Birdfeeding: Friends of a Feather Flock Together

Today is mostly sunny and warm with a light breeze, a beautiful spring day.  :D

I fed the birds.  I've seen several sparrows and house finches, two brown-headed cowbirds, a mourning dove, and two fox squirrels.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/22/25 -- We went out shopping.  I picked out roughly 5 flats of plants at DeBuhr's.  We found a garden hose, nozzle, and reel plus a gas can at Home Depot.  Also at Home Depot I spotted a modular garage storage system that looks very promising.  It has mounting rails for shelves and a wide variety of hooks.  That ought to combine well with a pegboard.

EDIT 4/22/25 -- I planted a 'Sugar Snack' cherry tomato and a 'Yellow Pear' tomato in the large pots by the septic garden, each with 4 marigolds around it.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.








.
  

Today is partly cloudy, chilly, and blustery.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a grackle, and a brown-headed cowbird.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/15/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

The first wild strawberry is blooming in the trough pot.  :D

EDIT 4/15/25 -- I planted 2 pots with red plum seeds and 8 pots with sycamore seed balls.

I've seen a flock of grackles and a flock of mourning doves.

EDIT 4/15/25 -- I finished transplanting bergamot from the telephone pole garden to the streetside edge of the savanna hedge.

EDIT 4/15/25 -- I planted 25 gladioli bulbs in the telephone pole garden. This concludes the order from K. van Bourgondien.  Yay.  Yay.

EDIT 4/15/25 -- I built the core for the next bonfire.

I saw the chevron skunk again.  He was ambling along the west edge of the ritual meadow, ignoring me and going about his business.  It's nice be able to recognize him as an individual.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

Today is sunny and mild, a beautiful spring day.  :D

I fed the birds.  I've seen a flock of grackles and several house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

I moved the seedlings back outside.

Lots of bees are out, mostly in the dandelions.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- I planted the first 8 Asian lilies around the telephone pole.  There are two more bags of 8 left to go.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- I planted the second 8 Asian lilies around the telephone pole.  That leaves one bag of 8 to go.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- I planted the third 8 Asian lilies around the telephone pole.  That batch is done.  \o/  I still need to mulch that whole flowerbed.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- I spread a whole bag of mulch over the lilies around the telephone pole, trying to leave the taller-sprouted ones more exposed.  So that whole project is done.  Yay.  Yay.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I watered the lily bed.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- I planted 10 naked ladies around the apricot tree.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- I planted 2 red plum seeds in pots on the old picnic table.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- We picked up sticks in the ritual meadow in preparation for esbat tonight.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- I planted a mayapple in the forest garden, then watered it and the naked ladies.

I am done for the night.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- While out driving, I saw two skunks in different places.

Today is partly sunny and mild. It's getting cloudier over time.

I fed the birds. I've seen a flock of grackles, a flock of brown-headed cowbirds, and a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I took some pictures around the yard.

EDIT 4/10/25 -- I planted the first three pots of pansies and violas. That leaves three more to finish after lunch. Whereas most that I've found are scentless or nearly so, these have quite a strong "sweet violet" scent, so that's nice. :D They have various shades of purple, white, yellow, and orange.

EDIT 4/10/25 -- I potted up the rest of the pansies and violas.

I've seen a mourning dove and a male cardinal in the forest garden. I've heard red-winged blackbirds singing but haven't seen them.

EDIT 4/10/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio. It's been drizzling on and off, and is thundering now.

I've seen a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder.

I am done for the night.

Today is cloudy, cool, and damp. It rained last night and this morning, and is spitting rain again now.

I fed the birds. I've seen several house finches and two mourning doves. Something drained about half the seed from the thistle feeder, likely the house finches, so I refilled that too.

I put out water for the birds.

The rain had nicely refreshed all the moss in the yard, so I picked out a nice piece of shaggy yellow-green moss to use in my antique jar terrarium.

Squirrels have been digging like crazy.  There are little craters all over the yard, and hunks of moss flung everywhere.

So many new things are sprouting!  The plum tree is blooming.  The first of the hosta leaves have unfurled.  The celandine is sprouting.  The biggest of the bluebells has buds already.

EDIT 3/29/25 -- It's raining lightly now, with small puddles on the patio.

I put a layer of substrate in the antique jar terrarium.

EDIT 3/29/25 -- The rain seems to be dwindling.

I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put the moss in the antique jar terrarium.

EDIT 3/29/25 -- It's drizzling again.

I did a bit of work around the patio.

As it is wet out, I am likely done for the night.

Today is cloudy, breezy, and chilly.  It rained a little last night.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, two mourning doves, and a male fox squirrel.  I heard but did not see red-winged blackbirds and cardinals singing.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 3/23/25 -- I planted a 'Karl Rosenfield' dark pink peony under the apricot tree where the fly-through feeder hangs, and watered it.

I've seen one of the house finches eating from the thistle feeder.

A few gaillardia and grayhead coneflower seedlings are showing under the tubs.  :D

EDIT 3/23/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.  

It's mizzling rain now, so I don't know if I'll manage any more yardening today.

EDIT 3/23/25 -- The mizzle stopped, so I planted a 'Festiva Maxima' white peony in the tulip bed, and sowed Bee Lawn Mix on bare spots in the south lot. Then I watered the newly planted things.

EDIT 3/23/25 -- I planted 3 'Mary Washington' green asparagus and 3 'Purple Passion' asparagus under the maple tree.

As it is almost suppertime, I am done for the night.

Today is partly cloudy, breezy, and chilly. Yesterday it stormed a couple times.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a dark-eyed junco, a tufted titmouse, and a fox squirrel.

I put out water for the birds.

The wind blew off one of my greenhouse-tubs so I had to put that back.

EDIT 3/20/25 -- I finished clearing most of the tall stems from the wildflower garden. I still need to go back over it with a hand-rake, pruners, etc. but it looks much better now. Miniature irises are blooming there and so are a few crocuses scattered in the lawn nearby.

EDIT 3/20/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 3/20/25 -- I started spreading a bag of composted manure on the daffodil bed. There might actually be enough in this bag to finish the far side, since I already spread a bag down the middle.

EDIT 3/20/25 -- I started spreading a bag of composted manure on the daffodil bed. There's a little left over that I will put on the tulip bed.

EDIT 3/20/25 -- I spread the remains of the compost on the tulip bed. This is the Better Earth Premium Organic Compost from Country Arbors.  It costs about 2-3 times what I usually get, but it is rich and black, with a fine fluffy texture rather than resembling mud.  Very nice to work with.

As we have plans for this evening, I am done for the night.

Today is cloudy and cool, with howling wind.  :/

I fed the birds.  I put out a new peanut suet cake.  I've seen a large flock of house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

Forsythia is starting to bloom.

EDIT 3/19/25 -- I put out more birdseed.  I've seen a small flock of grackles and several sparrows.

I took the new rocks out of the car.  I've moved the two wormstones into the foyer for safekeeping, since I want to bless them before installing them near the barrel garden.  I put the big pink mica rock at the edge of the wagonwheel garden.  When I seat those two, I'll point them in opposite directions related to the road, so as to catch car headlights from both directions.  I put the hand-sized pink mica rock in the purple-and-white garden, although it's not seated yet either.  Progress!

More daffodils are blooming in more places, including some of the ice follies.  Squill is blooming in the purple-and-white garden.

EDIT 3/19/25 -- We hauled the 2 bags of compost to the old picnic table, so that's all the yardening stuff out of the car. \o/

I did a bit of work around the patio.

It's starting to thunder and spit rain, with stormy weather predicted for this afternoon, so I am done for the night.

EDIT 3/19/25 -- The storm ended and suddenly the sun came out.  That seemed like rainbow weather to me, so I dashed outside to look around.  It's very sparkly outside right now; every twig and blade of grass is jeweled with silver droplets of water.  The trees are still dripping, so alas, I didn't dare take the camera outside. :(  The driveway is a long ephemeral stream where sticks and other debris make tiny dams and even a few waterfalls rippling and glimmering in the sun.  It's fascinating to see, even at this small scale, how they interrupt and influence the flow so that it lasts longer.  Small birds are splashing all along the length.  If I stand still, they don't mind me.  They're really fun to watch.  Larger puddles have formed at the end of the driveway too.

I saw a skunk ambling through the savanna, not at all concerned by my presence.  He had very unusual markings for this area.  His face and shoulders had the usual white chevron but the rest of him was solid black except a white tip on his tail.  Very cute, and if I see this particular skunk again, he will be very easy to recognize.  :D

I walked out along the road, following the edge of the yard.  To the northeast, I spotted a rainbow!  \o/  I hurried back inside to invite my partner Doug out to look for it.  By the time we got back, it had faded, but a faint streak of it was still visible.  Rainbows are so magical.

I love watching how the world changes in response to the weather.

Today is cloudy, mild, still breezy, and damp. It stormed last night. Our hygrometer/thermometer blew down and is not currently working.

I fed the birds. I haven't seen much activity today though.

I put out water for the birds.

More flowers are blooming including several daffodils under the maple. In the goddess garden, the first of the orange crocuses are blooming and the winter aconites have come very late to the party -- they used to be first to bloom.

EDIT 3/15/25 -- I'm planting rocks today! :D The soil is soft from the rain, so I've been digging sockets for the new river cobbles around the purple-and-white garden.

I also emptied the potting soil from the trough pot that doesn't have drain holes and rarely grows much. I figure I can use it as a mini-water garden for the tree frogs who like to hang out amongst the pots on the old picnic table.

I've seen a pair of house finches at the hopper feeder and a male downy woodpecker at the fly-through feeder.

EDIT 3/15/25 -- I finished planting the new cobblestones. I also adjusted some of the other rocks nearby. There's still a lot left to do on the purple-and-white garden, but this is good progress.

Then I went looking for the stepping stone beside the barrel garden. It had crawled halfway under the concrete blocks that hold the barrel. WTF even, stepping stone? Maybe it's shy. Maybe it doesn't want to be a stepping stone. I dug it out for now. I may look for something else to put there, and move this one to the purple-and-white garden. Huh, and some people say rocks aren't alive. I have some very opinionated ones around here.

EDIT 3/15/25 -- I planted the fossil rock in the forest garden by burying the bottom portion so it stands up. It's about a quarter to a third sunk into the soil, which is usually enough. If it doesn't stay put, I can always dig it in deeper. If you want to make stone monuments, even small ones, I highly recommend the book Stone Circles by Rob Roy. It includes the history, theory, and practice of making things with big rocks, such as megalithic math and both ancient and modern methods of moving rocks. Mine was small enough to carry, but I did use the digging technique of making a straight wall and a slope so as to slide the rock in and tip it upright. \o/ While digging, I found a lot of worms and several large grubs. I left the worms alone but extracted the grubs and dropped them in the metal tray feeder in case somebird would like a snack.

My bluebells are sprouting in the forest garden. :D Lots of bulbs too, but that's the first of the wildflowers I've seen there.

The first couple of Shithouse Marigolds are sprouting under the plastic tub on the new picnic table! \o/ The proves the concept for both starting things in small pots outside and for using translucent plastic tubs as greenhouses. I'll have to watch for more tubs at thrift stores or yardsales. So I watered the pots under the tubs, since they missed the rain.

I also tinkered with the trough a bit. I found a sycamore branch to go from one end to the other, then anchored it with a couple of brick pieces and a lava pebble. The top brick already has a bit of moss on it, which is nice. :D This provides both starting decor and a way for wildlife to crawl out if anything falls in.

In the cistern garden, garlic chives have been up for a while. Now the chives and perennial leeks are also sprouting.

Egyptian walking onions are greening up in their pot. I don't think the potted perennial leeks survived though. I kinda had to throw things in the ground really fast at the end of the fall when I grabbed them from the Charleston Food Forest, so I wasn't sure what would survive where. I tried to spread them out in hopes that some would make it, and all of the root crops I took should reproduce easily.

I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

EDIT 3/15/25 -- I took some pictures around the yard to show what I've done today and the new things sprouting.

My sacrificial offering of grubs was quickly gobbled up by the birds. :D

It's starting to spit rain so I don't know if I'll make it back outside.

EDIT 3/15/25 -- It has stopped spitting rain, so I was able to do a bit of work around the patio.

We also got the hygrometer/thermometer working again, and I hung that back up outside.

I've seen several blackbirds and a robin.

EDIT 3/15/25 -- I sowed Bee Lawn Mix on bare patches in the south lot.  There is still a lot of that to do.

Both rain gauges read about 3/4 inch from last night's rain, so the tilt on the septic garden gauge isn't making much of a difference.

EDIT 3/15/25 -- It started raining, so I am done for the night. 

I took some pictures around the yard today. Most of these are from the house yard and south lot. We also visited the Charleston Food Forest, which is starting to wake up, but since that wasn't a preplanned stop, I didn't have my camera with me.

See all of today's photography posts:
Photos: House Yard and South Lot
Photos: Savanna and Prairie Garden
Photos: Back Toward the House
Photos: Garden Shed

( Walk with me ... )