For the Birds...

The birds in my garden are my 'flying flowers'! I love their colors, songs and funny antics. The cats and I could watch them all day! My garden has been a Certified Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary for years (I am close to saying 'decades' now...just a few more years!) A big part of my habitat success is birdhouses. I have several styles for several types of birds and every year they are occupied with our feathered friends.

On July 16, I am teaching a Rustic Birdhouse Workshop at Pine Creek Nursery in Monroe. It is the first of three workshops we have teamed up to present to you. Click on the Workshop tab at the top of this page to get the details. Come and enjoy the beautiful nursery, pound a few nails and create a darling birdhouse custom-made by you for our Chickadee friends. Next spring you may be blessed with some of your own 'flying flowers'!

Guess who came to breakfast?

I was working on the computer and glanced out the sliding glass door and to my surprise and excitement, this is who I saw wandering through the garden. Can you believe it; a ring-necked pheasant?

He hung out in our "Sunset Garden", drinking from the bathtub pond and plucking seeds from the gravel patio for a least 15 minutes. I was so happy to get him on video! After he was done hanging out, he disappeared under our humongous quince. Maybe he will make it his new home? If not, I was honored that he chose to stop here as he was passing through.

I must say, it was a pinnacle in my Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary career. I have been a registered Sanctuary since 1993 and have loved watching the wildlife through the seasons. From baby possums, to fledgling wrens; from an adolescent Peregrine falcon to downy woodpeckers. All in my urban backyard in the middle of one of the largest cities in the county. Magical!

Weeds and Wildlife

I love books that stay with me for years. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson is one of those. Written in 1962, one year before I was born, she foretold/forewarned us about the deadly price toxic agricultural practices would have on our health, our children and our planet. We all know that sad story has come true but I am hopeful that a change is coming.

one of my buddies enjoying goldenrod in my garden

I grew up appreciating 'weeds' as wildflowers and realizing their benefit to insects. Especially the insects who pollinate our food.
In Silent Spring, I remember Rachel talking about bees and how in the fall, they depend on goldenrod to stock up on fuel for the winter. So I grow goldenrod. The wild kind. Along with some other 'weeds'. And I don't chop everything down. I leave seed-heads. And brush and leaf piles. I leave some of those, too. It keeps me hopeful.

Bounty for the birds

I recently did a project for Birds & Blooms Magazine.

The Silverware Suet Feeder is in their October issue and you can click on the link to see how it is made. It is pretty strange AND pretty cool to see my name as the by-line. I picked up my extra issues at Barnes and Noble, if you are interested in having your own copy. And if you are a bird lover like me, you can subscribe online. Enjoy!