply for and did receive a Wildlife Habitat certification sign that the creatures must be able to read............ so they come.The owl was a welcome sight since they are reliable at keeping the mice away.
The common Eastern Garter Snake, NOT SO WELCOME. I do not like snakes and as harmless as this variety is supposed to be, they scare the crap out of me. Seems like every summer the rocks around the pond as well as all the vegetation create perfect breeding grounds for these scary creatures.
In the meantime, enjoy some of Karen's pictures of them feasting on the nectar inside our Black and Blue Salvias last year.
With the arrival of the hummers come the butterflies, unfortunately nowhere near as many as in past years. The Monarch population is way down worldwide and last summer we were very aware of that here as we saw very few in our yard. Hopefully they will be able to make a comeback.
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Sunday, February 15, 2015
What Is That Yellow Bird?
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| Summertime male American Goldfinch photo by Karen |
Every time I am out front in the yard, the most popular question I get all through the summer is:
What is that beautiful yellow bird????
It is an American Goldfinch. It looks very similar to a canary but it is not. The goldfinches are so easy to spot in the summer since they are bright yellow. That is the male of course. The females are the same size and shape but lack the beautiful bright yellow and look sadly drab and grayish green. Nature at it's finest!
In spring and early summer the male finches molt their feathers (the only birds that do this twice a year) when they gain their yellow plumage and again in the late winter, when both sexes turning to their drab colors. The bright yellow is a welcoming sign of summer's onset. They are actually in my area year round but are much harder to spot and really do not like the cold temperatures. They will move south in January if temperatures go below 0 degrees.
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| Wintertime male photo by Karen |
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| photo by Karen |
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| photo by Karen |
The American Goldfinch breeds later than most North American birds waiting for the flower head seeds they love to mature so their young will have adequate food supplies. The nest is an open cup of plant parts woven very tightly. The female uses spider web silk to bind the nest together and makes a fluffy lining for her eggs. It takes about 6 days to construct the nest in which both the male and female choose the site, like us usually, high in a shrub or tree. The female lays around 2 to 7 eggs, 1 or 2 times a year, incubates them for 12 to 14 days and then allows the babies to nest for 11 to 17 days.
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| photo by Karen |
American Goldfinches are very numerous and their populations have been stable for the past 40 years. Recently in was estimated that there were over 42 million with 71% spending part if not most of the year in the U.S. In May of 2007, it was reported that the oldest finch was slightly over 10 years old.
So, next time you see these beautiful yellow birds, you'll know what they are and won't have to ask me......although I love to answer the question!!!!!!!!!!!
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| Goldfinch on coneflower seed head..............photo by Karen
My thanks to http://whatbird.com/ for some info on this article!!!!!!
Also my thanks to http://www.streambankgardens.com/ for some of the plants that attract my goldfinches
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Monday, February 9, 2015
I Know Spring is Coming
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| Past visitor photo by Karen |
I know it's only the 2nd week in February and it's still cold most days and lots of the country is getting bombarded with more and more snow, but I know spring is really just around the corner. It officially starts in a little less than 6 weeks (groundhog be damned!!!) but I have seen the signs that it IS almost here.
- THE DAYS ARE GETTING LONGER
- FOUR WEEKS TILL DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
- BUDS ON THE TREES AND SHRUBS ARE SWELLING
- SQUIRRELS ARE STARTING TO EAT THOSE BUDS
- GARDEN CATALOGS ARE FILLING MY MAILBOX
- THE BIG BOX STORES ARE SETTING UP
- I'M GETTING REALLY ANTSY WITH CABIN FEVER
Let me expound on my points above:
Each day we are adding 2 to 4 minutes of sunlight. Doesn't sound like much but when one considers the sun was setting here at 4:44 just 5 weeks ago it is now setting around 5:33. That's a lot more sunlight in the late afternoon. Being dark in the morning isn't that big a deal, but more light late in the day, that is great. I know Daylight Savings time will add a whole other hour to the sunset and kill an hour of light in the morning but that extra hour of evening light light means no more walking after work in the dark and more time for wandering around my yard. And IF we get a snowstorm, the extra hour of light while the temperatures are at their highest means the snow will not hang around. And that is a good thing.
If one looks at the trees and the shrubs in the area, it's easy to see that many of the buds are getting fatter and fatter. The maple trees are getting their red color to their buds and the forsythia is swelling to the point where the yellow flowers will be blooming sooner than later. The rose plants are showing signs of breaking their dormancy and need for pruning. And many of the perennials are just starting to pop out of the previously frozen ground and show signs of renewed life. But alas the hungry squirrels see these swelling buds and have something new to eat this late in the winter. Another unique phenomena of the oncoming spring is the heaving that takes place in the garden. Since the plants go through warm and cold days when the ground alternately freezes and thaws, many of the plants lift out of the ground. This is called heaving. The best thing to do is when the ground is moist and soft, just gently push the plant back into the ground. I can see real signs of the heaving effect by looking at my garden flower labels. They pop out of the ground, they lay down or get tilted in the weirdest angles.
To the dismay of my mail carrier, my mailbox gets filled with garden catalogs at this time of year. They are beautiful works depicting gorgeous flowers (at full maturity) done by masterful marketers. One can't help but go through the catalogs and make selections of plants and flowers needed for the garden. I find it hard to resist but I must. I do order from several online and mail order companies, who seem to inturn, sell my name and address to a dozen more companies and on and on. I keep many of the catalogs for reference as they are filled with tons of great info but have to pitch many in the recycle bin. Too many catalogs equals too many orders. The advent of the internet has both helped and hindered many of these companies. Where once they had only other catalogs as competition, now one can just Google a flower or plant and find tons of info and sources.
Along with the onslaught of catalogs, all one has to do is go into a Big Box store like Home Depot, WalMart, Lowes, etc.....and see the shelves are being converted to spring. Seed starting supplies and packages are the first things on sale, followed by fertilizers, bug controls, weed suppressants, and on and on. It's fun just to walk the aisles and ponder spring's arrival.
And finally, the most obvious way I know spring is close, is the fact that I am really getting antsy and sick of this cabin fever. I know, it hasn't been a bad winter here in Baltimore, and I feel the worst is really over, but any day where the temperature is bearable and the skies are mostly clear, is a day I want to get out there and start my "work". I raked leftover leaves yesterday and I want to do more.
I need to be patient, but I know spring is just around the corner!!!!
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| Soon!!!!!! photo by Karen |
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
WHERE THE BIRDS BREED
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| WREN HOUSE |
Lots of birdfeeding calls for lots of birdhouses for lots of breeding.
We have several birdhouses around the yard that many of the birds have used for breeding during the late spring and summer. Birds don't actually sleep in any of the houses during the year but build up nesting material inside the houses and the female lays her eggs in the nest and incubates them till hatching.
We have been lucky several times in the past years to witness baby wrens, chickadees, and robins hatch and grow until they fly the coop. The robins build twig only nests in the trees while the other birds use the safety and comfort of the houses to breed.
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| DOUBLE HEART |
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| WREN HOUSE |
The male wrens are some of the first to build in the spring. They build as many as 12 nests for the females to inspect
After choosing and rebuilding the nest, the female will lay one egg each day until a clutch of 5 or 6 eggs are laid. The eggs are white with brown marks.
Incubation time last 12-15 days. During this time the female will leave the eggs from time to time to feed. Sometimes it may look like the male is bringing food to the female, more likely though, he is anticipating (practicing) the feeding of the young. Although occassional feedings to the female may occur.
After the eggs hatch, it will take another 16-17 days before the young leave the cavity. We've had the pleasure of seeing many babies take flight.
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| OLD WREN HOUSE |
Chickadees shop around for nest sites. They check out lots of potential locations. They have been known to begin excavating and even start building a nest in three to five different locations in a season. Usually before the nests are complete they make a final decision on their favorite spot, complete the nest, wait a few days and then begin to lay eggs.
When chickadees excavate homes in rotten wood, the building process can take some time. Black-capped Chickadees will take 7-14 days to lay an egg after beginning to build a nest site.
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| ANOTHER OLD MAN |
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| OLD MAN HOUSE |
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| GOURD HOUSE |
AMERICAN ROBINS
They can produce up to three successful broods in one year. On average, two clutches are raised with less than half being successful. Only a quarter of those that do fledge survive to November. From that point on, about half of the birds alive in any year will make it to the next. The female lays 3-7 light blue eggs that are incubated for 12-14 days and the young leave the nest in about 14-16 days.
A good percentage of baby birds are lost due to people thinking they've rescued the little one. The young are often found on the ground without what seems to be, any parental oversight. Adults and children catch these newly fledged birds and take them inside, not knowing they've rescued a bird that didn't need rescuing.
You see, when baby robins first leave the nest, they are unable to fly. Some jump to higher branches in the nest tree and some take a tumble to the ground but landing softly. These baby birds are fine, the adults will continue to care for them. Leave Them Be!
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| WILLIAMSBURG, VA HOUSE |
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| MAINE BOUY MARKER HOUSE |
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| ROOSTER HOUSE |
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| PORTUGUESE CERAMIC HOUSES |
As usual in this cold and dreary month we are impatiently awaiting the arrival of spring and the increase in bird activities and breeding.
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