The Holidays Are Over

With the holidays over it’s time to get settled in for the long cold winter ahead. There is a lot of real cold and snowy weather ahead for those of us who live in the northern states. What will you do all winter?

I’ll be going over all of my seed and plant catalogs and getting ready to order for spring planting. I like to start my own plants and have a small greenhouse and it comes in handy for seed starting. My cats love green plants too, but don’t appreciate them for their beauty, they like them for their taste, so I can’t grow them in my windows. I put them in the garage in pots and use a plant light to keep them warm and to simulate the sun.

There is nothing like the taste of home grown tomatoes. Anyone that grows their own tomatoes can’t wait for the tomatoes to get ripe, I barely eat store bought tomatoes, and usually pass them up while creating a sandwich or something that doesn’t absolutely have to have tomatoes in it. But when I have home grown tomatoes I load them on. B.L.T.s are so much better with home grown tomatoes.

I also like to start my flowers for my planters and fillers for my flower beds. Although I prefer perennials for the majority of my gardens, there is a lot to be said for blooming annuals. I fill in bare spots with them and have a few spots that I prefer to plant them in all the time.
It’s also time to what new decorations I want to put in this spring. I plan to put in a gnome village this year and want to have it all planned out and my gnomes and accessories purchased in plenty of time for them to come in the mail. I have a big tree that will be perfect to put a gnome door on and windows for them to live in. I need to order some gnomes too.

I also have plans to add some butterfly features to my front garden,I guess I'll be pretty busy over the winter planning and shopping for all of the things I want to do in the spring.
the birdlady

Garden Water features

If you are starting a new garden or just adding on to an established garden, the best thing to do first thing to do first is to put in a water feature. The hardest part will be deciding what you want. There are so many styles to choose from on the market today, that the possibilities are endless. If you are starting a garden from scratch, you should decide the style of garden you want first, and then go from there. If it is not a new garden, just go with the flow, as the saying goes. Pick out one that will match your theme that is already there.
You can dig a pond and line it, install a molded pond, with or without a waterfall. make a level area and put a fountain on it, or just plop down a birdbath and be done with it, whatever you choose a water feature is a must if you want to attract wildlife. They are also very pleasing to look at. All birds, insects and animals need water as well as food to survive, and there is a style for every possible taste and space available to put it in. Take your time and decide what is best for you. I prefer fountains because they can be moved easily when I want to change things around from one year to the next. I love the look of ponds but I have a lot of tree roots in my yard that makes digging large areas very difficult.
Fountains come in all themes, shapes, sizes, and types. They can be mounted on a wall, set on a table or pedestal, or free standing, They can be electric, battery operated or solar powered. They can spray upwards or flow downwards, they can be single layered or many tiers, most of them let you control the flow of water too. It can be hard to choose from all of the designs that you have to choose from though because there are so many.
They have angels, cherubs, crosses, frogs, dolphins, rocks, hummingbirds, birds, butterflies, gnomes, pineapples, acorn, dragons, fairies, children and even Buddha’s, just to name a few.
If you want a little whimsy in your life, try creating a garden that will make you and your visitors smile. Some themes you can use are Gnomes, Frogs and toads, fairies, children playing, and almost any animal you can think of. You can design the whole garden around one certain theme or mix them together to make a smorgasbord of delightful oddities. Or if you have plenty of property, you can make many gardens all with a different theme. That is what I do. But remember gardens are like children they need to be nurtured and taken care of, and also like children some are easier to take care of than others. A little research goes a long way in making the perfect decisions as far as plants and decorations that are right for any garden. So put some thought into what you put in your garden. I like plastic or stone borders, fences and decorations because they don’t need painted, but I love wooden arbors and trellises for my roses and vines to grow on, so I have to touch up the paint occasionally.
I love perennials because they return every year and require little maintenance. But I also plant annuals for the endless varieties of blooms they produce. Once again it is a matter of choice and the time you can spend caring for your garden.
If you want to attract birds, butterflies, or hummingbirds you can plant a few of their favorite plants and put out feeders for them too.
The internet has endless information on what plants will attract whatever you choose to invite into your garden. All gone to the birds will be happy to help you decide which type will be suitable for your needs and you are welcome to browse our selection of fountains any time you wish. Wherever you choose to purchase your fountain we know you and your garden friends will cherish it for years to come.
The birdlady

Time to Plan for spring

With the holidays coming to an end and family and friends all gone, when the rushing here and there all over, it’s time to start planning for spring, There are a lot of decisions to make, you might as well get everything ready ahead of time. Decide what you want to plant and where, soon the garden catalogues will be arriving in the mail, and you can order your plants and seeds now to be shipped in the spring. There is nothing more aggravating than getting your order in too late and finding out that the plant you wanted to put in a particular spot is sold out. I also buy any decorations and bird houses and feeders ahead of time so I am ready to put them out when the birds are ready to start building their nests. Here in Indiana where I live, we usually have many false starts of spring and you never know when the birds will be ready to build their new family home for the season. Therefore, you have to be prepared.
I like to set out nesting materials for them to use too’ such as pieces of string, yarn, paper strips etc. They love Easter grass, and I put some out for them to find easily. Birds put some strange things in their nests, One year when cleaning out birdhouses I found a five dollar bill neatly woven into one of the nests. One nest had a large collection of bread ties in it; you never know what you will find. I put ice cream buckets over light fixtures that I don’t want them to build their nest on and block any holes to places they can’t build in, and make sure my grill is covered , I had a nest in it before , so I learned to keep it covered. The cap on the propane tank is another favorite spot, but we only use the propane to heat with so it does not really hurt if they build in there, they are long gone when we get it filled in the fall.
I also like to clean out the birdbaths and do any needed repairs and touch up painting on arbors, fences and whatever needs it so they are ready for the plants that will soon be up.
I’m going to be replacing a lot of broken or worn out statues and decorations this year, and flat out just want to change some of the ones I’m tired of too.
I order my seeds way ahead of time and start them indoors, soon to be moved to the garage under a plant light or into the little greenhouse that I put out on the back porch.
Yep! Lots to do, plans to make things to buy. I spend a lot of time on the internet finding what I want. Besides Wal-Mart its my favorite place to shop and it’s easier on the feet too.
The birdlady

Mood Enhancing Gardens

I’m sure all of you have heard the saying “ You are what you eat “ To me that means you need good food to nourish your body. Well the same can be said for nourishment for your mind and soul.” You are what you see.” A beautiful garden can lift your spirits and make you feel better. Have you ever noticed that when the weather is dark and gloomy, You feel gloomy too? Try walking through a garden or sitting on a bench in the middle of one. It not only sweet smelling and nice to look at ,but it soothes and lifts your spirits.

Different types of gardens can also cause different affects on your mood, such as one with Frogs as a theme or maybe Gnomes can make you feel uplifted and happy. I know when I see fun or silly things, I can’t help but smile. The different gnomes can be hilarious their selves. They even have a mooning gnome. Also their accessories can be fun, doors, windows,
Wishing wells, even an outhouse. Making a gnome village in your garden can be fun too!
You’re only limited to your imagination. Of course you can find anything you want on the internet too.

Frog themed gardens can be fun and make you feel happy too. I personally have a toad town in one of my gardens, Sure it’s silly but I had fun creating it and it’s fun to look for new things to put in it too, and it does serve a purpose too, It has real toads and frogs in it too, as well as statues, one of them is neither real or a statue it is a key hider, for when someone gets locked out. Shhhh! They have their own swimming pool birdbath, houses gardens and other things too. For more ideas try allgonetothebirds.com. I’m going to add an outhouse for them this year. I’m sure some of you are thinking that I’m crazy, I assure you that I am not, Well maybe slightly, but sometimes it takes a little bit of crazy to get by in the world today. Try it and have fun. Remember you’re only limited to your own imagination!
The birdlady

Winter Ice Storm

Well it's Thursday, exactly one week before Christmas and we have a winter Storm coming this evening. That's Indiana weather, very unpredictable. Hopefully everyone has their Christmas shopping done. Because the advanced forecast isn't very good either. We already had freezing rain that left everything with a thin coat of ice, The roads have been cleared fairly well. But there is still ice coating my bird feeders and the birdhouses have icicles hanging from them. It is very pretty but also very dangerous to walk on or drive on.

The birds are all sitting around all fluffed up like little balls of feathers trying to keep warm. It is times like this that I wish I lived in Arizonia. This is the time of year that the birds need suet feeders, It helps them store fat in their bodies to help keep them warm. Where I live though, you attract more than birds with suet cakes. Racoons, Opossumn, and skunks, to name a few.

I used to put them on my empty birdbath base, But the other animals found them too easily.

So you have to be careful when deciding on where to put them. Last year I had a dog that kept taking them. The cardinals love the suet cakes with fruit and nuts on them, and the chipmunks love them all.

We have a lot of Cardinals, I guess that's a good thing considering that they are our State Bird.

Sometimes in the winter my feeders attract around 15-20 cardinals at a time. That is the only time I see that many male cardinals together at one time. They brighten up the winter blahs.

In this picture, all of these birds are cardinals. In the spring and summer the males are always chasing each other away but in the winter I think they team up to hunt for food. At least that's how it looks to me. They are very pretty birds.

The cardinals must prefer the height of the trees for nesting though because as many as I have , I have never had one nest in my birdhouses. In fact I've never seen a cardinal nest in my yard at all. So they must be way up in the trees where I can't see them.

In the spring I always see the males feeding the females, It's so cute. Than a little later in the spring you'll see the females feeding the babies that are almost grown. But almost always in early spring, you see the female first and off to one side you'll see her mate keeping a watchful eye on her. He will follow her non stop while she's away from the nest. The males are very protective of their mate, I find that very sweet.

The birdlady

Replant Your Christmas Tree

Did you know that you can purchase a live Christmas tree with the root ball intact and replant it after Christmas, I think that is a great idea and would make a wonderful family tradition, Providing that you have a yard large enough to do so. They can go on living and providing shelter and beautify your landscape for many years to come. They can hold a lot of birdhouses. Some even have pinecones you can make Christmas decorations and wreaths out of.

If you decide to transplant your tree after Christmas it pays to plan ahead. Pick the place where it will be planted and give it plenty of room to grow Because it will be a permanent fixture in your yard, Providing the birds with shelter and nesting area and you with a windbreak and a tree to decorate outside for as many Christmases as you wish. Grab your tools and dig your hole ahead of time to make sure you can transplant it after it has served its purpose inside. Make sure your hole is twice the size of the root ball, Store the dirt in a trash can, tubs or buckets. Put it in your shed or garage so it will not freeze solid and fill the hole with mulch or straw until you are ready to plant your tree.

Choose a tree that has a nice shape , nice coloring with no brown areas and strong branches. Make sure there is a nice sized root ball covered with burlap or some other type of moisture holding material. When you get it home it needs to be placed in a cool shed, garage, or basement, to adjust to the change in temperature before bringing it in to the area it will stay in for Christmas. Put it into a large tub or pot of water. After a few days you are ready to move it in side. If you use a tree stand protect the trunk with rags or Paper padding from the screws that hold it up right. If you use a tub you will need to fill any empty areas with rocks ,moss or any other material that can stay wet. Check twice daily and keep whatever container you use full of water, do not let it dry out. It wouldn’t hurt to lightly mist it with a spray bottle and let it absorb the water before decorating it.

If you intend to use lights choose some that stay cool. Or you may get brown spots from the heat of the bulbs. Place a tree skirt or blanket around the base to help hold the moisture in. Now it’s ready to brighten your Christmas.
Decorate it as desired making sure the ornaments you choose are not heavy enough to break the branches. If you attach the decorations with wire or string do not wrap or tie too tightly. Nothing can beat the aroma of a real tree and it is a beautiful addition to everyone’s Christmas.

After Christmas it needs to go back to the shed, garage, or cool basement for another transmission period again,

After a few days it will be ready to move outside to the chosen spot where hopefully you already have the hole prepared. Remove the hole filler that you filled it with temporarily, cut open the burlap and loosen the soil around the roots and spread them out the best you can placing it in the hole, If you have some compost throw some in and backfill with your pre stored soil making a mound up to the trunk. Water it generously and cover with mulch or even your temporary hole filler to retain moisture and to provide some protection. If you get no precipitation where you live you may want to water it a few times over the winter. You can fertilize it in the spring with a product made for evergreens.

You now have a wonderful living tree to serve as a reminder of that particular Christmas and to use as a outside decorated tree next Christmas if you wish. A nice row of pine trees make a great wind break and can provide housing for many animals and birds during the long cold winters ahead. Make it a family tradition.

MERRY CHRISTMAS
from the birdlady &

All Gone to the Birds

Hummingbirds Are Heavenly

Hummingbirds Are Heavenly

I just absolutely love hummingbirds, They are so fascinating. They are the worlds smallest bird and only live in the Americas. Although they can see colors and are attracted by red, They have no sense of smell like other birds.
The most astonishing quality of hummingbirds is their ability to broadcast color. Hummingbirds radiate like hot coals in the sun. The color that reaches your eye is created by pigment, which absorbs some colors and rejects others. Like soap bubbles, hummingbird's color comes from iridescence, not pigment. It winks on and off, So it’s not your imagination that a certain hummingbird is changing colors. This allows hummingbirds to flash colors or hide them which is useful for males who want to impress females or threaten other males.

Hummingbirds feed through a long, tube-like tongue that darts into the flowers for nectar. The tongue, shaped like a "W", uses capillary action to absorb the nectar. The tongue's brushy tip also traps insects on their own quest for nectar. For protein, they will clean off a spiders web, eating the captured insects and then the spider itself. Now that’s resourceful.
Hummingbirds have to eat constantly to fuel themselves and they burn off their food very fast. They have the fastest wing beats of any bird and their hearts beat up to 1,260 beats per minute. A Hummingbird's flight speed can average 25-30 mph, and can dive up to 60 mph. In their non stop quest for fuel, Hummingbirds may visit 1,000 flowers per day, and hummingbird feeders.
They do have an interesting trait that only hummingbirds have in which they go into topor- a state in which their metabolic rate is only one- fifteenth that of normal sleep. They do this when they cannot get enough food mostly at night. It does not take a hummingbird long to starve to death. I often hear of hummingbirds being trapped in a garage for only a few hours and they unfortunately do not survive because they can’t feed.
Hummingbirds can fly long distances Many ruby-throats make a 2,000 mile journey between Canada and Panama. The trip includes a non-stop, 500 mile flight over the Gulf of Mexico. Now that’s a long way.

Hummingbirds are very territorial and will defend their feeders to no end. The mail will attract his preferred mate with his coloring and a strange dance in which he flies in a U shape swerve back and forth several times. They only mate once a season, laying 2 or 3 White eggs the size of jellybeans and the female raises the young herself. They do not stay with the same mate from season to season. However they will return to the same area and feeders each year
Hummingbirds do not sing. Most of them manage no more than a few chirps, squeaks and clicking noises, though they deliver them dramatically with quick turns of the head. Hummingbirds do make distinctive "zinging" noises with their wings however and do not hesitate to fly close to humans to check them out. My humming birds just love a birdhouse that I have hanging on the porch it is decorated with red flowers, They check it out regularly and it’s not unusual for my husband to be checked out when he wears his red ball cap or red tank top.

There are over 340 species of hummingbirds, They are every color imaginable even albino. To me they are very tiny wonders of nature, and have my admiration. I enjoy watching them and putting out many feeders for their never ending appetites. Sitting in the garden swing, watching the hummingbirds is a very intertaing way to relax and enjoy this little captivating cutie while he zips about going about his business.

birdlady

POSTED…..“Beware of Mocking Bird”

I thought I would tell everyone about one of my favorite but sometimes annoying birds that I have the pleasure of living in my yard. I have a very smart and sassy Mocking Bird, Actually I have many Mocking birds that nest near my house but this one is different from the rest. He loves to spend his days playing games with me. He is a very conceited bird and loves to show off his wings. To get my attention he perches on the electrical wire behind my house and has a routine of prancing from side to side with his wings spread then does a flip in the air and lands on the exact spot he started then says (he, he). He does this several times to show off. He is so beautiful and he knows it. I call him Brutus, It just fits him perfectly. He is also a big bully.

I don’t see the mocking birds at my feeders but they seem to like stale bread and they love jelly sandwiches. I sometimes put fruit on a wire feeder for them, they seem to like that too. They also like to play in the birdbath too, sometime emptying it totally while playing and bathing.
Brutus has many sounds and a very amazing vocabulary. One day he played a prank on the other birds that have taken up residence in my birdhouses and trees. While soft chattering was coming from everywhere from the birds contentedly nesting in the hidden depths of the trees there was a very loud owl hoot, sending small birds franticly flying off and cautiously returning a few minutes later when no predatory owl showed itself, After about 5 or 6 times , the smaller birds didn’t know what to do . After scanning the area I finally spotted him, Brutus, I should have known, he was in one of the highest trees doing flips between his owl noises as if

laughing at all of the fuss he was creating with his little prank . He actually has a sense of humor.

Sometimes his pranks are on my dogs, Flying from spot to spot meowing like a cat and flying to a different spot when the dogs get there to look for the cat, until they give up or get tired. When he has a nest to defend it’s a different story though, No more games he swoops at them and chases them away from the corner of the yard where he has claimed a large wild
bush of some sort that swallows up the fence each year. Every one knows to stay away from that bush. It belongs to Brutus.

One particular nice day, I got all the tools out that I needed to do a much needed weeding in the garden and sat my phone on the picnic table to wait for an important call, and set about weeding in an area that is for my frog statues, when I heard the phone ring, I got off my knees and wiped the dirt from my hands and ran to the phone (none of this is easy for my worn out body) Well when I said hello all I got was a dial tone??????? O.k. fine, Hoping it wasn’t the call I was waiting on, I set back to work when I heard it ring again. Again no answer. This time I took the phone with me to save some pain as well as time and set it on the ground. Shortly after I got busy again, I heard it ringing I said hello and the dial tone greeted me again only this time I still heard the ringing. Hmmmmmm, What’s going on ? I looked around towards the sound and there was Brutus on the fence doing his flips. I just know he was laughing at me. Now is that a smart bird or what? He tried it for about 20 more minutes before giving up.

He has many sounds that I’m sure he learns somewhere. He can bark, which really messes with the dogs minds, because I’m sure they wonder why he looks like a bird but sounds like a dog. He makes a very convincing baby crying too. As well as a siren, weed eater, He can yell “Mom”just like the kids next door and a knocking noise and many other sounds. He just loves to show off. But his biggest trick yet is making a missile sound when he comes in for a landing or is swooping at the dogs. I know they use to have Mocking birds as pets long ago, Could you just imagine what he would try inside? I think I’d rather him be a free agent and live outside for my sanity’s sake.