Blue Garden chat forum: New Year 2014
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| http://birding.about.com/od/Foods/fl/Winter-Bird-Suet.htm?nl... Those of you that like the birds and feed them might be interested in reading the information at the above link. We like to put out suet for the birds that come here to our feeders, especially the woodpeckers. This past year I kept seeing the Downy Woodpecker come for food but I've not seen him this winter. But we have had a big Hawk soaring around frequently and I think that has caused the disappearance of some of "my" birds.  Oma |
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Toni - HUGE Congrats for being a gym rat  inch by inch... you'll get there and I hope you get all the paperwork straightened out too.Sharon - you should go to Rod's Facebook page. I bet he's getting lots of birthday wishes today. He is an awesome entertainer. Muddy here too Oma - rain, rain, rain, and MUD. NATIONAL GARDENING ASSOCIATION Purslane & Portulaca ~ Garden Art |
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| Ok, one more Rod story and I'll shut up.... When we were in Atlanta, it was Saturday night and somewhere between songs Rod said - you can beat your carpet and you can beat your eggs but you can't beat Saturday night. No big deal but to "hear" it with his accent and in the moment of the concert, he got a huge applause. NATIONAL GARDENING ASSOCIATION Purslane & Portulaca ~ Garden Art |
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| Funny Vic. Gotta get outta here for a while. Later. |
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Thank you Oma!!!!!!!!!!  That is exactly what I need. I had asked somebody the other day if I could feed the birds fat back if it was the same as suet. And it is if your making the homemade version and melting and straining it down. I can get a bunch of fatback cheap and I have cheesecloth, just don't have a grinder, so will have to just cut up into small chunks to melt. Got plenty of peanut butter and nuts. I have bags of frozen blackberries. Wonder if I could make a couple of small suet balls with frozen berries? I can smear some of the mix on the trees. Maybe will have a lot more success than when trying to just peanut butter coat my trees, or the fiasco with the pine cones and PB.  Oh I'm excited. More new food for my birds. And from that site found out one of my birds is the White breasted Nuthatch and have Black capped Chickadees. Them the birds I been trying to identify for several years now. it may be raining, but now it is a good day.  |
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| I love the woodpeckers on the suet, but the nuthatches like it also. chickadees stay with the seeds. the woodpecker in the photo is red-bellied wp. I love the red on the head, just a small spot on the breast--name is strange. snow today, followed by rain. Not a happy day weatherwise. |
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| http://specials.about.com/service/newsletters/birding/2f52c9... Star, I get the newsletter in my email often and there you will find good information on bird watching and things related to birding. I thought I would pass it along to you. And I do not see why you could not use the frozen berries. The woodpeckers would have no problem with frozen berries. My husband took a post and drilled round holes up and down the pole. He filled that with peanut butter and nuts, and suet. My, our place was popular. Not long ago he put more out and it was gone in no time. With all the cold weather like we have had recently, the animals and birds were looking for food here. The rabbits were even coming for the sunflower seeds and other seed that my DH put out for them. We have quite a few feeders. They are near the pines, too so that gives them shelter if they need it fast. Lots of nests there in the spring and summer. Oma |
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| if everyone is getting tired of their rain, I'll take it. we need it here!! sure we have the snow but its not enough moisture & its all the dry snow. blegh making your own suet would be fun but time consuming and buying the blocks is just that much easier & cheaper, specially when they're only $0.99/each. beef fat usually runs about $1.99/$2.49/lb here, which, IMO is ridiculous. typing all this on my tablet.. boy am I a crappy typist!! lolllll Never be afraid of a scar. It just means that you were stronger than something that tried to hurt you. My new Etsy shop - handmade jewelry by ME!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/OjodelGato Buy some of my photos! http://www.catsonkeyboards.com "I've seen better acting from extras in Godzilla movies!" - Calculon |
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| http://birding.about.com/od/Identify-Bird-Families/ss/Downy-... Star, here is a picture of the male Downy. The Downy is my favorite of the woodpeckers. The male and female hang around here. They like the peanut butter post. Oma |
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| http://birding.about.com/od/identifyingbirds/a/downyorhairy.... Last one, I promise. We've had the Red Bellied, Hairy, Red Headed, Hairy and the Downy Wood peckers at our feeders when we lived in town with lots of trees around. We've had them come here, too but not as often. We have pines and a few trees but we are surrounded by farm land. Oma |
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Thank you Oma! I have a whole pile of boards where I finally got the gh that tornado winds took down, down. I can use some of them. What a neat idea. That I should be able to handle with out it turning into another tickles and chuckles story.  Now if I can only drill the holes in the board without drilling through me.  Yep, the Downy is pretty. I have a few of them and two other species that hang around here. Some come during the spring and summer and some during winter and some all year long. I think it is getting near breeding time though. Watched for quite awhile a female being chased by several males. One would try and get to her and the others would hang near by and when he would fail another would try. Boy the noise she made. Don't know if she was calling them to her, or if she was reading them the riot act, but she went on and on. I almost needed ear plugs it got so bad. Poor squirrels were trying to take their afternoon naps and was squawking at the birds to be quiet. They so funny when they take their naps. They all hit the tree limbs about the same time. Clean themselves up, wrap their tails around their body so that they look like a giant knot on the tree branch. I always wonder how they can sleep without falling off. Felt so bad for my one female. The bad wind and rain storms we had before the cold blast took down all but one or two nests and she was out there trying to pull off a few of the last little leaves still stuck to the tree branches. Not enough of them and some tips to skinny for her to try and get too. Wish I could put some artificial nests up there for them. Toni... I probably have every weed imaginable here and than some. The back area is a jungle. Used to all nice and neat, but than when I got sick it grew up overnight on me. If I would have been able to keep it cleared than somebody would haven't been able to steal 100" of my 6" chain link fence.  Fast as I pull em, there more. Always more, but I don't use any chems to get rid of them to protect the wildlife. That and I have such a diverse mix of wildlife that has taken me years to establish here that all eat different things. A weed to me, is food or shelter for them. Them suet things at Lowe's are expensive here and it takes an hour to go to town to go to store. Corner store, is only 5 miles away and fatback cheap and staple food for cooking collards and mustards and other greens down here. Lot of times if you ask, butcher will give you for free. |
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| You are welcome, Star! Glad I could be of help. I found this link with the different woodpeckers that we've had at our place. All of those listed we have had at one time or other. And some more often than others. And you were speaking of the squirrels which reminded me that in town it was not unheard of for me to count thirty or more in the trees. When they would run and play, it sounded like moneys in a zoo. I would stand at the window and watch them play. It was all good for a smile and laughter at times. My DH put a mike ouside our kitchen window and so I could hear the bird sounds, the mallard ducks (we fed them corn and had a little garden pond that they swam in), squirrels, and any other sounds of nature at night time. http://birding.about.com/od/birdprofiles/ig/Woodpecker-Galle... Oma |
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| Star, if you'd like to investigate communal living, I'd suggest a visit to The Farm in Tennessee, just across the northern border of Alabama. I visited several times when we lived in Huntsville. It was started by Stephen Gaskin, a former Marine who became an assistant professor at a California university and got caught up in the hippie movement. Don't let the hippie connection fool you. Stephen ultimately settled in southern Tennessee with about 1500 followers. The communal life that evolved is truly amazing. No more free love and drugs (except for marijuana, which takes the place of sacramental wine during religious services). Residents of The Farm believe in God and in the Holy Spirit. They are quite reverential, lead a communal life, and are vegetarians. They have great reverence for nature and look to it for sustenance. Ecological practices are everywhere. Solar power, herbal medicines, etc. I felt quite at peace there. I still chuckle when I think of what residents of the surrounding area call them: "technicolor Amish." They wear colorful clothing, but in some of their beliefs and actions, they do resemble Amish practices. If you'd like to know more, here is a link to get you started: http://www.thefarm.org/lifestyle/cmnl.html Cottage-in-the-Meadow Gardens: Come on in and take the tour! Check out the photos! As a gardener: When planning for a year, I plant corn. When planning for decades, I plant trees. When planning for life, I train and educate people. Website: https://cottageinthemeadow.plantfans.com/ |
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| Drove home from Cedar Rapids last night in freezing drizzle. Main roads were still OK, but secondary roads were quite slick. Took a lot longer to get home than usual, but made it safely. Dog walk this morning was tricky. Everything covered in ice. Unusually quiet here today. Anybody home? Cottage-in-the-Meadow Gardens: Come on in and take the tour! Check out the photos! As a gardener: When planning for a year, I plant corn. When planning for decades, I plant trees. When planning for life, I train and educate people. Website: https://cottageinthemeadow.plantfans.com/ |
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 If we still had hood ornaments, there'd be a nose as well. Cottage-in-the-Meadow Gardens: Come on in and take the tour! Check out the photos! As a gardener: When planning for a year, I plant corn. When planning for decades, I plant trees. When planning for life, I train and educate people. Website: https://cottageinthemeadow.plantfans.com/ |
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Oh that's so cute Larry and so so glad you're safe. Be CAREFUL in all that ice  Pouring rain here. POURING to the point of flooding. Ran errands this morning and hydro-planed most of the time. Ugh....It was thundering and lightening early this morning. It is supposed to go to 60 today and then go back to normal winter temps tomorrow. NATIONAL GARDENING ASSOCIATION Purslane & Portulaca ~ Garden Art |
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| Funny, Larry. We had major rain last night to the point of no electricity, followed by hours of tripping over cats and a dog in this black house. I kept thinking it would come back on, but no, had to find candles then try to remember which lights I had left on then finally to bed. All to be awakened at 2 telling me there was a power outage (duh) then again at 3 to tell me power was back on . . . which I knew anyway because those lights I'd forgotten woke me. It was a nutty night. Then at 7 Sunshine totally needed to go out, but the next door cat was out as well and Sunshine won't potty if the cat is watching. Wasted trip, back inside. We tried it again at 8 because Sunshine couldn't sit still and finally the cat was gone. Then I took a nap. So my back yard is a muddy mess and water was still standing at 8, but I notice it's soaked in by now. It's about 50, so not bad. But I am worn out. |
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Sharon  NATIONAL GARDENING ASSOCIATION Purslane & Portulaca ~ Garden Art |
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| 54 here & windy. John has taken the mason hammer to some of the ice along the driveway. |
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