Birdfeeding: Friends of a Feather Flock Together

Today is sunny and cool.  It rained off and on yesterday afternoon and evening.

I haven't fed the birds yet, but I've seen a flock of sparrows and a pair of house finches.

I raked the leaves away from the Colorado blue spruce.

I started trimming stems around the hazel bush.

The apricot tree is blooming.  So are the first of the solid-purple violets.  :D

EDIT 3/15/24 -- I fed the birds.

The day has gotten considerably warmer.  Honeybees are now loudly servicing the apricot tree. \o/

I hauled a bag of compost and manure to the spruce tree, cut open the bag, and started spreading the compost.  At least for now, Rural King has my favorite brand, American Countryside.

EDIT 3/15/24 -- I spread more compost around the spruce tree.   

EDIT 3/15/24 -- I finished spreading compost around the spruce tree.

EDIT 3/15/24 -- I watered the compost to flatten it down some.

That's all I have time for today, so I am done for the night.

I took pictures around the yard today. These are from the savanna and prairie garden.

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I took some pictures in the yard today. These are from the house yard and the south lot.

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Today is sunny, breezy, and warm.

I haven't fed the birds yet, but I have seen several house finches, a pair of mourning doves, a lady cardinal, and a robin.

I dug a hole for the yellow raspberry.

EDIT 3/13/24 -- I fed the birds.  I've heard a squirrel chattering but haven't seen it.

I finished planting the yellow raspberry.

EDIT 3/13/24 -- I planted the two pink bleeding hearts in the forest garden.  However, there were also a couple of big root pieces that didn't have shoots but might survive, so I want to plant those separately.

EDIT 3/13/24 -- I watered the yellow raspberry and the first two bleeding hearts. 

I planted the two extra roots, then when I dumped out the peat moss from the bag, I found four MORE smaller roots.  \o/  So I planted those too.  I don't know if any of these will survive, but one already had little buds on one end, and several had small hairy feeder roots.

I've also seen a fox squirrel on the hopper feeder.

 EDIT 3/13/24 -- I watered the extra roots.


  

Today my seeds arrived from Pinetree Garden Seeds. :D These are more for me and the pollinators than the birds, but some are things that birds will peck at the seedheads later like asters, bachelor's button, and marigold.

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Today is sunny, breezy, and chilly.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a flock of sparrows, a pair of house finches, and a dark-eyed junco in the forest garden.  I've also seen and heard a flock of red-winged blackbirds in the yard, chirping and trilling at each other. 

I cut more brush along the south side of the house.

EDIT 3/10/24 -- I cut more brush along the south side of the house.

EDIT 3/10/24 -- I cut more brush along the south side of the house.


 

My seeds arrived from Anapolis Seeds, which is in Canada. \o/  Both of these are wildlife plants -- sunflowers for pollinators and birds, dill for swallowtail caterpillars.  Landrace sunflowers should be A) hardy and B) full of pollen and nectar.  It's hard to find good sunflowers for wildlife because so many are sterile florist varieties that are fuckall use in landscaping because they won't feed pollinators or set seed for birds.


Anapolis Seeds

Arikara Sunflower
Both single and multi heads on sturdy stalks ranging from 4 to 8 feet in height. Probably best described as a landrace, with seeds varying from black to grey displaying lots of diversity. 50 seeds (3 g)

Bouquet Dill
Compact plants, about 36" tall. An excellent dill grown primarily for leaf production. Also produces large seed heads in late summer, just in time for pickling season. 

My order from Siskiyou Seeds arrived on Wednesday.  The sunflowers are advertised as attracting birds, so they should be fertile -- producing pollen, nectar, and seeds -- rather than barren like varieties marketed to florists.

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Today is mostly sunny, windy, and warm.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows.

I walked around the yard taking pictures.  More crocuses are blooming, including some white ones.  The orange ones are almost read to open in the goddess garden.  The first of the dwarf irises have opened in and around the flowerbeds by the driveway.  :D

EDIT 2/27/24 -- I finished the south edge of the rectangular flowerbed.

EDIT 2/27/24 -- I edged most of the east side of the rectangular flowerbed.

EDIT 2/27/24 -- I completed the west side and started the north side of the rectangular flowerbed.

EDIT 2/27/24 -- I finished the north side of the rectangular flowerbed.

EDIT 2/27/24 -- I watered the gardens and the clumps of grass that I dug out and stuffed in a hole.

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

Today is sunny and mild, almost warm. It was 62°F when I checked.  The goddess garden is full of lavender crocuses and yellow winter aconite.  Bees and other insects are out in force.

I fed the birds.  The corncob was mostly empty and knocked down, so I hung a new one.  I've seen a robin at the forest garden.

I raked off leaves from the garden around the support wire for the telephone pole.  I need to get in there with a trowel and remove encroaching grass.  I also spotted a yellow crocus in the wagonwheel garden and did a bit of clearing there, but that area needs a lot more work.

EDIT 2/25/24 -- I started digging grass out of the garden around the support wire.

I've seen a flock of sparrows and a pair of cardinals.

EDIT 2/25/24 -- I dug more grass out of the garden around the support wire.

EDIT 2/25/24 -- I dug more grass out of the garden around the support wire.

EDIT 2/25/24 -- I finished the initial round of digging grass out of the garden around the support wire.  I'm sure I'll have to go back and do it again later, but for now it looks good.  It's a lot easier to remove grass early in the season before the roots start growing much.

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