Bzzzz July 6th, 2007

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After reading about the mite problems with her bluebirds this summer over at Julie Zickefoose’s blog, I made sure that I checked in on our bluebird family in box #4.

The four young are now eleven days old. After examining the box, under the nest and looking at the small birds and under their wings, they appear to be pest-free. I’ll be checking them for another couple of days, after which I will keep my distance so that I don’t frighten the young into fledging before they’re ready.

Many people ask me why I need to take such an active role in managing the bluebirds. I believe that Julie’s post graphically illustrates the importance of taking a role in ensuring that the birds are healthy. Blowfly larvae, mites and other pests can kill a small bird in a matter of days–even hours. Although many people think that handling a bird will mean that the parents will reject it, the fact is that birds have a poor sense of smell and will resume feeding and caring for their young as soon as the coast is clear. As in the case with Julie’s bluebirds, you can even replace an infested nest with one of your own making, if necessary, and the bluebirds will accept it.

We only have four nestlings in this family, but I’m hoping and praying that all four make it and return in future years to start their own families.

In other bird news, the house finch love triangle that I have previously reported is still in progress. The rejected female finch is a real fighter. I do worry that she is losing strength. I never see her eat. Just SQUAK SQUAK SQUAK.

I have been intrigued by this unusual behavior at our bird feeding station and did some research.

House finches are monogamous and breed between March and August. They can have as many as six clutches in a single breeding season. The odds are against them, as with the bluebirds. The experts say that no more than three of the six clutches are likely to result in fledglings.

The female builds the nests from grass, hair and other foraged fibers and usually locate them in brush or cavities in trees or buildings. After the females lay the eggs–usually three to six–she does all the incubation. The male helps feed the nestlings and keep the nest clean by eating the fecal sacs. The nestlings fledge between 12 and 19 days after hatching. After that, the male continues to help feed the young birds, at least until the female starts a new family.

After they become independent, young house finches flocks that congregate at food sources. They don’t breed until the next spring.

It’s a wonder to watch the travails of the wildlife here. I can tell you from observing the bluebirds, that being a bird is awfully difficult work. The male and female bluebirds are tireless in their hunt for bugs and worms to feed their young. They shuttle back and forth all day long from the field to the nesting box with their treats. They have become a familiar sight around the house and will be sorely missed once they pack their bags and head south for the winter.

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Bzzzz July 1st, 2007

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The potager garden is humming along, requiring little in the way of daily care except watering and some weed pulling here and there.

Happily, I also need to wander through with my gathering basket to pick ready vegetables. I can usually count on cucumbers, zucchini, squash, bush beans, chard and, of course, herbs. I also still have lettuce, although it is ready to bolt.

I tried to purchase some summer lettuce seed mix from the Cook’s Garden. I received an email about this amazing mix that is supposed to grow even in the heat of the summer. Not five minutes after receiving the email I tried to order some, only to later learn that they were out of stock.

Is that right? I mean, if I tried to order it FIVE MINUTES after they sent the email, what is that about? Surely there weren’t MILLIONS of lettuce lovers just waiting for their emails about these seeds, who then hopped online with their credit cards to purchase in bulk. Surely there could be one or two seed packets left for someone who waited FIVE MINUTES to order.

Oh, yes, I understand that the creative for these HTML emails must be done ahead of time. But if you’re running low on these amazing seeds, why feature it in an email, just to get the hopes of your customers dashed?

(Deep breath.)

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Day lily bed

I’m very curious about this day lily bed. I put these flowers in about three years ago. The first year after they were planted, they bloomed gloriously and all were a bright orange. This year, for the first time, I notice that most of the flowers are coming up in other colors–fuschia, deep purple, even yellow. I’m curious about why this is the case. Ideas anyone?

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Slicemaster cucumbers bloom with Morning Glories

I have grown Slicemaster cucumbers in the past. But I never before noticed purple blooms on the plants. All the other cucumbers I have grown have yellow blooms. At first glance I thought these were cucumber blossoms. But no. They are invasive morning glories twining among the cucumbers.

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Garden gate

Here’s a developing problem–my garden gate. I have a soft heart and haven’t been able to bring myself to make a tough decision. One one side I have wisteria growing. On the other side is clematis. They are starting to touch and it will be a plant war. What to do?

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Black eyed susan vines creeping through the fence

Another dilemma: How do I get my delicate black eyed susan vines to climb the fence? They are vigorous climbers when in a pot with a trellis. But the fence slats seem to be too much for the vines to grab onto to climb up. Perhaps some twisties? Some twine?

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Bee balm

More problems…

The bee balm is truly beautiful. I love the way it towers over the other plants and attracts the useful bees to the garden. But it is truly invasive. Next year I”m sure I’ll be facing a battle of epic proportions because I have let this go on…

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Herb bed

At least there are no problems in the herb bed. Everything seems to be just fine and happy to be crowded together. The lettuce is about to bolt. Those are hollyhocks towering over the other plants.

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Bluebird babies

In more happy news, the bluebird babies are doing just fine. They are five days old now. I spent some time sitting on the garden bench this afternoon watching mom and dad flying to and fro to feed their kids. Observing the garden and bluebirds continually reminds me that I’m part of something bigger out there.

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Finally, this is all the rain we had in the month of June. It arrived around midnight, the last day of the month.

Okay, to be fair, we MAY have had some rain very early in the month. But sadly, it was so very long ago, I don’t remember when that was.

The evidence of the drought was clear today as I was mowing the lawn. I had to push mow because I managed to crash my lawn tractor last week in a futile attempt at mowing some weeds near the hay field. So as I was walking on the lawn, I could actually FEEL the grass crunching beneath my feet. Even though I haven’t mowed the lawn for a week, I think it’s amazing that anything has grown enough to need mowing.

I’ll be out doing another rain dance tomorrow, although clearly, my dancing isn’t doing the trick.

Ciao!

Posted In: Gardening

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