What a lovely afternoon....

Oct. 4th 2011

After 3 or 4 days of solid rain, (we seem to run to rainy springs and falls in this climate) the pond has overflowed.  This isn't my only dilemma, however.  The tadpoles that appeared in July are showing no signs of turning into frogs......they just swim happily around in a perpetual state of childhood with seemingly no worry about the impending winter.  I am definitely not housing them indoors in an aquarium, but we have decided we may heat the pond this winter instead of draining it, thus saving the hassle of netting and relocating 6 fish, countless snails and well over 100 tadpoles.  Do tadpoles ever winter over and defer their transformation to frogs until spring?  Is this failure-to-launch that I'm seeing with these tadpoles in any way normal?  Any naturalists who happen to land here and read this are welcome to weigh in with any advice.........

Then there's composting.......it sounds so easy, doesn't it?  You fill a container with layers of vegetable kitchen waste, leaves, grass clippings, and earth.  In 4-6 weeks you open up the bottom of the container and out pours a rich, dark soil with the consistency of crumbly chocolate cake.   You then dig this miracle fertilizer into your gardens, resulting in bumper crops of vegetables and 20 foot high flowers which are the envy of the neighborhood.  Not so my attempts.  My composter seems to be some kind of preservation chamber.  The vegetables I throw in there look exactly the same as they did at the beginning of the summer.  A thousand years from now archaeologists will open my composter and wonder at the mummified examples of 21st century food contained within.  What was the purpose, they'll ask, of this effort?  Was this a storage chamber to keep food fresh?  Was it some kind of offering?  Maybe ancient aliens were experimenting with preserving food so that it would last throughout long space voyages.  So what I am doing wrong?  How does such a simple and basic concept as the breaking down of waste products defeat me??  I've tried turning it, I've tried moistening it.  I've tried giving it dirty looks.  I'm an epic FAIL at composting!

We had one or two casualties in the front flower bed this year, the results of work and renovation being done to the front of the house.  This, and the onset of fall with it's lessening light and cooler temperatures has slayed most of the perennials.  There are still some spectacular islands of colour here and there, however........

 

 

 

September 4th 2011

I've discovered that summertime in the garden doesn't lend itself to jounalizing.  Summertime in the garden is all about puttering and weeding and a sense of satisfaction, completion and just plain enjoying.  There really isn't much to write about.

Not that I haven't taken a few photos......

 
Spring brought out these Alpine Asters, the only Aster that blooms in spring rather than fall....

 

 
The Snowball bush bloomed beautifully.....

 

 
There was a real show of Irises.......

 

 
The flowers of the Honeysuckle vine echoed the colour of the evening sun shining through the fence....

 

 
 
Phlox are probably among my favorite of all garden flowers, with their endless variety of colour and lovely scent.

 

The pond took on an established, overgrown look this summer, a little piece of wildness in an suburban backyard and home to snails, frogs, dragonfly larvae, and small fish. 

 
 
 
I like this photo of one of the resident frogs overseeing his/her multiple offspring tadpoles. 

 

 
Now that September's here, it's all about these glowing Black-eyes susans, and the Stonecrop and Fall Asters are promising to be colourful.  And at the end of the day, the huge, lavender-edged white flowers of the Evening fragrance toloache open and exhale their subtle yet exotic perfume into the twilight.

 

 

 

 

 

May 7th 2011

Planted Lady's Mantle, Periwinkle and some Lilies, all of which were given to me today (thanks Cathy!).  Oddly, now that it's spring and I'm gardening like someone obsessed, I have little to say in this gardening journal of mine......it's just all about planting and fertilizing and weeding and transplanting and creative staring, my mind a liberated, meditative blank the entire time.  Whenever I straighten up from my hunched position over one garden or another and chance to look around, there is sure to be a grackle in my line of sight.  Is it me or are there more of these handsome birds around than usual this year? 

Of course, it' s mostly about bulbs this time of year.  The Daffodils have been out in full force for awhile now, but I only have a few of them.  They look lovely with the evening light shining through them.

 

Hyacinths are pretty and fragrant, and the Tulips are about to pop.  I'm guessing one of the most pleasant occupations in the entire world must be trying to decide what your favorite flower is!

 

 

 

 

First Day of Spring, 2011

There are spring and summer birds back in droves.  Handsome grackles with heads and shoulders the colour of iridescent ink are staging low fly-pasts of the house and raiding the bird feeders.  Robins are bobbing all over the soggy lawn and seem to be pulling up worms, while the calls of Red Wing Blackbird and Song Sparrow delight the ear.  A pair of Mallard Ducks inspected the spillway and back yard this morning. 

 
 

The gardens are looking a bit the worse for wear, having just emerged from their two-foot blanket of snow.  I cleaned up most of the mulch cover, and trimmed back some of last year's dead stems and unsightly, soggy-brown foliage.  Some Siberian Irises are emerging in the front flower bed, and some of the snow-crocuses I planted last November are in flower.......

 

It's an odd thing with bulbs.......they never seem to all bloom at the same time.  My straggly little semi-circle of crocuses would look so much cooler if they'd all just flower together!!  Alas......well, regardless it's nice to see a flower in bloom.  The tulips and daffodils I planted around the pond last fall are popping up like crazy......I've had to share a few with a rabbit that visits at night to nibble off the shoots as they emerge from the earth.  No matter, there should still be plenty left.  I planted over one hundred bulbs, and if they decide to all flower at once it'll look pretty good!

 

March 14, 2011

As per my mental note made last November, yesterday I pushed aside some of the leaves in the front flower bed, and was ridiculously delighted to see this -

 

 

Early as it is, the warmth of the sun today caused me to throw caution to the winds and uncover the entire front garden from it's blanket of protective leaves.  It's a warm southern exposure so there are all kinds of wonderful things emerging from the earth!! 

 

 

Remembering the bulbs I planted around the pond last autumn, I trudged out back and shovelled away the snow from the boards I had placed over the empty pond liner.  As I lifted the boards I realized the pond liner is not in the empty condition that I had left it in last fall....it's full to the brim with water.  However the bulbs around it are starting to emerge, right through the ice.  Replaced the boards with smaller ones so the sun can get at the bulbs.........parts of the yard are still under 6 inches of snow, while others are encouragingly squashy with melt water and mud!

 

 

Those of you who visit here often may remember this posting - and here is another reason why I wish people would keep their cats at home.........plants aren't the only things emerging as the snow melts........

 

I am going to invest in a couple of Piss Off Plants from Richter's Herbs this year.  Yes, you read that correctly, there is such a plant!   Look here to learn about it.  Maybe a few of them strategically placed will deter the local wandering felines from using my flower beds as their toilet.  I'll keep you posted on that.

Jan. 30, 2011

This hawk (I think it's a young Red Tail) has been staking out our bird feeder for the past couple of days, hoping to make a meal of one of the Mourning Doves, Juncos, or sparrows that visit regularly.

 
 

It may surprise some to learn that I don't have a problem with this.  I've heard of people who get very upset when a predator attacks the 'cute' birds that come to their winter feeding station, but personally I don't see how this makes much sense.  If you're going to put out seed to attract birds, you have to take what you get, whether it offends your sensibilities or not.  And does the predator bird not need to eat too? 

Now, is it hypocritical of me to have the opposite view of the neighbourhood cats that come by for the same basic reasons as the hawk?  I vigorously discourage the various felines that have a habit of hanging around my bird feeder.  There are a few reasons for this;

- there is a local by-law that prohibits cats from roaming at large.  Pet cats are supposed to stay in their home or under the control of their owners on their own properties at all times.  Dave and I love cats, we've had many as pets.  We have one now.  He stays indoors.

- the domestic cat is not indigenous to the area and their hunting desimates our native songbird and rodent population.

- it's highly likely that the cat doesn't NEED to eat birds from my feeder.  Most pet cats are well fed and only hunt out of instinct, not need.  Of course, they can't help doing what comes naturally to them, I acknowledge that.  This is where their owners should be taking responsibility for them.

Many take the stand that the feeding of birds is creating an artificial situation, so to argue about the cat not being a natural presence is splitting hairs, or just downright hypocritical.  However, birds have a hard enough time because of the human race due to habitat loss and pesticide use, and many naturalists agree that helping them through the rough winter months by feeding them is not a bad thing. 

I would be interested to hear what you think.  Please post your opinion on this issue!

 

Jan. 16

Deep as we are in the grip of winter, the greenery and colour of the garden, lawn and trees seems like a distant dream.  Yet there is much to remind us of the growing season that is just around the corner.  My two favorite plant catalogues arrived in the mail, Vessy's Spring 2011, and Richter's Herbs 2011.  This has afforded me happy hours of browsing and planning.  Look for yourself on-line!

http://www.veseys.com/ca/en/store/springbulbs?link=feature&veseys=q1nr2d81pvi5hgluk8v8ekip47

http://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?page=&exch=CAD&cart_id=7090206.32691

The seed heads atop the Echinacea stalks I left standing in the front flower bed make a startling, spiky contrast against the snow in this photograph I took this afternoon........

 

 

Contrast the same plant from last summer, complete with a bumblebee gathering nectar......

 

Jan. 4, 2011

Managed to capture an image of this handsome visitor to the feeder the other day.

In our hopes to spot an unusual bird, I think we often forget how remarkable the more common ones are.  Sure, Blue Jays may be plentiful enough at an Ontario winter feeding station, but what a beautiful bird they are!  I included a back view so the various shades of blue can be better seen.  I'm sure a bird watcher residing in a country where there are no Blue Jays would be fascinated to see one.

 
 

 

This pretty little Red Squirrel visited recently too.

 
 

Dec. 19

Nice to see a Mourning Dove at the feeding area today. There've been plenty of them around all summer and fall, but this is the first time one has come to our back porch to eat.

Yes, they're a common enough bird.....nonetheless they are favourites of mine. I love the soft, muted rosy-beige and grey colours of their feathers against the snow.

 
 

Dec. 13

After weeks of quietude at our bird feeding area with only a few Juncos and the odd Chickadee visiting each day, there was a veritable explosion of avian activity today. 

Within the space of about a half hour I saw the usual Juncos in larger numbers than usual, several Chickadees flying back and forth (their way of feeding seems to me to be an over-expenditure of energy....they fly to the feeder, select a black sunflower seed and fly away with it to the nearest tree where they shell and eat it, or maybe store it for later, then fly back to the feeder and do it all over again), a White-breasted Nuthatch (the first I've seen this year), a Goldfinch, and a Bluejay.  In addition, hoardes of Starlings descended and fought over the suet balls and a prime spot at the feeder.  They were all over the lawn too.  Several crows were flying around in the front yard. 

Because my camera is merely your fairly basic point-and-shoot model, and because bird photography requires alot more patience than I have on most days, I was only able to get a shot of one of the Juncos. 

 

All the other birds mentioned just didn't sit still long enough for me to even raise the camera, let alone get a shot in.  I did film the Starlings for a bit though.  Starlings aren't indigenous to Canada, but were imported here from Europe, possibly by the same individual that thought it might be fun to import and release into New York City's Central Park all of the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's plays.  With the result than 100's of non-indigenous birds eventually spread across North America.  That being said, I like Starlings.  They're amusing to watch and very tenacious!  They have quite a talent of mimicry, and I've heard them imitate seagulls, hawks, and a creaky garage door opening and closing.  Here's the little vid of today's Starling visitation.  There were annoying TV noises in the background (since I was shooting through the patio window) so I threw in instead Aerial Tal, by Kate Bush, from her CD Aerial.  No I don't own the music and encourage you to purchase the CD or song as I did if you like it.  The bird noises used in the piece are English Blackbirds and not what our Starlings typically sound like, but I have a feeling that the Starlings would pick the notes up quickly enough!

Download Starlings feeding