Power up

I was lying on the couch when I heard something beep, something chime, and something roar. Since I had a cat in my lap, I didn't want to get up to check on the noises. It turns out there was a brief power outage. It lasted less than a minute, but the whole house generator I had installed this past summer kicked in like it is supposed to. (That was the roar; the other noises were devices coming back online.) So at least it works.

The weather has been barely tolerable for dog walking, which means it brings the backyard birds. These photos aren't very good, but they document some of the most recent visitors.

Junco

Robin

House finch

Nuthatch

The appearance of this guy was a bit confusing at first, as I thought it was my cat Finn... but wasn't Finn inside? Yes, he was. I think this feline belongs to some new neighbors that live about a block away. Finn isn't very interested in birds, but this one was in stalking mode.

Not Finn

I'm still working on my outdoor xmas decor. The flamingo chorus is up, with a solar-powered spotlight this year. The fall wreath on the front porch is now an evergreen one (plastic - it will outlast us all). All that is left is a net of lights for the trellis.

Wacky weather

Yesterday was cold and breezy, with intermittant sunshine and snow flurries, sometimes both at the same time. Today is an "in like a lion" day - more wind but slightly warmer temps and plenty of sun. Various spring flowers started to emerge, but now they seem stalled.

This past week, my SO and I fenced off the corner of the yard where a variety of wildflowers will go. The fencing is nothing fancy, bits of this and that laying around. The point is to keep the dogs out. We also relocated a few bird feeders.

As you can see in the above photo, we are also getting rid of the cinder block raised bed in that area. Once the ground is firm enough for the mower, we'll transfer the blocks to the far end of the driveway where they will be free for the taking.

Now I can sit in my recliner in the den and keep an eye on all the bird feeders and the bird bath. The funniest avian thing I've seen this week is several robins who park themselves under the bark butter feeder and the mealworm feeder, scavenging for crumbs. They will even chase away the starlings even though it is the starlings who drop bits of bark butter and mealworms on the ground.

In preparation for having some work done on the front of the house, I've been digging out the planter on the front porch, filling up large plastic pots into which some rhubarb plants will be transferred. From what I've read, you can grow rhubarb in containers as long as you slide them into the garage over the winter. So that is what I plan to do since the rhubarb bed will become history with the new landscape design.

Birrrrrds

Despite the hawthorn tree being loaded with haws, the robins have yet to strip it bare. Instead, one lonely robin stands guard, chasing away any sparrows who dare to venture too close. This morning I saw several robins pecking at the droppings under the mealworm feeder. I guess they are more interested in protein than fruit right now.

Then there is this pair of mourning doves, keeping their feet warm on the heated bird bath. Some house finches have shown up as well and are working on the safflower seeds.

After the garden center picked up my mower for servicing, my SO and I rearranged the garage a bit, building shelves from cinder blocks and scrap lumber. Once the pots that are wintering over can go outside, there will be LOTS of room in there.

Back to the landscaping: In the backyard, there will be a couple of new trees, a white oak (Quercus alba) and a shagbark hickory (Carya ovata). The oak tree will obviously produce acorns someday; it may also host the larva of the Edward's hairstreak (Satyrium edwardsii). The hickory will also produce nuts. The squirrels and birds will have a heyday.

Just for the record

Monday the robins that did not migrate showed up to feast on the berries on the hawthorn tree. My observation is they ate mostly from the top of the not-very-tall-yet tree, which allowed me to harvest the ones on the lower branches for dyeing. I'm guessing the thorns affect where they can land on the branches.

Tuesday (yesterday) I spotted daffodils emerging from the leaf mold. Brave or fool hardy? Today it is snowing, with several inches expected along with some arctic temps.

While I was outside yesterday, I picked up dog poop (a new milestone in recovery from hip surgery), cut back the clematis, removed most the milkweed (hope those seeds spread far and wide!), filled bird feeders, and as stated above, harvested berries from the hawthorn tree. That all took about an hour. Today I am stiff and sore, especially my back but not my hip!

43 more days

I am counting down the days until my hip replacement surgery. Time can't pass fast enough! I am keeping up with the mowing, and mowing leaves. We finally had a hard freeze, so hopefully I can put the Toro away soon. A little bit of yard cleanup has occurred - very little, enough to allow the trick-or-treaters to reach the front porch - otherwise, it is on hold. Even though I fret about the state of my backyard, I have to admit I kind of like how wild it looks, as though I live on the edge of a woodland instead of in suburbia.

At some point, pokeweed became established in my yard. I pick some of the berries (even though they are not a good source for dyeing) and leave plenty for the robins and bluebirds.

And one starling.

I can watch the avian acrobatics from the living room but it is not a great place to take photos. Plus the birds seem to become camera shy once I pick up the Olympus. I am rearranging some rooms in my house - turning the fiber studio into a den (TV, desk, exercise equipment), a bedroom into the fiber studio - so hope to view more wildlife from inside this winter. It's time to plug in the bird bath!

Berries for the birds

Sorry for the quality of this photo but I had to take it through the living room picture window. What you are seeing is a flock of robins feasting on the orange berries of my 'Winterking' hawthorn tree. Huzzah!

As you may know, not all robins migrate south for the winter. If there is food and shelter, some hang around in wooded areas. Check out this explanation at All about Birds.

The winter has been mild so far, but bitter temps are on their way. We have some snow cover; more is coming. My neighbor across the street (his house in in the pic above) has a snow blower and keeps my driveway clear, for which I am eternally grateful.

Brrr

I'm glad I held off on transplanting the tomatoes, as the other night the temps dropped into the 30's. Not very springlike and definitely not tomato weather. This weekend looks hopeful, though.

Meanwhile, some things prefer the cool weather, like lettuce. I have tried growing it in containers before, but this year is the first time it has done well. I made "lettuce bowls" for those near and dear to me, using hanging planters so the yummies can be kept out of reach of wascally wabbits.

Peas also like cool weather, and for some reason, sparrows like pea plants. Last year they pretty much ruined the pea crop, so this year, when I noticed the damage, I dragged out some netting I bought 15+ years ago and had never used. This bit of ugliness is doing the trick, but it will also probably cause problems when the growing plants become entwined in it.

Infrastructure-wise, my SO and I finished putting up the movable fence, and we hope we won't have to move it again. The new panels are a result of shifting some beds to widen paths, plus adding another "column" of beds. I consider this array to be complete (famous last words).

The first set of fledglings are flying the nest. These robins seemed to be a single parent and an only child - no other family members appeared. If the battery in my camera had not chosen to poop out, I might have caught a shot of mom/dad feeding the youngster a worm.

The orchard is off to a good start, with one exception. There are even a few blossoms. Planting something new is always an experiment subject to gross error, but so far, so good.

The south side of the house has gone through a few permutations. Currently, there is a motley assortment of perennials, including catmint, which seems bent on taking over the world. I may just let it duke it out with the hysop, bee balm, coneflower, and whatever else is there.

Not so world-dominating are the rhododendron in front of the house. Of the original three plants, only one and a half remain. I hope this year's display is not its swan song.

The sidewalk bed looks very full this year, mostly due to the volunteer violets and columbine. I added calendula and alyssum to help out. And now that it is full, I've seen some new (to me) sedum I would like to add.

Too many plants, not enough room.

Just for the record

Here are some better pix of the albino robin. The white-crowned sparrows have apparently left the premises.

A mighty fortress is my garden

It appears (KNOCK ON WOOD) that we have forestalled further incursions by the woodchuck. A friend of mine suggested violence (he is a gun-owner), but I like to think I'm smarter than a groundhog. Meanwhile, other attempts to protect my food-producing plants have been less successful.

The strawberry bed cover didn't quite do the job, apparently. There was a small gap between the cover and the side of the raised bed, enough for this juvenile robin (and the next day, a slim adult) to squeeze through. That issue has been resolved.

Now I just need to figure out a way to keep the sparrows and finches from chewing on the pea plants. I don't know if the birds are after the plants themselves or aphids on the plants or what. They (the plants) look raggedy and are not blooming as they should.

And then there is the raspberry patch. The branches are laden with incipient fruit, a tempting prelude to what could become an avian feeding frenzy. I'm thinking a net of some sort is in order here.

One of these days, I will just build a cage over the whole garden.

Proof!

Last fall I claimed to have seen a partially albino robin. Some scoffed, but the little bugger (or his cousin) is back AND I was able to capture some (not very good) photos. I had to take these through (dirty) windows because this guy was very skittish. Have any of you seen anything like this?

Is that a worm I hear?