A couple of weeks ago, before we had 3 feet of snow burying the back yard, I was playing outside with my daughter after work when I saw these icicles on the side of my patio. I loved how the dusky sun in the background looked so nice with it. Enjoy.
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Gardening Is In The Books: The Woodbook: The Complete Plates
Ahhhh, February you keep coming and we don’t know what to do with you! At this point I am sounding like a broken record, but we keep getting pounded with more snow and the relentless cold won’t let up. This Thursday the high expected for the day is 8 degrees.
So, I can tell you for a fact that I have my work cut out for me this spring. I have lost both my Emerald Green Arborvitae to winter damage. I would love to show you a picture, but I can’t. They are buried under three feet of snow.
To show you I am not making this up, just look at this comparison:
My backyard in early September 2014. Truly blissful.
To Saturday, February 7, 2015:
I took this yesterday morning. Can you believe this? That’s just accumulation, and not shoveled or piled snow!
Yes, I am afraid I am going to have a lot more damage from winter and deer this year than I have in the past. Well, a few more lessons will be learned this spring, I will detail them all for you!
So, as you can imagine, I have been laying low. This past week was the worst driving to work week in all the years I have been living in the Buffalo Metro area. So, this weekend has been really subdued for me.
This is my uniform on weekends in bitter cold weather:
I have been on a kick this winter purchasing big, woolly warm boot socks like these from Wigwam.
Snuggly socks and blankets leave you wanting to do nothing but read. I have been really stoked lately because a couple of weeks ago, I purchased a book that I have actually been looking for in some way, shape or form for a long time. When I read about it in Outside magazine, I couldn’t help myself. I had to buy it!
Now, this is an encyclopedia of trees that will be loved by everyone from gardeners to woodworkers. I am talking about The Woodbook: The Complete Plates. This is a fantastic undertaking by Romeyn B. Hough in the late 19th century – early 20th century. Hough was a doctor and botanist who between 1888-1913 created a 14 volume series that included actual samples from every tree in North America.
This edition of the book was compiled by Klaus Ulrich Leistikow. It has three different “slices” or cuts each of more than 350 trees neatly laid out. This is a multilingual edition that comes in English, French and German. It can be a little confusing, because some trees are referred to by two or more names sometimes, but it lists the description, habitat, type of wood (hard or soft), and use for each one. Informative, thorough, and wonderfully done. It’s been a joy to look through all the plates and see how beautiful the trees really are. This is, as they say, a truly unparalleled work that keeps blowing my mind!
One of the responsibilities of my day job is that I am a graphics/layout designer (not to be confused with a graphic designer) of sorts, and I am getting a ton of inspiration from looking at this book. I have so much to look at and will continue to enjoy this book while I keep getting snowed in!
A Natural Pause
Winter is not letting up in western New York, we are getting blasted with another weather system. Brrr! A cool (hehe) thing was that last night was a Full Moon, also called the Snow Moon. I was lucky (and crazy) enough to go out in the bitter cold to capture a pretty good picture (for me at least) of the moon with clouds around it. Enjoy.
Winter is for the Birds! No, really, it is.
We made it to February! Yay! Winter is long from over (I just received a Winter Storm Warning alert on my phone). While the cold and snow keep lingering, there is still a few things that keep us entertained during the last of the cold, gray, snow-filled days. One of these things would be viewing our fine, feathered friends, the birds!
February is National Bird Feeding Month. Why? Because we are in the heart of winter, and this is the hardest time for birds to find food. You can get a bird feeder at the store for very little money and can be entertained for hours by the birds that stop by.
These two little guys couldn’t get enough of all the little birds that stopped by my feeder earlier this winter.
In fact, you would be surprised at what you might get coming to your feeder. Last winter was when I really wanted to start feeding the birds again. I put my first one up when I was pregnant four years ago now, but then I had a baby and it was the last thing on my mind for a few years! In the fall of 2013, I bought a big feeder that I have in the front yard, and three small tube feeders hanging on my patio in the back.
Last winter, I got a very large red-bellied woodpecker at my feeder! My husband was able to take a few great photos of this bird on our feeder. It was absolutely amazing!
As you can see, the top of my bird feeder is off thanks to our neighborhood squirrels who finished up the last of the bird seed!
Red-Bellied Woodpecker with no red on its belly!
What do birds eat?
Black Oil Sunflower Seed– this is the best choice for birds, because it is full of nutritional content. Traditionally, the wild bird mix that is about $7 for a 20lb. bag is not hearty enough for the birds, but it works nonetheless. I usually will use the wild bird mix in the spring, when the snow melts and it’s easier for them to forage for food.
- What birds like sunflower seed? In my experience, almost all of them. The ones that I can get to come to my feeder in my area, that is.
- Cardinals
- Blue Jays
- Black Capped Chickadees
- Sparrows (Many varieties)
Assorted High-End Wild Bird Mixes –not all mixes mean they are of less quality. There are plenty of wild bird mixes that are very good nutritionally for birds. Mixes are meant to attract certain groups of birds, but quite honestly, I just get the same old birds all the time!
Thistle Seed — I actually tried this last winter and got nothin’! It’s most likely because I really don’t get a huge variety of birds in my area. The ones that I mentioned above are about it, besides the woodpecker. Thistle is actually supposed to attract different kinds of finches. It’s also on the pricier side, so that’s why I just tried a small bag. If you live in an area that has finches, I would recommend trying thistle seed.
Suet— hard beef fat that usually includes sunflower seeds, peanuts, many other seeds. Because it’s a high-energy food like sunflower seed, it’s really good for birds during the winter.
- What birds like suet? Here are few more common examples:
- Woodpeckers– LOVE this stuff. All of my birds come around and eat this, but the woodpeckers seem to be the big favorite.
- Blue Jays, and other varieties of Jays
- Chickadees
- Nuthatches
Peanuts — did you ever wonder why there were peanut shells in your backyard while you were digging up your flower beds? Well, birds (and squirrels) LOVE peanuts, and you will find the shells everywhere! You can purchase a peanut feeder for squirrels as well. This is probably the smartest thing you can do, because then while the squirrels have their own feeder, they won’t bother your bird feeder as much!
*When feeding your birds peanuts, make sure they are raw and unsalted. The salted variety is not that good for them.
Who eats peanuts?
- Woodpeckers
- Jays
- Chickadees
- Sparrows
- Finches
- Cardinals
- Nuthatches
- Titmice
- Magpies
Mealworms— are the larvae of the meal worm beetle. They are more of a dessert for birds, not a meal. They don’t have a lot of nutrition to them.
Birds that like them:
- Bluebirds
- Indigo Buntings
- Catbirds
- Chickadees
Fruit — birds love fruit! It’s a great source of sugar for them. They enjoy many different kinds of fruit, but the two most common that are the easiest to find are oranges and apples.
Fruit can be put on during the winter and summer, and you will have different birds for each season!
Here are some birds (there are many) that you will most likely find at your feeder that like to eat fruit in the winter:
- Black Capped Chickadee
- Blue Jays
- Cedar Waxwings
- Gray Catbird
- Starlings — they can be a bit of a nuisance
- Finches
- Wrens
Here is just an abbreviated list of the birds that you get during the winter months. I focused mainly on the most common birds that are around during the winter. Depending on the area in which you live, you just may have different birds that also come around to your feeders.
Give birding a chance! This is a great time of year to put on a pair snowshoes and take a winter walk through the woods and see all the birds are busy during the winter months. Take advantage should the opportunity arrive!
A Natural Pause
We are waist-deep into winter. The good thing is that we are at the half way point — the days are getting longer because it’s still light out when I get home from work! This picture is a great reminder of what we have to look forward to in the coming months. Enjoy.
The Need for Seed and Other Musings – The January Wrap-Up
Here it is, the last week of January is upon us. We are pretty much half way through winter, so lets hope the ole’ groundhog gives us a break this year and predicts that spring will come early! By this time of year, we are all getting cabin fever, heck even my daughter is getting sick of riding her new bike around in circles in the basement. She’s ready for the rubber to meet the road!
After a wild and crazy Saturday night of learning to ride our new bike, it’s finally time to take a rest.
It’s also time to check in and see if I am practicing what I preached way back when the snow started to fly. Well, I am very proud to say that I am now underway. So here’s a little round-up of what’s been keeping me busy in my world.
1. I am looking at seeds.
I am sure most of you have had your mailboxes inundated with seed catalogs like this:
Yes, now is the time to purchase your seeds to get a jump-start on your growing season. Whether you are going to start your veggies, herbs or some of your favorite flowers, this is the perfect time to purchase them. Why? Because the stores and nurseries are freshly stocked and you will get everything your little heart desires!!
2. I have been putting the pen to paper.
I love words. My life’s work is putting pen to paper. I do it in my job, but I have also been journalizing since I was very young. I currently have four different journals. One of those journals is my garden journal. It has all my musings in regards to my gardens, yard and what I want to do with it all.
Nothing better than a Moleskine. Or two.
3. I purchased some new books.
I remember a time, oh, about ten years ago, when all I did was work, exercise, and read. My love of words never died, it just went on vacation for a few years. I could read at least a book a week at one time. Now, it’s one a year! That’s life for you! But now, things are changing where I can now devote more time for reading and researching than I could before. My time management skills are getting much better the older I get. So, I have some really great books that I will review in the not so distant future, and I am excited to dive in to them.
4. I am getting dynamic inspiration.
This was the year I promised I would get back to being “me”. I took a few years off of being “me” to devote fully to being “mommy”. Before I became a mother, I always worked towards being dynamic. I always wanted to know a little bit about most things just so I would always be able to carry on a conversation with anybody I met. This thinking too, has contributed to the inspiration I get for gardening. It’s amazing the cool things you can think of when you look at the bigger picture!
5. I have been getting outside.
Yes, I have been able get outside a lot more than I have in the past few years, and it has made an incredible difference. I feel more at peace, and get such great joy with walking about the woods in snowshoes, cross-country skiing, or even walking. It’s amazing the effect nature has on you.
So, I guess that’s it in a nutshell. Just a little bit of what I have been working on, and hopefully it will all translate into a great, inspirational, and productive growing season!
A Natural Pause
On Saturday afternoon, I took advantage of the opportunity to do some snowshoeing while my daughter took her nap. As I lapped the little park I have all of my winter fun in, I noticed a small rainbow in the sky. It’s a special treat to see a winter rainbow, mainly because you don’t associate rainbows with winter. It takes you back to warm and rainy summer days that we are all longing for at this point in the season! Enjoy.
A small rainbow in a dusky sky made my day!
En”Deer”ing Friends and Your Garden – Winter Version
Another cold, winter week goes by, and I have noticed that hats, gloves, coats, mittens and boots wet with puddles dominate the landscape of my whole house. Scarves in the bedroom and living room, coats hung on the dining room chairs — you get the idea. I love winter, I love the change of scenery, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. My daughter loves it too, and plays in it with style:
She couldn’t help herself when we got back from the doctor’s the other day. Had to play on a snowy swing set!
The two aspects I don’t like about winter? Driving in it and deer.
How so you say?
Well, in my neighborhood, we have a severe deer problem. Overpopulation at its finest. They are a year round nuisance, (spring/summer versions will be coming), but they have been proving to be the most destructive in winter for my garden.
Every hunter’s dream — to have this big guy in your back yard!
Here’s why:
–It’s winter, and food sources are scarce. If it’s a particularly cold winter, they will pretty much eat ANYTHING. Even the “deer resistant” plants that you purchase. They are so hungry, they will eat anything, including thorn bushes at times. They have massacred my holly bush, and that is supposed to be “deer resistant”. I even have chicken wire around it!
–You have a bird feeder around. Yes, I have a bird feeder, and this is where I found this “deer” friend 5 o’clock at night on Thanksgiving:
This grainy photo is evidence that my “deer” friends like eating out of my bird feeder.
They will eat your bird seed and then start scoping out the rest of your yard.
What I have learned about bird seed and deer. They tend to like the super cheap stuff you can get in the 20lb. bag for $6 bucks at any store. I have the pricier sunflower seed in my feeders now, and they don’t like that as much. They also do not like thistle seed either. I put some in last year to attract more finches.
So, how do you protect your plants against deer in the winter?
– Cover up. Burlap or any other full covering is the best protection in my opinion. I have fenced some other plants, including my holly bush, and they will avoid it as long as they can find other food. Once they can’t find anymore food, they will become aggressive and make their way into the wire. Now, fencing works for bigger things such as trees. Lesson Learned for me: burlap all of the smaller plants and bushes!
– If all else fails, just deal with it. If you have done everything on your part to keep the deer away, and they still are making problems for you, just worry about it in the spring when you can actually do something about it. The damage will be minimal if you have covered it up for the most part. Winter itself can do serious damage to your plants, so it’s a trade-off at one point or another. It will grow back, and if it doesn’t, you can always get a new one!
Disclaimer: Deer are really wonderful animals, but they are also very destructive when it comes to your landscape. As a gardener, you spend a lot of time and money trying to make your home and yard look beautiful. The intention of this post is to give you tips on how to deal and live with the deer you have in your neighborhood, without harming them.
Houseplants, Part Three: Tropical and Other Unique Plants
I hope everyone had a wonderful week! It was the coldest week yet for this winter in Buffalo. Sub-zero wind chills and single digits for a good portion of the week made the temperature in the teens that we experienced the other day feel down right balmy!
Brrr! Icy cold was everywhere!
We had a nasty lake effect band come in the wee hours of Friday morning, dumping 9 inches of snow at my house, and more in some other areas. Work was delayed until noon, so I took advantage of the situation and went snowshoeing in the rare, yet precious powder we get around these parts! There were great examples of winter interest all around me:
 The way the snow was on this tree reminded me of zebra stripes!  Grateful for this perfect cold and snowy morning!
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I finished up the weekend by cross-country skiing, and sadly, my binding broke on my ski and I wanted to cry. Those were my dad’s skis, and even though the bindings are ancient in technology terms (the skis I am using are close to 30 years old), those have been the only skis I have ever loved and used so much! Hopefully, all I have to do is get new bindings.
While I must say people thought I was crazy because I went out this weekend, the wind was really bad, at times visibility was zero — yea, they were probably right. But when I got back in the house, I was in for good. I thought I better do my weekly watering of my plants. And then I saw this:
My cat Leo has supernatural leaping abilities, and way too close for comfort to my Amaryllis!
This reminded me of the time my beautiful, unique plant called the oxalis was nearly destroyed by my other kitten, Teddy. I was horrified to see it in such awful condition after coming home from work one warm and sunny summer afternoon.
What is an oxalis?
- It is part of the clover family, or false shamrocks. They refer to this particular plant as the “three-leaf purple shamrock.” My daughter calls it the “butterfly plant” because of the petals looking exactly like a butterfly. I was first introduced to this interesting plant by a co-worker. I had asked her what it was, and she said she didn’t know, but it looked like butterflies to her.
- There are over 900 different species of this plant. You can actually plant this one outside, too!
A couple of months later, I am perusing the Farmer’s Market in downtown Buffalo, and lo and behold, there it was! I asked the fellow working at this particular tent what it was, and he told me. I just had to get it! It was in a lot better condition than it is now, but I am happy to report that I have nursed it back to life. Little by little, just by watering it on a regular basis, it is starting to get bushy again.
This is a great addition to your houseplant collection because not only is it different, but it gives a burst of color to the sea of green that is common among your houseplants. It’s a talking piece, which is something I definitely like. I love looking at the expression on everybody’s faces when they see something and ask, “WHAT is that?”
Just like when I show people this plant:
The pitcher plant is a carnivorous plant.
This a Pitcher Plant. I squeed with joy when I went into my local supermarket (that boasts a great selection of houseplants, I must say) over the summer to find the exact plant I was going to purchase online because I couldn’t find it anywhere!
The Pitcher Plant:
- Is a carnivorous plant just like the venus fly trap, meaning, they eat flies and other insects.
- They “trap”insects in the “pitchers”, the leaves which are commonly known as “pitfall traps” filled with liquid.
- There are several different kinds of pitcher plants.
- This particular pitcher plant is tropical. They need warmth and need to always have moist soil. I put my pitcher plant out on my enclosed patio for the summer, and bring it in to my bedroom the cooler months.
I have to admit, this has been much easier to take care of than I thought it would. Just watering it regularly and keeping the soil moist seems to be the trick. That, and because my bedroom is one of the warmer rooms in the house, it may think it’s in its native tropical setting.
*Not all species are tropical. You can find some of these in bogs in North America!
This is a GREAT plant to add to your collection. It is so unique and adds some real jazz to your home decor!
Here are just a couple of good examples of some different plants that add great value to your house. I have a few more that I am going to single out in future posts, but for now, hopefully these will give you some ideas on trying something different to keep the long winter days full of color and excitement!
A Natural Pause
It’s been awhile since I have had a chance to post a “Natural Pause”! I just wanted to update you on my Amaryllis that I potted from the kit that I purchased a few weeks back. It has bloomed! And quite fast at that! I was very nervous about this actually blooming, but according to the directions, it’s actually ahead of schedule!
What a beautiful plant to brighten the long days of winter that include sub-zero wind chills and lake-effect snow!
Here it is in all its glory! Enjoy your day!
The Bent Trowel 