Saturday, May 18, 2013

“Oh The Places You’ll Go”

by Noelle on January 25, 2013

One of my favorite books from Dr. Seuss is titled “Oh The Places You’ll Go”.  I like to think that reading this book as a child inspired my desire to travel.

A few weeks ago, I was cleaning out our game closet and came upon a puzzle of the United States.  I pulled it out and started to put it together adding all the states that I had visited…

 As I sat and looked at my partially completed puzzle, I enjoyed the memories of the different trips that led me across the country.  A cross-country train ride and tour of the Northeast when I was 12 years old with my mother.  Camping trips California and in Utah and a college-hunting trip to Washington state made up my childhood travels.

Years later, I have enjoyed exploring different parts of the country.  We arrive in one city, rent a car and then drive from place to place.  Recent road trips have taken me from Georgia up to New York, Michigan through Missouri and Ohio to Vermont.

One of the things I love about traveling is to observe the different types of birds and plants of each region, that I may not see near my Arizona home…

A Northern Cardinal from Joplin, Missouri

A Robin in Springfield, Illinois

Hyacinths in Holland, Michigan

and

Beautyberry from Williamsburg, Virginia.

I must admit that since playing with the United States puzzle, I am anxious to start filling in the blank spaces with visits to states that I have not visited before.

This coming year, I will be visiting Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Canada.  Since I have never visited Wisconsin or Minnesota before, I will soon be able to fill in those blank spaces on my puzzle.

I can hardly wait to see what different birds and plants I will get the opportunity to see.

“Oh The Places You’ll Go”

What states have you enjoyed visiting?

What kinds of different birds and plants have you seen in your travels?

**For a list of state birds, check out this article.

 

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Get Your Roses Ready For Winter

by Noelle on November 13, 2012

Have you ‘tucked’ in your roses in for winter yet?  Or maybe you live in a warmer climate and your roses are still blooming like mine.

Well, whether you live where snow falls or live in an area with warm winters – your roses need help getting ready for winter.

Let’s start with those of you live in zones 6 and below:

- Water your roses deeply (about 18 inches).  This should be done after the first frost.  Roses will be using this water throughout winter.

- Pile soil over your rise so that it covers the bud union by at 1 foot.  This should be done in the fall.  Pull off any remaining leaves off of your rose at this time.

- Once the ground has frozen, cover the mound of soil with mulch about a foot thick.  Compost, leaves and straw make excellent mulches and can be spread around your roses in spring.

If you live in zones 7 or 8, winter rose care is somewhat easier:

- Simply mound your rose with mulch so that the bud union is covered by 1 foot.

For those of you who live in zones 9 and above, like me:

- Roses are often still blooming in the fall.  Go ahead and lightly fertilize throughout November.  Stop fertilizing in December.

- Prune back your rose bushes in January.  Sometimes, your rose bush may still be blooming, but it is important to prune them back at this time.  Remove all remaining leaves from your rose bushes at this time.

Whichever type of winter you live in; your roses will appreciate your help getting through the winter.

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Winter hummingbirds

by SeEtta (South Central) on November 12, 2012

Hummingbirds are found during the winter in a number of areas of the United States and even in southern parts of Canada.  Arizona has hosted not only Anna’s Hummingbird during the winter but also Black-chinned and Costas Hummingbirds. Anna’s Hummingbird are year-round residents along the Pacific Coast from Baja California north as far as parts of British Columbia and  sometimes other hummer species show up in these areas during winter months.

The Gulf Coast states from Texas to Florida along with other Southeastern states host a number of wintering hummingbirds. From late fall through early winter Rufous Hummingbirds are the most frequently reported hummer species in the Eastern U.S.   This is very interesting since this species breeds from the far southeastern coast of Alaska down through western Canada into northwestern states.  An interesting article on Smithsonian.com describes how hummingbird banders are at the forefront of documenting the changing migration of these Rufous hummers.

Rufous and other hummers are being reported also in more northern states during late fall and winter in the East, Mid-West and even into southeast parts of Canada. There is even a hummingbird banding and research group that focuses on the Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana areas.

There are current reports (through Nov. 8) of a Calliope Hummingbird near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and of an Allen’s Hummingbird (through Nov. 11) in southwestern Massachusetts.

If you want to keep out one or more hummingbird feeders this winter but are in a location where they may freeze, the pioneering hummingbird bander and researcher Bob Sargent has some excellent information on the Hummer Bird Study Group website. That website also has pages with species accounts for several hummer species that is most interesting including the following: “Rufous hummingbirds are very cold hardy. They are hatched in a cold climate, they spend nights on nesting grounds where the temperatures are near freezing. They migrate down mountain corridors where the temperatures are cold. Finally, these U.S. Rufous are continually being refined by the genes of cold hardy ancestors that have endured severe winters.”

Do you keep one or more hummingbird feeders out into winter?

Have you ever had hummer visits to your feeder in winter?

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Got Allergies? Avoid These Plants…

by Noelle on September 21, 2012

Do you suffer from allergies?  I do.  I always know when fall is on its way when my eyes and nose begin to itch.

Of course, if you have allergies in the fall, then you almost certainly get them in spring too.  This fall, forecasters are calling for warmer then usual temperatures and a long allergy season.  So, in addition to stocking up on allergy medication, what else can you do to help minimize your allergy symptoms?

A great starting point is to avoid plants that are highly-allergenic – meaning that their pollen causes allergies in many people.

Plants Commonly Known to Cause Allergies:

Grasses: Most grasses cause allergies including Bahia, Bermuda, Blue Fescue, Bluegrass, Centipede, Fountain Grass, Ryegrass and Timothy grass.

Trees: Ash, Arizona cypress, birch, Catalpa, cedar, cottonwood, elm, eucalyptus, juniper, mulberry, oaks, olive, pecan, poplar, privet, red cedar, silver maple, sumac and willow.

Weeds: Like grass, most weeds can cause allergies too.  Dandelion, goosefoot, lamb’s quarters, pigweed, ragweed and tumbleweed.

If you suffer from allergies, then it is wise to avoid these plants, which could help lessen your allergy symptoms.

There is more you can do in your own landscape to help you cope with allergy season. On Tuesday, I’ll talk about a number of things that you can do in your own landscape to reduce the amount of pollen that causes allergies and what types of plants that do NOT cause allergies.

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‘Teakettle-teakettle’, Carolina Wren calling

by SeEtta (South Central) on July 16, 2012

Carolina Wrens are often heard not seen as their distinctive ‘teakettle,teakettle,teakettle’ (or ‘germany, germany germany’ or ‘tweedle, tweedle, tweedle’) rings out through forested areas and wooded backyards in the eastern U.S. Their voices can carry quite a distance so many are serenaded by these wrens singing their many verses from various perches around the neighborhood.

Click here to listen on the Audubon Guides website to some of their various songs and calls.

This wren species is quite attractive with buff to cinnamon colored plumage, a bold white eye stripe, long and down-curved bill, white throat, and more often than not with their tails cocked up in the air giving a good view of the distinctive horizontal bars underneath.

Carolina Wren is one of Birds and Blooms Magazine’s ‘Most Wanted Birds’. And Jill blogged about them last year so you can see more photos and read more about them on her blog.

Though where I live, which is in Colorado, is west of their range several Carolina Wrens ventured to a wooded area less than a quarter mile from my house. They stayed for several summers and at least one winter but apparently this location did not meet their needs as we haven’t seen them for a few years. I used to enjoy walking on the local trail through there and hearing them sing. I even heard them sing while I was working in my yard one time.

Now I have to be content with hearing them, and spotting them sometimes, when I travel further east. I understand that they are attracted to suet and peanut feeders in backyards.

Do you have them in your area?
Do they come to suet or other feeders in your yard?

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The Great Backyard Bird Count is coming–Feb 17-20,2012

February 2, 2012

Join thousands of your friends and neighbors–and make your birds count–by taking part in this year’s Great Backyard Bird Count. Save these dates: February 17-20.   It is free and you can count the birds in your backyard, in your local park or a nearby wildlife refuge or anyplace you are able to legally access.   This [...]

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Great Horned Owl: hoo-hoo hoooooo hoo-hoo

January 28, 2012

I heard a Great Horned Owl calling ‘hoo-hoo hoooo hoo-hoo’ from a neighbors tree a few nights ago reminding me that January and February are some of the best times of the year to hear their very deep territorial calls. Though these owls may call at other times of the year, they engage in the [...]

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Bully Birds

November 29, 2011

As parents of school-age children know, bullying is a perennial problem, but these days guidance counselors, school psychologists, social workers, teachers, and more, are introducing fresh studies and strategies. And educating children and parents about how to prevent, cope with, and report bullying. I was thinking about this during a chat with a friend in [...]

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Bird of the Week

November 22, 2011

Today I drove over to a market in the next town to pick up a farm-fresh turkey for Thursday’s annual feast. Although I had reserved it last week, I still had to wait in line. The word is out: these turkeys are delicious! (However, it is a myth that supermarket Butterballs are injected with chemicals [...]

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Tough Nut to Crack

November 21, 2011

Quite honestly, I’ve always considered myself lucky to NOT have a black walnut tree on my property. Why? Not because a big shade tree is unwelcome. Not even because I prefer the vivid autumn colors of maples to the pale yellow of November’s remaining walnut leaves. Because—and this has been well-established by science—a brown pigment [...]

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Duck Feet

November 18, 2011

Perhaps because I am not a native Northeasterner (my family moved out here from Southern California when I was a teenager), certain things about wintertime amaze me—even now. I remember the first time I saw snow falling. I ejected from my classroom seat and ran outdoors, holding my hands palms-up and dancing around. It was [...]

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Speaking of Onions

November 16, 2011

What’s not to like? If you cook, if you eat, you go through a lot of onions. Good news, gardeners: they are easy to grow well. And good news, with winter now at our doorstep here in the Northeast: they store well. 1-Up here in this part of the country, your best bet is “long-day” [...]

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10 Surprising Facts about Mourning Doves

November 11, 2011

I already knew, and maybe you did too, that mourning doves will sometimes hang around our cold, snowy Northeast winters rather than migrate, if there is food—that is, if we keep our birdfeeders stocked. My thoughts turned to this as I watched from the window as a pair of them scooped up some spillage off [...]

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