Birdfeeding: Friends of a Feather Flock Together

Today is sunny and mild.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, along with several blackbirds out foraging in the recently mowed grass.

I put out water for the birds.

I set out the flats of pots and watered them.

EDIT 5/9/25 -- Today's main yardening project is the goddess garden.  I have started trimming around the edge and digging grass from the inside, but it is slow going.

EDIT 5/9/25 -- I did more work on the goddess garden.

EDIT 5/9/25 -- The greenhouse has arrived!  :D  It is in two big heavy boxes.  The delivery guys were kind enough to put them in the garden shed  for us!  Quality blue-collar workers still exist, they're just rare as hen's teeth nowadays.

EDIT 5/9/25 -- I did more work on the goddess garden.  I'm about halfway around the outside edge.

I've seen several mourning doves, several catbirds, a brown thrasher, and a robin.  Yes, the catbirds really meow, and you can hear it on that page.

EDIT 5/9/25 -- I did more work on the goddess garden.  I'm about 3/4 around the outside edge.

EDIT 5/9/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 5/9/25 -- I did more work on the goddess garden.  I finished trimming and cleaning around the outside edge.  Next I need to do the inside of the garden.

EDIT 5/9/25 -- I did more work on the goddess garden.  I pretty much got the inside cleaned up.  Next will be reinstalling the goddess statue.

I've seen a young fox squirrel in the forest garden, smaller than usual, with a less bushy tail, and not very confident aloft yet.

EDIT 5/9/25 -- I planted 4 pink peppermint and 4 peach moss roses around the goddess statue.  I'll need to do the outer ring later.

EDIT 5/9/25 -- I planted 12 assorted color moss roses around the outer ring, just inside the bricks.  And that project is done! \o/

I saw a skunk digging in the south lot.  This one has a lot of white on its head, a white stripe down the left side, but mostly black down the right side.  So I think it's different from the others I'v seen.

EDIT 5/9/25 -- I planted the last 4 moss roses in a pot by the old picnic table.

I watered the goddess garden and pansy pots.

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

Today is partly sunny and mild.

I've seen a male rose-breasted grosbeak and a blue jay at the fly-through feeder.  :D

EDIT 5/7/25 -- I fed the birds.  I've seen a male indigo bunting, a male cardinal, and a brown thrasher.

I put out water for the birds.  I dumped the red birdbath and refilled it.  While I haven't seen any birds using it, the amount of dirt and algae in the water strongly implies that they are.

I put the flats of plants outside.

EDIT 5/7/25 -- We went out to pick up more garden supplies: 2 bags of potting soil, 1 bag of composted manure, and roughly 2 flats of plants.  The weather has warmed up.

My partner Doug is going out to mow the house yard and some other places.

EDIT 5/7/25 -- I planted a purple-and-white striped Wave petunia in a pot by itself.  I filled 2 green pots, each with 2 black pansies and 2 Johnny-jump-ups.

EDIT 5/7/25 -- I raked the center path of the prairie garden, then sowed it with grass and clover seed.

I brought in the flats of pots.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.  *goflopnow*

Today is cloudy, mild, and damp.  It's not currently raining.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, at least 6 blue jays, 2 brown thrashers, a starling, a mourning dove, and a red-headed woodpecker. 

EDIT 5/5/25 -- I moved the flats of plants outside and watered them.

I potted up a 'Black Krim' tomato with 4 marigolds (2 solid yellow, 2 red with yellow centers) on the new picnic table.  Today's plan is to build the garden, if it doesn't rain.  By "build" I mean filling the big pots I bought previously, and by "garden" I mean the vegetables for the new picnic table.

I hung a corncob since the jays and woodpeckers have finished the previous one.

I've seen 2 red-headed woodpeckers together.  :D

EDIT 5/5/25 -- I potted up a 'Cherokee Purple' tomato with 4 marigolds (2 solid yellow, 2 red with yellow centers) on the new picnic table.  

EDIT 5/5/25 -- I potted up a chocolate cherry tomato with 4 marigolds (2 solid orange, 2 red with yellow centers) on the new picnic table.  This is the last of the 4 biggest pots from Family Dollar.

EDIT 5/5/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.  

I've seen a male cardinal.

EDIT 5/5/25 -- I potted up a tomatillo with 4 marigolds (2 solid orange, 2 red with yellow centers) on the new picnic table.  This is the first of the 6 large pots from Big Lots.  I also planted 2 chocolate cherry tomatoes in a big square pot on the old picnic table that has some marigolds volunteering in it already.

EDIT 5/5/25 -- I potted up 2 burpless cucumbers and 4 assorted marigolds in a large pot on the new picnic table.  I planted the other two cucumbers in a big square pot on the old picnic table with 4 food forest marigolds.

EDIT 5/5/25 -- I trimmed grass and pulled weeds around the support wire for the telephone pole, where I'll be sowing cypress vine later.

I've seen 2 blue jays, a male cardinal, and a male goldfinch.  It's good luck to see blue, red, and yellow all visiting the feeders at the same time.  :D

EDIT 5/5/25 -- I sowed cypress vine seeds around the support wire.

I potted up 2 'Cherokee Purple' tomatoes in a big square pot on the old picnic table with 4 Shithouse Marigolds.

Poppies are almost ready to bloom.  Irises have buds, including at least one that I planted in fall.  Hollies and blue spruce have new growth.

EDIT 5/5/25 -- I potted up the last 'Cherokee Purple' tomato with Shithouse Marigolds, and the last chocolate cherry tomato with food forest marigolds, in large pots on the new picnic table.  This concludes the current batch of potted vegetables, although I'm still questing for some things.  While the seedling marigolds weren't big enough for my early planting, they did save me some money on this round. \o/  A thing to do more of next year.

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

Today is cloudy, mild, and wet.  It's been raining.

I fed the birds.  I put up a new corncob.  Despite the rain, there's been a lot of activity at the feeders.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, two mourning doves, two red-headed woodpeckers, a white-crowned sparrow, a starling, a brown-headed cowbird, and a blue jay.  :D 

EDIT 5/3/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.  It's still raining.

I've seen lots more birds milling around, and a fox squirrel.

EDIT 5/3/25 -- I've seen two blue jays, a brown thrasher, and a red-bellied woodpecker.  

Today is mostly cloudy, breezy, and mild. It rained off and on yesterday.

I fed the birds. I haven't seen much activity yet.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 5/1/25 -- I planted 4 sweet basil, 1 lemon basil, and 1 purple basil in pots on the patio.  That finished off one flat of herbs.

EDIT 5/1/25 -- I planted a Lantana 'Cherry Sunrise' and an Old-Fashioned Climbing Petunia in the barrel garden. The petunia is what my grandmother callled "yesterday-today-and-tomorrow" because the flowers open white, turn pale pink, then darken to orchid. I planted a Joe Pye Weed in the prairie garden.  This concludes the Select Seeds order.

The first raspberry blossoms are opening. :D

EDIT 5/1/25 -- I filled each of the two white owl pots with a 'Dusty Miller' artemesia, a white petunia, two blue lobelia, and two purple-and-white verbena.  I filled the blue chalk-horse pot with a purple petunia, a white petunia, and four purple and white mix sweet alyssum.

EDIT 5/1/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 5/1/25 -- I sowed moonflower and morning glory seeds in the barrel garden.  I sowed Shithouse Marigold seeds in the oval pot on the old picnic table and several pots in the septic garden and new picnic table.

EDIT 5/1/25 -- I planted 4 perennial pinks in the notch of the prairie garden.  

Nannyberry and wood hyacinths are blooming.  Irises and blackberries have flower buds.  :D

More drizzle, but not the promised storm, which is fine.

EDIT 5/1/25 -- I planted 4 marigolds around the 'Mr. Stripey' tomato, then added Shithouse Marigold seeds.

I've heard blue jays and catbirds, but haven't seen them.

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

May is Garden for Wildlife Month. Here are some ways to celebrate it.

If you can do only one thing, plant an oak tree! They support over 2000 species of birds, insects, and other wildlife. There is some oak species suitable for most locales.

Let's go get our hands dirty!

( Read more... )

Today is sunny.

I took the flats of pots outside and watered them.

I've seen two starlings, a mourning dove, and a blue jay in the forest garden.  Two vultures flew overhead and landed in the tall trees.  :D

EDIT 4/28/25 -- I fed the birds.  

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/28/25 -- We walked around the south lot to decide where to mow a path.  Now my partner Doug is out mowing.

EDIT 4/28/25 -- We walked around the south lot to see what had been mowed.  Yay, progress!

EDIT 4/28/25 -- I planted a peppermint in the strip garden, a catnip in the cistern garden, a pineapple mint and a rosemary in a trough pot on the old picnic table.

EDIT 4/28/25 -- I planted the 'Ohio Treasure' black rraspberry in the patch at the edge of the prairie garden.  This concludes the Edible Landscaping order.

EDIT 4/28/25 -- I planted hepatica and Jack-in-the-pulpit, each 2 in the forest garden and 1 in the streetside forest yard where the trilliums are growing.

EDIT 4/28/25 -- I planted Dutchman's breeches, bloodroot, and white trillium, each 2 in the forest garden and 1 in the streetside forest yard where the trilliums are growing.  This concludes the American Meadows order.

EDIT 4/28/25 -- I planted Dutchman's breeches, bloodroot, and white trillium, each 2 in the forest garden and 1 in the streetside forest yard where the trilliums are growing.  This concludes the American Meadows order.

EDIT 4/28/25 -- I raked the mowed north-south path that is second in from the west in the prairie garden and connects with the east-west flower path.  Last year this north-south path was sown with wildflowers, this time I put Little Bluestem grass seed.

EDIT 4/28/25 -- I raked the mowed north-south path that is farther west in the prairie garden, sowed it with 20th anniversary wildflower seed mix plus extra zinnia seeds from the Charleston food forest, and watered it. I raked the mowed east-west path and sowed it with Monarch Butterfly Wildflower Seed Mix plus extra zinnia seeds, and watered it.

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

Today is mostly sunny and mild.  It rained yesterday.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a flock of house finches, several mourning doves, and two blue jays.

I put out water for the birds.

I moved the flats of plants outside and watered them.

EDIT 4/26/25 -- I planted the mayapple, common boneset, and 'Blue Moon' woodland phlox in the forest garden.

The linden tree is leafed out all of a sudden.  The new leaves taste like asparagus.  :D

EDIT 4/26/25 -- I planted 'Shenandoah Red' switchgrass, 'Purple Dome' New England aster, and blunt mountain mint in the wildflower garden.

EDIT 4/26/25 -- I planted 'Silver King' creeping thyme and lemon thyme in the goddess garden.

EDIT 4/26/25 -- I planted the 'Winter Red' winterberry holly in the west hedge of the savanna.

I've been hearing lots of blue jays screaming, so I think there is a flock beyond the two that I've seen together.  I saw a fox squirrel running around the trees over the parking lot.

EDIT 4/26/25 -- I planted the common ironweed in the prairie garden.  That's the last of the potted plants from the American Meadows order.  I still have some bare roots in bags, but those are a little less time-critical.

EDIT 4/26/25 -- I planted a tricolor sedum under the maple tree and a 'Princess Nadia' bugleweed in the purple-and-white garden.

EDIT 4/26/25 -- I planted a red coreopsis in the wildflower garden and 3 perennial pinks (purple, red, and pink) in the prairie garden.  That finished off two more flats, so I only have two flats left to plant. \o/

I brought in the last two flats of plants.

I've seen at least 5 blue jays together.  :D

EDIT 4/26/25 -- I planted dill, flat parsley, curly parsley, and sweet marjoram in a trough pot on the old picnic table.

I am done for the night.

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