We’ve gotten another dusting of snow and some rain recently…more on the way tomorrow.  The woods that we walk are silent, but the cold and damp air are bringing birds to the feeders.

Nearly two dozen juncos visit daily. Mostly moving about on the ground, pecking at seeds under our perennials and shrubs with occasional forays to open ground under the feeders. A couple blue jays fly in for a brief feed and a loud call. A handful of white-throated sparrows forage on the ground with the juncos, under cover of tall perennials. This afternoon four downy woodpeckers traded places on the suet feeders.

Darkness is coming early today under solid gray skies, with rain on the way. Cardinals started arriving. As we watched three male cardinals, four more darted in along with three females. Ten in all, just for a few minutes. The females were particularly feisty, chasing each other away. Seems like a lot of wasted energy. But there was one especially stunning male in brilliant red facial feathers. Maybe that is why the females were in a tizzy.

Goldfinches (in their drab winter feathering), chickadees, tufted titmice, and white-breasted nuthatches, visit the feeders during the day. Male and female house finches have also been regular visitors the last few weeks. In just the past 2-3 days we’ve welcomed three beautiful male purple finches. We’ve got a red-gray theme going with our bird community so far this early winter.

Friday, November 1, 2024

Two days in a row, mid-70s, mostly sunny. We got in a 12 mile gravel bike ride before noon. Before the wind picked up.

There is a always a first big wind that shakes loose most of the remaining oak and beech leaves from the canopy trees. We have a lot of oaks and beech in this area. Today was the first big wind. Lots of leaves blew off the trees.

Almost everyone around here spent hours leaf-blowing or raking or mowing leaves this week. We did our share of leaf-raking. Today those efforts were dashed by a new carpet of leaves scattered across lawns, roads, and driveways. As happens every year.

Leaves are essential. Whether on the tree or on the ground. I just read a statistic: According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 7.2% of the nation’s solid waste is yard debris or about 10.5 million tons per year! That is stunning since leaves carried off to a landfill is expensive, unnecessary, and wasteful.

Leave the leaves! We keep all of our leaves…we rake some into piles and carry them on a tarp to a compost pile. Some are mulched and added to a compost bin or added to gardens for winter cover. Many beneficial insects overwinter in leaves. I can’t imagine carting off their habitat to a landfill.

Rejoice as the leaves fall, returning nutrients to the land, and building new soil.

Friday, October 25, 2024

We are in the midst of our Second Summer, a long stretch of warm weather following the first killing frost on October 17th. The pleasantly warm weather is a gift of time to continue fall gardening and meadow maintenance. We added our own compost and Pro Gro to two raised beds in preparation for planting garlic, raked and mulched leaves, adding some to the idle garden beds for winter cover, and began trimming back the meadow.

The late afternoon sun bathes our front yard. The crabapple, mostly bare, its trunk poked with rows of sapsucker holes, is visited by migrating and local birds. It offers safe cover, insects in abundance, and perching sites in proximity to the bird bath. Recent warm days have attracted a small flock of bluebirds (they take turns splashing in the bird bath) and handfuls of yellow-rumped warblers, juncos, and white-throated sparrows. Also two hermit thrushes.

Our crabapple tree ringed with sapsucker holes.

The late season red raspberry patch is showing signs of drought, the berries small and dry. A few are plump, just enough for our morning granola. The plants are still producing flowers and fruits, attracting late season pollinators, including male eastern bumble bees. They often rest completely still on a flower. I’m not sure if they are feeding or just resting as they near end of life, before winter sets in.

Male eastern bumble bee clings to a red raspberry flower.

Other insect foragers visit the raspberries. Yellow jackets favor the fruits and flowers. After I looked at the following photo, I noticed what looks like a mosquito in the lower left corner. A downside of warmer weather is that pesky insects continue to thrive.

A mosquito and a yellow jacket visit the red raspberries.

We enjoy what some might call an imperfect or messy yard. We leave the leaves scattered in the lawn (no leaf blower here!). Many of the perennials with seed heads still attached will remain standing throughout winter, giving sustenance and homes to birds, insects, and spiders. Fallen leaves are left (or added to) among the shrubs and trees, as cover for overwintering invertebrates, to add nutrients and maintain soil moisture, and protect roots against the winter cold. To me, our yard looks healthy and is full of life.