Author: ellineer

February snows, part deux

Bitter cold weather and lots of snow….it was all I could do to try to keep some of the little songbirds fed a bit so they could tolerate the cold, which was descending fast. How could I bring their numbers up in the garden (for our viewing pleasure) if they didn’t survive the winter? A few crushed up peanuts and residual seeds under the bushes here and there helps, and I top off the suet feeder, though the nasty squirrels are now the most persistent feeders, as anyone with bird feeders will tell you. Even using suet with pepper oils in it has suddenly stopped deterring them after almost a year, and they attack not just the suet but chew the shit out of the pine log used to make the feeder. The flickers just eat several days’ worth of the songbirds’ suet in about ten minutes’ time. Only once had a pileated woodpecker visit, and I got some great video (see next entry). Placing wire cage cloche over the feeder log hasn’t helped with the squirrels, nor the appearance(one of the cloches is in the background of the video below). I’ve resorted to purchasing a squirrel and flicker proof caged feeder, which doesn’t allow the squirrels into the space around the suet, that should help in a few days when it arrives. And then to top it off, I ordered the good stuff to use in it, that the squirrels and flickers really like, so I can drive them nuts for a change.

The good news is that Wiley is back, having not been on camera since late November. He appears to have at least detected the pork roast bone and gristley parts, though he missed them by two hours since the crows got there first- the place he ends up sniffing at the end.

Finally caught a wren on the video, hopping up into one of their favorite roosts. They usually just go there at nights, but are also known to cozy away during inclement weather, which we were experiencing, with sub freezing temps and intermittent heavy snowfalls. In the past they have been more consistent about staying in the same holes, etc. but maybe there are lots of places for them to stay. Also not sure yet if they are going into wren box and just not being detected…….this video capture was likely compliments of the chickadee who wrestled around right next to the camera first.

February snowstorms

Somewhat of a surprise to the area, I think we may have had the most snow in the area, but everyone got wind. Our power was out for a few hours. It will be freezing temps for the next two days, too, so I put out some extra suet lumps stuck on the feeder, sunflower seeds and bread crumbs. Hard to find areas that aren’t inundated with snow, so mostly under bushes where birds like to feed anyway.

Ookow coming up now, the leaves spiky stalks of dark purple green. The deer sometimes eat their purple allium type flowers, once the leaves and then flower stalks reach about three feet high. We’ll just have to see if all the “deer fence”, the 18″ high nearly invisible segmented fencing I recently put up around a few vulnerable areas, will protect them and my other delicate plants from all the trampling the deer do.

Deer rant: Of course deer can “jump” the fence, but there’s not much reason to do any jumping, plus these are arranged in circles. They’re meant to divert the deer around, preferably back to the path. Good thing most plants were dormant when all that rutting was going on! (See previous entry from December).The ground was full of deep hoof holes, that’s one reason for the extra fence circles. I’m also not sure they would have completely respected the fence borders during the rutting, but we’ll see next year. So far after a month, no disturbance of the four fenced circles or new hoof holes within them. One fence has been undisturbed for three months. I also put 5 bronze metal cage cloches on a few new huckleberry and their plants that the deer ate down to the ground, to give them half a chance (the sixth one of the set helps keep the flickers out of the suet feeder, though the songbirds did need to learn how to use it).

We haven’t seen deer in the videos since November. We saw coyote prints all across the lower back yard just today after all the snow….too bad the camera batteries were out then, the coyotes hadn’t been seen on camera since late November. We were just wondering about it the other day, whether their routes into the ‘hood were cut off. Just in case, though, I need to remember to order some insect barrier to put over the young ash trees…..the bird netting holes are too large and it falls down, which won’t help protect the leaves from the deer at all. I need to look online and see what if anything exists between that size and mosquito netting.

Repurposed several photo frames from the last few decades to house new little photo-sized mosaics of birds. We don’t have much room for photo displays around here- they collect dust on countertops and then eventually sit in a drawer. I made four but only finished glueing three, since one needs some serious sanding to make it centered and is not that great. They are small, the wren is 2 1/2″ x 4″, the largest jay is 4 x 6″, the woodpecker in between. Anyway, here are the birds in all their glory: (looks like I need to clean a woodpecker tile)

January news

Tritelleia is coming up! That is, if the trampling deer don’t squash it. And a few of the Camas bulbs I transplanted around due to their dormancy where they had been under the pines: Howelli and Cusecki. Little bits of Castilleja, penstemons, wild blue flax, bluebells , leafing out.

The coyotes have been around, but Wiley’s a little late to the party this time:

The coyotes aren’t the only ones partying pond-side:

Finally found cloches that just keep vermin from eating the plants. Rusted-bronze cages that self-stake into the ground. They blend into the mulch, you can hardly see them. I’ve put 4/6 around so far, maybe the two little red huckleberry plants the deer have leveled will forgive me and come back to grace the yard. I’ve also put up four low portable linking fences that also self-stake, circling places the deer have injured but need to stay out of. They are also hard to see, fortunately, so I must stay on trail. So far none have been breached or moved at all, including one that has been there about a month. I am presuming the deer and other critters who have not brought down my modest fence can see it and just choose to go around, which is what I am trying to achieve.

Middle o’ the day coyote visitation

Missed him in the yard today by about 20 minutes (his name is actually Wiley but I call him Pretty Boy):

I’ll have to be more stealth when I go out, he could have been there one of the times I was out there this am. Would like to catch them live, like I did the deer pair. He’s more skittish than the raccoons, who don’t give a fuck that you’re there.

November transitions

Had to water the yard a few times this past summer, but not much after the last post….a few good rains helped the green last through to this month at least. The deciduous tree leaves have mostly fallen, but the ground cover greens persist. Even the visitors to the yard agree:

Also, we finally harvested our year’s bounty of cranberries: just over two gallons! They’re all cleaned and frozen now. Can’t wait till they’re honey marinated and dried – yum.

September 2018

Yard still looks great for late sept, maybe due to the regular sprinkling I did when the rains were sparse, hoping the young plants would fill out and mature.

We had the second ever Rattlesnake Plantain flowers, several on each of four plants, one had five flowers! Lots and lots of dust- like seeds released when they matured. Hopefully we’ll have some new little seedlings, instead of just rhizomes.

April updates

Not April yet, but so. Front yard: had driveway replaced, which was a little traumatic for some new ground cover along the edge, but overall a good thing. Several inches higher than the old one in places to even out the incline. We will be getting a new entryway with straight bluestones, so the concrete was cut with several angles into it to accommodate the stones….hope the next owners like it!

Above is the driveway half way done….it’s done now and normal color (that was some topical etching stuff). Some of the old stepping stones still there for comparison, will update side by side when done.

Put in another Shepherdia, or soap plant, down by the road/ hazelnut trees. It produces bunches or red berries in fall, but only if there are both male and female plants. We have an 8″ plant sprouting back out this year, but don’t know what that one is, either; they have to bloom to compare the flowers before you can know. And we got another small Rhodie Occidentalis or deciduous rhodie, for the middle of the front yard plate that was recently cleared….that should be the dominant or specimen plant there. There is already a Pieris in that area that is doing fine, but it’s position is eccentric and it could get in the way of a few plants.

Update 1/2019: moved the soap plant into the rest of the back yard and bought another larger one. Hopefully between the two here are male and female, as required for berries!

Ducks in the hood

Arrived yesterday. Wasn’t sure what was splashing around there, but a pair showed up. About 3-4 weeks early.

More plants emerging: tiniest new Castilleja Miniata (red) Indian paintbrushes, Silk Flower, with one flower open already for a week….tough little bugger, still there after snow and hail, and Fawn lillies. I believe I planted a lot of fawn lillies, although the little shit vole has decided those are OK with him, so we’ll see. They’re definitely not bunched into clumps like the Brodiaea, which also can “self-clump”, so maybe they won’t be as good a target for the vole. Until they get nice and mature, and wham! When oh when will the screech owl ever show up? His splendid new abode awaits him, king of all he surveys.

Up for spring

Shooting stars, Hookers onions, Camas howelli and Cuseckii (the light blue colored camases). Large leaved Lupine, Columbines provide winter greenage. Some trilliums are poking up. As far as seeds, can only see Desert Parseley / biscuit root so far.

Update 2/4: also coming up are Ookow/ Brodiaea congesta, Mule’s ears, Indian paintbrush, Wild Blue Flax, Oregon Geraniums.