Dead hedges

Sometimes random stuff pops up in my FB feed. One recent post was by a gardener who had created a "dead hedge". Basically, a dead hedge is a tidy version of a brush pile. After erecting some vertical posts to retain the mess, one fills it in with downed limbs, prunings, etc. It gives wildlife a place of refuge while the contents slowy decompose.

There are still a lot of leftover trunks and branches from the removed arborvitae, so I could easily get a dead hedge started. I just need a half dozen fence posts and for the ground to thaw.

Yes, a substantial amount of snow fell like powedered sugar yesterday afternoon and last night. Not quite enough for cross country skiing (although I doubt that will stop some people), but enough to cover the grass and make everything look pretty. It should stick around all week, then we are promised a "frozen mix" - ugh.

The snow cover has upped the bird presence in the backyard. Not only are the wintergreen shrubs and hawthorn tree stripped of their fruit, even the flowering crabs are looking picked over. Usually the bluebirds politely take turns in the mealworm feeder, but I've seen as many as four crammed in there at one time. I even spotted a Carolina wren in there and at the birdbath.

And starlings. Can't forget about the starlings. There was a tub of Bark Butter in the cupboard, so I ripped the cover off that and put it out with the feeders. After seeing a photo of a feeder with a jar of peanut butter strapped on, I decided I didn't need to bother with actually applying the Bark Butter to anything. The starlings love it.

The birds

Although I have seen several "murmurations" of starlings while out and about (we're talking in the thousands), few have shown up in my backyard... until the other day.

I'm guessing there were about 200 birds there, feeding on something in the grass. Since then, the temps dropped and snow fell (about an inch or so). Still not many starlings at the feeders, but yesterday the robins stripped those winterberry shrubs in the above pic. The hawthorn tree in the front yard is looking rather bare as well.

In November, my son's girl friend gifted me with an Erva purification disc for the birdbath. I finally "installed" it the other day. It won't keep the birdbath clean of dirt from the birds, but it is supposed to have antimicrobial properties to help limit alga and other nasty things invisible to the human eye. I've read old pennies (pre-1943) also work.

On a non-avian topic, the other non-slip application on the ramp into the shed is failing. My next plan of action is to find something I can screw into the wood. Hopefully that will solve the problem.

Despite the long to-do list in my last post, there are a few more things I would like to tackle in the yard this coming season. One is to do something about my non-composting compost bin. I add mostly kitchen scraps to it, but not much is happening, probably because the contents of the bin don't get much moisture. So after I dig everything out, turn it, add some other crap, etc., I will drill some holes in the lid to let in the rain. After all, compost is black gold and free fertilizer.

My Project 2025

I managed to (mostly) achieve all three of my resolutions for this past year. Zinnias perked up the front yard, the milkweed forest is on its way to being re-established, and two of the container plants are in the ground. I tacked on another goal - have a whole house generator installed - and even that got done. Not bad.

One problem with growing natives in the yard is most of them spread, rampantly. Fortunately, my kids are interested in digging up starts for their yards. (Just spreading the disease.) Another problem with my natives is that some of them are not getting enough light, so they flop. Hence, there will be some movement within my yard.

And then there is the urge to grow some food.

Thus, I have a more lengthy list of goals for 2025. A few of these involve little or no work on my part, thankfully, but I will be a bit surprised if the bulk of them are instituted.

1. Plant (short?) coneflower in front bed
2. Plant (short?) rudbeckia in bed around serviceberry
3. Move 2.5 aromatic asters (move a small offshoot to area by south gate, next to arborvitae; give the other two away to kids)
4. Let remaining aromatic aster fill in its bed
5. Transplant pentstemon and nodding onion from front of house to backyard
6. Plant colorful heuchera where the above plants have been removed
7. Hopefully the Hopi amaranth will reseed itself - don't accidently pull it out
8. Add a butterfly bush (or two or three) to backyard
9. Add swamp milkweed to rain garden
10. Move penstemon in "meadow" so it is not blocking the view
11. Move Goldstrum rudbeckia in "meadow" so it can be seen
12. Transplant clematis from container to ground
13. Plant strawberries, garlic, and green beans

A couple of hardscape possibilities are a burn pit (not so much for fires, but for pit firing pottery) and a raised bed for the strawberries and garlic. Yes, I know I used to have a lot of raised beds, all of which have been dismantled. I'm thinking of something more upscale this time, and just ONE bed. Honestly!

The seed catalogs are arriving in earnest, so there is a lot of garden candy to drool over.

Winter wonderland... sorta

Snow has been falling half the night and all morning, but it is barely covering the grass. The temps are high enough that the streets are wet but not slick. I was hoping for a white xmas, but rain is in the forecast.

I keep waiting for the day I will be invited to xmas instead of having to host xmas. Maybe next year. Meanwhile, I have things to do, places to go, people to see. Happy holidays!

Imperfect

Last week I was happy to report that my whole house generator kicked on during a brief power outage. This week I am not very happy with it, as it lost its connection to the wi-fi and can't get it back. It has lost its connection before, but with the help of customer service, we were able to get it back. Not this time - it just can't find the wi-fi extender.

Generac sends me daily reminders, via email and text, to reconnect, but the weather has been frightful - very cold and windy. It has warmed up a bit, but it's now rainy and windy. Sorry, I am not standing out there fiddling with the damn thing until the weather becomes a bit more cooperative. The generator works fine without the wi-fi, and that is all I really care about.

It's gift exchange season, and I brought home a xmas cactus from one. As you may recall, I received one of these plants several years ago as a gift, but it pooped out after its second season of bloom. I'm hoping to take better care of this one.

This past week, I've been catching up on "Wiser than Me", one of my favorite podcasts. The interview with Alice Waters, founder of Chez Pannnise and promoter of "California Cuisine" and the farm-to-table philosophy, made me want to grow food again. I wrote about this urge before, but my follow-through has been pretty lame.

What would I grow? I have a growbag that fits into a milk crate, perfect for a few green bean plants (not a new idea on this blog; in fact, I think the seeds are in the fridge). Store-bought garlic has been particularly crappy this year, so maybe some of that. Strawberries? The ones in the grocery stores taste insipid, bred for shipping and keeping, NOT flavor. Those are all possibilities worth considering.

OR I could put on my granny pants and frequent farmers markets, at least for those things that I don't want to grow myself.

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.

Muskrat love

At first, I thought there was only one muskrat in the neighborhood pond, but the other day I heard three distinct spashes as I walked by with the dog. So that muskrat is lonely no more.

Photo courtesy of Indiana DNR

When I googled "muskrat", most of the hits involved muskrat removal. Apparently, they can be a nuisance. However, being mostly aquatic and awkward on land, they are not likely to be rooting around in nearby garbage cans.

While muskrats closely resemble otters, mink, and beavers, they are more closely related to mice and rats, which explains their hairless tails. In nearby marshes, I have seen their houses made from cattails, but here they have "bank dens" - homes that are above the waterline but with underwater entrances.

Muskrats are mostly vegetarian, dining on cattails and plants, both aquatic and on land, although they will eat fish, frogs, and small turtles. Our pond has all this except cattails. They also serve as a food source for hawks, owls, coyotes, and foxes, all of which live in this area. The circle of life.

For more info on muskrats, visit this Indiana DNR page, where I found most of this information.

On the homefront, the weather has definitely turned wintery. I'm fine with the cold as long it is not accompanied by wind.