Fall Clean-Up? It's Not What You Think

It's that time of year again. The garden is winding down, things are turning brown, and it's really tempting to just get rid of things that are looking less than pretty. I feel it, too. But in the last several years, I've gotten a different perspective on this fall clean-up thing, from hearing other people share their views on it, but also from being observant in my own garden.

First, I heard, "Leave your grasses and perennials for winter interest." No problem with the grasses, because yeah, they do look beautiful when they catch the snow and it's more fun to look out there and see something taller than my knees.

I heard them mention how seed heads, like those on coneflowers, feed birds and other wildlife, so I started to leave those kinds of things, because winters can be cruel. Heavy snows and frigid temperatures make it difficult for birds and animals to find food, which can be in short supply in the first place.

And then there are the leaves. We've got 100+ trees on Our Little Acre, with several of them being over 200 years old. That means we have a lot of leaves on the ground every fall and even into winter, since the largest trees are oaks. As anyone who has oaks knows, they lose leaves all winter long.

Even though we can't leave all those leaves all winter long, we started leaving a layer of them for both plant insulation and for the insects and other critters that use the leaf litter for winter protection.

These are all good reasons to not do a "scorched earth" method of fall clean-up. I do understand that it means more work in the spring, but from a human standpoint, it's a do it now or do it later kind of thing, not really adding any work to the grand scheme of things. We choose to do it later in an effort to help wildlife.

But the purpose of my post today is to focus on insects, specifically those that we love to see in our gardens in the summer. Did you know that a large number of them spend their winters right here and need the very things that gardeners may remove in the fall?

NEED.

Planting to attract butterflies and pollinators to our gardens is a thing. It's a really hot trend that I hope becomes commonplace, not just for environmentalists.

But it isn't enough to plant what they need during their breeding season. That's commendable, but what about the off season?  

Is it fair to attract them to our gardens and then sabotage our efforts - and their lives - by destroying what they need to complete their life cycle?

Not every insect or arthropod migrates. Many have the ability to lower the freezing point of their bodies and go into a state of diapause. Some can't survive, but they lay eggs that can. Some spend the winter in a pupal stage.

Let's look at these:

• Lady beetles (ladybugs) - We have elevated ladybugs to their rightful place in the world of environmental sustainability. These small beetles overwinter as adults clustered together under leaf litter. I personally have encountered large numbers of them in spring. In fact, I try not to clear leaves away until I see them moving around and emerging on their own.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Swallowtails - These butterflies overwinter in their chrysalides and just because you've never seen them doesn't mean they aren't there. Camouflage is an important factor in their survival. Do you think the Eastern black swallowtails you've attracted to your garden in summer all leave your garden in winter?
  
  
  
  
  They lay their eggs on your dill, fennel, parsley, rue, and carrot tops. They eat those until they form their chrysalides nearby - in your garden, likely on stiff stems of plants.
  
  
  


• Leafcutter bees - I personally love these guys. They're the ones that make the round circles in the leaves of some of your garden plants. I smile when I see that, because I know that my garden is helping a native pollinator. They take those leaf rounds back to line their nests, which are often in the hollow stems of plants. They often return to those nests to spend the winter.

Remember too, that even some of the insects that might be undesirable to you are food for those you do want. The food chain is real. The more you clean your gardens of healthy dead material, the more you're disrupting the natural life cycle of the ecosystem.

I'm not discouraging the removal of diseased plants and excessive leaf cover. I just want you to be aware of how many insects and other living things that are loved and important to us in summer, need your garden in winter, too.

Back in the Egg Business

We got an entirely new flock of chicks on Easter Sunday this spring - eight of 'em. I'd say we got eight hens, but it turned out that the two Black Australorps were roosters. We enjoyed the crowing - sort of - but we don't want to feed any that don't feed us, so luckily a local took them off our hands. They wanted Black Australorps for breeding, so they're happy and we're happy.

We've been getting eggs since mid-July, starting with Owl, the Leghorn. She's been a laying machine, having only missed two days since she started laying. Buffy, the Buff Orpington, started laying a couple of weeks later and she's been pretty consistent too. Five days ago, Ruby, our Rhode Island Red, started laying beautiful darker brown eggs.

Today, I got a real surprise when I went out to gather eggs. There were FIVE! Yesterday, three, today, five! The new layers are the ISA brown and one of the Ameraucanas. That's the thing with having so many different breeds - we know who is laying and who isn't.

One of the new eggs today was blue, and since we have two Ameraucanas and they lay blue eggs, we know that one of them is the only one left to start laying. They're also the only two hens that don't have names.

How about Dottie and Dinah?

We ate our last store-bought egg about a week or so ago and I'm really glad to be back in the backyard egg business. I also love how beautiful these eggs are.

In spite of the differences in their colors, the shells themselves come in only two colors. That's right. Hens only lay eggs that are two basic colors - white and blue. "But what about the brown ones?" you say. If you look, the next time you crack open a brown egg, you'll find that it's white on the inside.

The brown coloring is a pigment that the hen applies to the outside of the egg shortly before she lays it. One time, I gathered an egg right after one of our first flock Buff Orpingtons had laid it and it was still wet. I wiped the moisture off and some of that brown coloring came off! But once it dries, it's on there for good.

We had scrambled eggs for supper tonight, so I took some photos to show you that it's true about the coloring.

But the yolks and whites inside all look the same. (They taste the same too.)

Sandhill Cranes in Ohio

Sandhill cranes are iconic in Nebraska. I know a couple of people who live there that have talked about them for years. I know they resemble our cranes and herons that we have here in Northwest Ohio, except that they're bigger. And louder. As of today, I can confirm that this is true.

Sandhill Cranes
(Grus canadensis)

I had just pulled into our driveway and when I turned the car off, I heard a very loud noise that closely resembled the honking of a large flock of geese, yet I knew it wasn't the usual Canada geese that are so common here. I got out of the car and before I saw them, I was struck by how VERY LOUD these birds were, whatever they were.

Across the road and about a ¼-mile away, I saw a large flock of long-necked, long-legged birds landing on the southwest side of the creek that is officially known as Cunningham's Ditch. There were about 300 of them and I was completely fascinated.

I ran into the house and grabbed my camera. My photos are highly zoomed, so they aren't the highest quality, but you can see them well enough to realize how very regal and handsome they are.

Though we are on the fringe of the sandhill crane's summer breeding range as well as their migration route, they aren't normally found in Ohio. I'm 58 years old and this is the first time I've ever seen them in my life and I very well may never see them here again.

The red dot shows my location in Ohio.
(Click to enlarge)

Sandhill cranes go as far north as the Arctic Circle in the summer and south to northern Mexico and the southern U.S. for winter. We're not in their usual migration path, but we're also not that far outside it, so on occasion I would imagine they venture into Ohio as they go from here to there.


They're omnivorous, meaning they eat both plants and animals. I'm going to assume they were gleaning corn from the already harvested field they set down in. Or maybe they were just taking a rest on this drizzly, 45-degree day.

They spent about three-quarters of an hour on the ground, where they were fairly quiet (by comparison) until they lifted off and continued on their way. The only thing was, they headed north. Perhaps they're as confused as our weather.

They've been described as gangly...

I found them to be beautiful, handsome, regal and awe-inspiring.  I'm so glad I happened to be in the right place at the right time to see them.

For more information on sandhill cranes, visit Cornell University's All About Birds.

Update on the Cedar Waxwing

The young cedar waxwing I saved from the jaws of death last week is doing fine in The Berry Barn. I took some strawberries out to it and it wasn't too long before those disappeared. I also put a little dish of water with the berries but I don't know if it's drinking much of that.

The other day, I noticed another cedar waxwing hanging around and I assumed it was a relative - mom or dad, perhaps?

 

A concerned mama?

Well, today, we got confirmation that it is - Romie found the nest.We have a huge old oak tree that overlooks The Berry Barn and high up in it sits the nest.

We observed several comings and goings of both the male and female, so we're assuming they're feeding some babies still in the nest, although it's too high up to see if there are any in it.

Note the yellow tips on the tail feathers.

Both the male and female look for a nesting site, but ultimately the female decides and she's the one who does the nest building. Sometimes there will be a second brood in a summer and a different nest will be built for it, with the males often helping with that one.

Eggs are pale blue or gray, often with dark brown spotting and a typical clutch consists of anywhere from two to six eggs.

As the day has gone on, we noticed that our baby is being fed through the chicken wire, but we also notice it's eating the blueberries and raspberries inside the Berry Barn. It seems to be quite a bit larger than when I first put it in there, so it's probably growing just fine.

As soon as we can see that it can fly okay, we'll let it out. Right now, it flies just enough to get itself up on a low branch of the blueberries or blackberries, but it's pretty clumsy about it.

I Saved a Life Today

I was mulching this afternoon, in a fine mist, thankful that we weren't getting a downpour of rain AGAIN. We've already set a new record for the most rainfall in a single month ever. (We're currently at just under 12" for the month.) There's still one more day left and it's supposed to...wait for it...RAIN. *sigh*

But anyway, as I was mulching, I noticed OhNo, one of our outside cats, a short distance away, under the Japanese maple tree, being quite attentive. A little too attentive. That could only mean one thing, and after last week's rabbit parts being strewn all over the yard, I didn't want a repeat performance.

I walked over and sure enough, there was a young bird - a cedar waxwing! - sitting by the tree trunk, terrified. It looked as if its wing was damaged because of the way it was holding it out, but I didn't want it to suffer further injury from a cat that was just...well...being a cat.

I scooped it up in my hands and was thankful to have gloves on because it tried to bite my finger, although I doubt it would have been too painful. I walked away, trying to decide where I could put it that it would be safe, yet not far away from its nest, wherever that might be.

The hanging container by the pool house seemed to be a good choice, offering protection from the weather and high enough that OhNo or one of the other cats couldn't get to it. I walked out to the Berry Barn and picked a raspberry and a blueberry and offered it up as a treat.

It really loved the raspberry but didn't quite know what to do with the blueberry. And then it fell out of the container and OhNo was right there. Oh no you don't! I once again gathered up the bird and decided I would put it in the only location where I knew the cats couldn't get to it.

The Berry Barn.

Wait. What???  Didn't we construct the Berry Barn to keep the birds from getting to the berries before we did?

Oh, the irony...

A New Way to Feed Hummingbirds: The Hummerbar® ( A Review )

Summer seems to be a busy season for so many things around here - taking care of the garden, going on trips, and receiving new products to try. Here's one I got a few weeks ago, just before I left for Toronto that has me intrigued. From Perky-Pet®, it's a hummingbird feeder extraordinaire!

Called the Hummerbar®, the one I received is a two-foot long tube that holds the nectar for the hummingbirds, with 22 ports (11 on each side) that allow many hummingbirds to feed at one time.

It hangs via two cords, which we attached to one of the crossbars on our pergola, right outside our family room window, so we could watch the hummingbirds feed from it. It was easy to get it level, because there are push-button cord clamps that allow you to adjust the length of the cords.

Here you can see the cord clamps and a glimpse of the
easy-to-remove rubber stopper on top. The end caps come
off for easy cleaning.

I waited until it was hung before filling it (they recommend filling it just halfway so that no nectar spills out), through a hole in one end that has a removable plug. In total, it took no more than five minutes to get it assembled, hung, and filled.

I've had to send my regular camera away to be fixed, so I haven't gotten a good photo of the hummingbirds at ours just yet and so far I've only seen one at a time feeding from it, but I've not had it up that long, nor have I been home long enough to observe it for any length of time. But here's a video of a Hummerbar® showing several feeding at once:


Hummingbirds are extremely territorial and I've seen three of them attempting to feed at our old, smaller window feeder at the same time and they're always jockeying for position at it. But this feeder looks like it would give them a wider berth so that several could feed at once without them feeling threatened.

It comes in a four-foot length too, with 44 feeding ports, which would give them even more room. (Although it's always kind of fun to see their acrobatics when they're trying to dominate the dinner table.)

The Hummerbar® is available at Amazon and directly from Perky-Pet. I don't know if your local Wild Birds Unlimited store would have them, but it would be worth an ask to see.

This is one of our ruby-throated hummingbirds just waiting on me
to fill up our feeder!

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I received the Hummerbar® free from Perky-Pet® for the purposes of testing and review, with no further compensation. All opinions expressed here are my own. This blog post contains an Amazon affiliate link. Any purchase of any item made through that link costs you no more, and may put a few pennies in my affiliate account. Thank you!

Wordless Wednesday: Winter Birds of Color

Today, I'm living in a snow globe, with 2-4 more inches of snow to fall in addition to the 8-10 inches we got over the weekend. The blue jays are foragers, waiting patiently until the outside cats have had their fill of kibble, and then they swoop in and grab a snack for themselves.

Blue Jay(Cyanocitta cristata)

The Icterus Galbulas Are Back!

I hear them before I see them, and their bright, beautiful song is what announces their return.  One calls and the other answers.  I scour the trees, looking for their bright orange feathers.  And there they are, usually in a pair - the Baltimore Orioles.

We first spotted the orioles in one of the maple trees that gave us sap for syrup a couple of months ago.

They come every year and make their home in our trees, usually the half-oak in the back yard.  It's a very tall, very old oak tree that lost half itself in a storm several years ago.  Winds can be fierce in this part of the Midwest, which is why the tree split down the middle.  It's also why the oriole's nest blew out of the tree one year, in spite of the magnificent way they build their pocket nests to survive such things.

This one was making a snack of the oak tree's catkins.

It was a very windy day today, which kept me from going to the garden to work up the soil and get some seeds planted.  It would have been a challenge to get the seeds in the ground without them blowing away.  But later in the day when the winds had died down a little, I walked out to take an account of what still needs to be done in the way of clean-up.

Baltimore Oriole
Icterus galbula

And then I heard them, singing louder than a robin, more melodious than the cardinals, and a far cry from the monotonous woodpecker's trill.  I hadn't grabbed my glasses on the way out, so I had to employ the eyes of my husband to locate them high in the trees.  We were quite the pair, since he has hearing issues and there I was, only able to really focus well at a distance of about five feet.  But between the two of us, we found them - two males - first in the maple tree, and then the oak.

It was windy, but this guy was fluffing himself up on purpose.

Baltimore orioles are only found here in spring and summer, migrating south to Mexico and northern South America for winter.  It's common for them to return to the same nesting area each year, but they seldom will use the same nest.  They may take bits and pieces from an old nest however, when constructing the new one.

We have an oriole feeder, which has small trays for jelly and spindles for hanging fresh fruit, such as orange halves.  Orioles have a definite sweet tooth, but they also eat many insects.

In past years, they've stayed just long enough to nest and raise a family, before moving on to another location.  But while they're here, I'll enjoy their symphony of song.  I'll remember to put my glasses on before heading outside too, because I enjoy seeing them as much as I do hearing them.

Want to hear how they sound?  (YouTube video from iwanderpaths.)

Ecuador: Puertolago, Condor Park, and Otavalo

Overlooking Quito from the east side of Pichincha volcano

There is no shortage of things to do in and around Quito, Ecuador.  The city is large, with a population of 2.2 million, and is situated on the eastern slope of Pichincha, an active volcano in the Andes mountain range.

At 9,350 feet above sea level, its climate is ideal and like perpetual spring, in spite of its location on the equator. Nearly every day we were there, temperatures hovered around both sides of 75° F.  It could be cool in the morning and a jacket was required, then by noon, it was much too warm for that. Then by late afternoon, it cooled off nicely.  The climate is just about perfect.

On our second day in Ecuador, Karina's husband, Marcelo took us north of the city, toward Otavalo, a city famous for its open-air marketplace. Marcelo's sister Cristina and her boyfriend Paulo joined us for the day, while Karina stayed home because of a cold.

We stopped first at Puertolago, a resort on San Pablo Lake, just off the Pan-American Highway, for a delicious lunch.

We began with empanadas, for which Ecuador is known.

Mom had ceviche, also an Ecuadorian signature dish, consisting of tomatoes, onions, beans, shrimp or fish, cilantro, lime, and other spices.  There is a variation in ceviches throughout the country, but all have a similar consistency (soupy) and basic taste.

Ceviche!

While Mom loved it, I'd had it several times before on previous visits and I much prefer the locro de papa, a creamy potato soup with bits of chewy cheese and avocado dropped in. In fact, this soup is my very favorite Ecuadorian dish, and I order it just about any chance I get. I had it four times during the two-week time we were here and though all of them were good, the version I had here at Puertolago was the best.  Sorry, no photo of it though. (I'll show a different one in a later blog post.)

I don't remember exactly what this was, but the presentation was fun!

The view at the restaurant was idyllic and made me want to be out in the lake, floating about in view of the beautiful Imbabura volcano (inactive).

There are several cottages available to rent, with beautiful landscaping all around and alpacas grazing in the grassy yards between the cottages.  We took a leisurely stroll before leaving for our next stop, El Condor National Park, a rescue center for raptors.

Parque Cóndor

I'd never seen a condor of any kind before, so I wasn't prepared for the size of this Andean vulture, one of the largest birds in the world, with a wingspan of up to 10½ feet.  Not a pretty bird by any means, the condor nonetheless is impressive.

In addition to our little group, students from Boston University were visiting Condor Park.

We went further into the park and as I turned a corner, I was met with a bald eagle.  I was no more than 10 feet away from it and I was so overwhelmed by its grandeur and what this bird represents for me as an American.  It was an emotional moment that I wasn't expecting.  I felt like I should salute it or something.  What a handsome creature!

There were other birds there as well, being rehabilitated, with many of them to eventually be returned to the wild.

Peregrine falcon

Barn owl

The view of the valley from the park was pretty impressive, too...

Otavalo

We had one more destination for the day - Otavalo.  It was my third time there but I noticed this time that there were many more vendors crowded into the open air market space.  Otavalo is a very popular tourist destination, due to the collection of various sellers of local handcrafts.  Otavalo itself is known for its textiles, while nearby Cotacachi is the center of the leather industry of Ecuador.

Central market in Otavalo

Being late in the day, we had to make good use of our time there, as the market closed a little more than an hour after we arrived.  It was enough time for us to purchase some jewelry and artwork, as well as a little sweater for my soon-to-be-born second grandchild.

Mom and I both purchased a few pieces of art here.

My favorite piece of art I bought was from a local Ecuadorian artist, Diego Buitrón. Born in Otavalo, he now lives in nearby Imbabura province and his work is featured in galleries throughout Ecuador. His work has been included in exhibitions for The Global Awareness Project in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Artist Diego Buitrón at the market in Otavalo, with the piece of art I purchased.

I like it because it's got texture.  Painted on canvas, there are threads attached via the paint medium, and there are other textures which I'm not quite sure what they are.  The piece I purchased depicts a cloud with rain.  I love the blending of colors. I don't know how I'm going to have it mounted or framed, but it needs something really special. I'll be scouring Pinterest to get ideas and I welcome suggestions from you, dear readers!

It was getting to be late in the day, and the market was closing, so we headed back to Quito for a leisurely evening of rest before leaving on an overnight trip the next two days.  We went through Cayambe, where many of the flower farms are located.  This was evidenced by the acres of greenhouses we saw in the area.

All the white patches in the Cayambe valley are greenhouses.  Lots and lots of greenhouses.

The headache that I was greeted with upon landing at the airport two days before finally left on this day.  Someone mentioned that coca tea may have been of help in treating this symptom of altitude sickness. It's sold everywhere in Ecuador, but is illegal in the U.S. unless it's been decocainized.  I didn't try it because I found out about it a little too late. Next time!

NEXT:  A volcano crater and the cloud forest in Mindo.  (That means butterflies and birds!)