And now, this is some more trial text. :-)
I'll be darned. It works in preview, so, I'll go ahead and post.
Posted on 03/01/2025 7:23:36 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
The MONTHLY Gardening Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.
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Thanks, I think they’re cute, too!
I had beginner’s luck when I saw them grooming. That was in 2017, and I was still getting used to my camera, no tripod back then. I have the utmost respect for bird photographers. Birds don’t usually stay put for more than a second or two.
The one with just Ollie, well, he was posing there for probably 5 minutes, watching me as I was watching him. One of the neatest things I’ve ever experienced in my own yard. Well, he was in the yard. I was inside just watching him.
That top pic is pretty darn good!
When I was 16(?) my Dad and I found a large injured barred owl beside the road. Nothing seemed “broken”, but Dad surmised it had a concussion, possible internal injuries, and, from the way it didn’t want to move its wings, joint injuries at the base of its wings. My brother and I nursed it back to health, first getting it to eat large grasshoppers, then mice, and finally, small chunks of hamburger right out of our hands. We were amazed that it never tried to bite or nip at us, nor try to escape, and only at first did it seem afraid of us at all. (Granted that “calmness” may have partially been due to the suspected concussion.) We had trouble catching enough mice for it, and eventually bought some from a neighbor who raised feeders.
Dad cut a sort of heavy stump-post that I nailed a branch onto for the bird to perch on, and it took right to it. Curiously, it never tried to fly around in the garage we had it in. It would hop onto my arm and let me carry it around - Dad loaned me an old leather jacket for that! Talk about a grip...
Dad turned up a recording of owl calls, so I tried learning hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo — hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-awwww, and the owl would tip its head a bit, but I don’t think I convinced it I was another owl!
After a couple weeks, the owl seemed to be doing well, so, I donned the jacket and took it out with Dad and my brother in front of our house at dusk. A quick “lift” and it was off, only the 1st wingbeat being even faintly audible. Viewed from a couple feet away, and in action, that 4’ wingspan was pretty impressive! Then watching that owl soar away into the fading sunset was truly unforgettable. It was almost like a movie, but everyone would say it was all staged!
What a cooool story!!
Closest I got to anything like that was nursing a baby squirrel that our cat had attacked. We kept him as a pet for maybe a few months. Then one day we decided he was good enough to join the rest of the squirrel population. He would come back to visit, and hop on Mom’s shoulders, but we discouraged that quickly.
Your story is much much better!!
And now, this is some more trial text. :-)
I'll be darned. It works in preview, so, I'll go ahead and post.
Woo-hoo! Thanks!
Those are very pretty! I hope my little buckeye tree looks like that one day!
:-)
Hot dry summers make our buckeyes look like fall arrived 2-3 months early, but so far, we’ve not lost any to drought. We have at least a dozen that came up last spring that I probably should transplant or put in pots and try to sell.
Our 3 bigger buckeyes are now just starting to flower, so, the hummingbirds should show up shortly - assuming tomorrows’ storms don’t carry the birds off to buckeyes in Ohio!
I’ve had that one all freaking winter. No fun...
Our Menards has “Scarlett Runner” bean seeds this Spring. It looks like you get about twice as many for the $$ from Burpee as you do from Livingston, regular price, and Menards presently has seeds on sale - yay!
I also picked up “yellow cucumber” seeds and “Early Treat” (tomato) seeds to give a try. The E.T. claim 49 days to harvest — that’s the quickest I can remember ever seeing, tho’ these will be getting a bit of a late start. Still, if they taste good, they may be an excellent alternative to “Early Girl” tomatoes, as the E.G.’s to me are too bland.
Burpee still doesn’t have Opo or snake gourd seeds, though. :-(
A few of my Cherry Falls tomatoes have sprouted, as have the Independence Day tomatoes. I’m really interested to see how those do.
We really like squirrels! Nice story.
Beautiful.
Real human beings are kind to animals.
Late winter early spring 2023, my partner who was recovering from cancer and still needed cardiac ablation for tachycardia allowed his Dr. Son persuade him to come babysit his sick granchild, since dad, the doctor, had used up all his sick leave. I was overweight from anxious nibbling, and was above 25 BMI which seems to be critical for poor utilization of Vitamin D3. Partner brought home the cold, I got sick too, and we were coughing for over 3 months. I eventually had bronchitis. First time this century. I lost 25 lbs, and by the time partner brought home his grandon’s bug in the fall we were only sick for month. Partner then promised no more babysitting sick child in winter months.
This January he brought home a bug from a meet-up at a bar/restaurant with friends. We both were sick with a severe cough. It felt like the one 2 winter’s ago, uncontrollable cough, which I tried desperately not to allow to continue, very much hoping to avoid bronchitis again. As usual I was taking the C, D, zinc, quercetin in addition to my usual bunch of vitamins, but this year my blood vitamin D reading was 101 instead of insufficient. We were sick less than 4 weeks. Now I am recovering from another coughing bug which my son says, along with the first one is also going around. This cough was different because it ended up with high production of thick mucous. It started with extremely runny and mucous filled nose for several days, before settling in the lungs. Frequent 1 and 2 gm. C tablets kept the runny nose more or less controlled, but the mucous cough was really troublesome. I finally bought CVS, Long-Acting TUSSIN, Dextromethorphan Hbr, Adult Cough suppressant, no added alcohol, and sugar free. Instructions were 10 ML every 6 to 8 hours, max 40 ML/24 hours. I found it was more effective if I took a smaller amount more frequently—5 ML every 3 or 4 hours. This really helped the troublesome cough and reduced the mucous after several days. I am now mucous and cough free after 2 weeks. Took a long walk today enjoying all the cherry and other trees blooming nearby (83 degrees and 70s Sunday). I don’t know what Fire Cider is.
I love the idea of planting some of the ancient vegetables. Some 5 or 6 feet tall, and would go well against my lower terrace wall which is 4 1/2 feet tall. Some short ones like turnips (for the greens) will go well in my 4’ x 8’ planting boxes. I just hope someone can send me catalog info for a place that carries some of the others to order.
Metmom mentioned removing mulch from some of her asparagus. I planted some last year, but did not think to mulch (zone 7). We seem to be past snow, so I will go see the asparagus. I really did not know what help it needed last fall besides enough water. The lacy fronds were very pretty. Any information appreciated.
These nuts with spiny shells look a lot like what I called Horse Chestnuts as a child. Told they were toxic.
A friend from Peru told me I could use my large fig leaves the same way as grape leaves for wrapping rice type fillings or the like.
I have 2 fig trees at my beach property, Delmarva Peninsula. One is about 10 to 12 years old and bears heavily, until the birds discovered it, so last year I got almost no crop. The other one is a low shrub like plant with spreading low branches which has been murdered several times by my partner and his mower. Now it has grown 2 yours unmolested and had a few figs this year. I decided mowing my lawn was good exercise to keep my 86 year old body strong.
In areas where the ground freezes, mulching is essential. Doing do prevents repeated thawing and freezing that will cause the ground to heave and could damage the roots.
I’m guessing in zone 7 you’re OK that way.
I have no idea how asparagus does in warmer climates. We’ve always lives in a zone 5.
One thing to watch for in the spring is asparagus beetles. A jar of soapy water and daily beetle check will go a LONG way to help control them. They’re not as easy to knock into the soapy water as Japanese beetles which have a very nice habit of dropping straight down off plants when disturbed.
The other option is a small hand led vacuum to such them up, such as a dust buster, or small portable either with a long extension cord or rechargeable battery. I got a small unit from my brohter’s estate and have yet to try it.
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Yes, like I said, if it’d been in part of a movie or book, I’d have said “Oh, come on!” A few “why” or “why not’s” about how that bird behaved are still a puzzle...
In 2025 you’d probably get arrested for “keeping a wild animal”. :-(
I should try to look up and repost my (lengthy) comments about the 4 baby raccoons we rescued last year. Golly, was that a riot! We only kept them until we could find a real rescue operation - which took a while because every place within a couple hours drive (each way) was already full...
Yes, that did the trick (see my post 524). I must have typo’d it somehow when I tried B4. Thanks.
My question is, out of courtesy, should she have brought me some cookies when they were done?
She didn't, and it kind of ticked me off.......
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