Wildlife

In these days of central heating, electric blankets, and storm windows, the pleasure and necessity have gone out of tucking the children into bed “for a long winter’s nap.”  But outdoors, gardeners face the same hazards their ancestors knew because winter is still unpredictable, and its effect on gardens is as uncertain as always. Three … Read more

Knowing the mental capacity of your opponent is a big asset in any contest, and we can amply testify to its importance when your opponent happens to be a colony of rats! Like others who store raw vegetables and other garden produce in cellars, we’ve had many knock-down, drag-out brawls with rats.  But thanks to … Read more

Here, as everywhere, winters vary yearly and from area to area. Winter can be long, it can be short, it can be relatively mild, and it can be bitter. There are winters with heavy snow and with little snow.  Winter can come very early and suddenly; it can be late and come gradually. In addition, … Read more

When the ground freezes, Nature no longer supplies the food she has been providing for birds. With snow on the ground, it is more difficult for them to find sufficient food. At such times they rely on us for help. January is the severest month and they will appreciate suet, peanut butter, seeds, and other … Read more

Paint a picture with plants to make your home more beautiful, liveable, and enjoyable.  Landscaping the home grounds introduces birds into this picture, adding colorful, living motion and the glorious music of bird song. A garden without bird life is an incomplete entity. To make your garden attractive to birds doesn’t mean the home grounds … Read more

By November, most truly migratory birds have departed. However, many birds undertake a partial migration.  They travel, often in huge flocks, from breeding or roosting grounds on a mountain range into valleys and lowlands or roam the countryside for several hundred miles searching for food. Among these partial migratory species are the bluebirds. No North … Read more

And so they come, the long winter months when the garden lies still and withdrawn beneath Nature’s decree of dormancy, and the eye sees only the shadows of shrub and tree limbs starkly stenciled upon the snow.  What joy it is then to entice into this bleakness the ardent warmth, the vivacity, the vivid bar … Read more

Have you ever been told that to keep birds around your house all winter, you should see that they have a constant drinking water supply? And have you ever tried to do this, only to have the water freeze about as fast as you put it out? We got around the difficulty of using a … Read more

Empty bird feeders are almost as commonplace during winter as dry bird baths in summer. When the first ice storm rages there is a sudden feeling for birds, but as snow deepens and it is harder to reach feeders, sentiment often vanishes. ‘‘The squirrels are getting most of the seed, so why bother?” Benefits of … Read more