Friday, July 31, 2009

BIRD SEED (A TWO-PART NARATIVE)


Part One – An Amazing Two Day Bird Count

I just have to talk about the birds that have frequented my yard and garden the last few days. The variety is astonishing since it’s mid-summer, usually a slow time of year for bird watching. In the hot summer I see the usual song sparrows, blue jays, doves etc.

But two days ago after watering, I took a break on the deck. We’ve had the air conditioner on in the house for two days so I wanted to hear outside sounds without the constant hum of that cooling beast. While listening I heard the Chickadees in the birch tree. Their two-tone bodies and two-tone call (Chick-a-dee dee dee dee dee) always make me want to mimic their call. Try it. It’s fun.!

A short time later we were looking through the binoculars to see if the splash of yellow in the pear tree was a ripe pear. Turns out it was a beautiful Western Tanager. Probably resting from feeding on the wild plums that are dropping over the lettuces! The Tanager is so yummy colored; like a pineapple/red-orange Popsicle. This is only the second I’ve seen in my yard.

Earlier the same morning in the same pear tree I had seen a Nuttal’s Woodpecker. They are like a Downy Woodpecker but have a zebra like back. Truly amazing to see him perpendicularly stalk the tree trunk searching for bugs.

Also in the pear tree was a very shy juvenile Blackheaded Grosbeak. The defining bright yellow and black distinctions are just now starting to break through the dun-colored baby down/feathers. They are so big and clumsy as youngsters. Kind of oversized looking with beaks too big for their bodies. And they are very wary of people.

Next day I heard the stern cries of two Towhee. Cheeeeeeeee Cheeeeeee. I’ve seen them lately. They seem to be darker than our usual Rufous Towhee. They were calling to their single offspring in the feeder. Towhees are traditionally ground feeders; the ones that kick up the dry leaves and scratch like chickens. So you know how disturbed the parents were to find Junior in the feeder taking the easy road.

Two beautifully marked Pine Siskin visited the feeder and bird bath. They are one of my favorites reminding me of Idaho pine forests and visits with Mom and Dad who first pointed them out to me.

And last but not least the orphan. For the past two days we’ve had a strange disheveled looking bird in the feeder. Nondescript really except in what he wasn’t or didn’t have. He doesn’t have a tail. At first I thought Wren, but no, I mean he really doesn’t seem to have a tail. And then there is the lumpy mass at the nape of his neck; sort of a hunchback feature that grew too far up. He appears to have eyebrow feather/hairs that give him the disheveled look as if he just woke up from a nap. He doesn’t really appear to be injured and is becoming very territorial about the feeder.

So sad really not to be identifiable. Not to have a family. No really, I can’t determine the family. Is it Trogladytidae (Wrens) or Embrerizidae (Sparrows)? We’ll just keep the seeds coming and call him the orphan Wren-Sparrow.

Stay tuned for part two.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

A Small Gardening Pleasure

Sometimes I think there is nothing more exciting to a gardener than buying a new pair of gardening gloves......except buying new gloves because you wore out your old ones! I gardened my finger tips off (so to speak).

Now the fun part..which gloves will I choose?

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Take Me out to the Ball Game, Songs in the Garden


While cleaning up the carrot bed today, I found myself humming a tune not usually associated with gardening. Take Me Out to the Ballgame.

Three of my five grandsons visited yesterday and discovered the carrot patch. After a few tops came off leaving the carrot still in the ground, I showed them how to coax the carrot from the ground with the top still intact. It’s always more fun I think to eat a carrot with a feathery plume. But after little hands and feet had spent some time in the carrots, I needed to clean up and water.

Usually while working in the carrots, I hum Shoo-Fly-Shoo. This is because one of my favorite gardeners, John Seymour, warns insistently about carrot fly in the carrots. Consequently, I always mind-sing Flies in the Buttermilk, Shoo-Fly-Shoo while working in the carrots. But not today. Today it was Take me out, Take me out, Take me out to the ballgame. I finished weeding and cleaning up and set the water.

Then I heard the song again, but not in my mind. I spotted the small brown bird (a new sparrow type or wren) in the tree. Sure enough, there was the tune. Take me out to the ballgame. A cute little trill was added as an accent at the end.

I guess I should say thank you to this little bird and go in and check the Portland Beavers game schedule. It’s Triple A All Star Night at the stadium. First time it has been played in Portland in decades and a good night for a game.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Two Garlic Flavored Lessons



In order to become a good subsistence gardner, one needs to build upon experience, knowledge and skill related to the many different phases of gardening. Soil, selecting and harvesting seeds, pest control, rotation and harvesting. Each year I am humbled by any and each of the tasks relating to these various phases.

Lesson One: Today I harvested one of the garlic types I planted last October. The lesson I learned is to LABEL YOUR PLANTINGS. Label them right away! I was sure I would remember which garlic was planted on the south side of the bed and which on the north. But no...I had no labels on hand and by the time I found some a few weeks later, the placement of the two varieties had completely left my brain.

Now you might say.."No big deal; just order the same varieties for next year and take care to label them." But remember the seed phase of gardening? Well garlic bulbs are the seed. And this year I have grown some incredibly good garlic (on the south side). And a subsistence gardener needs to be able to harvest and LABEL the best seed for next years planting. So here I have some of the finest garlic ever and I don't even know the variety. If I were to plant this garlic in October for next years crop, what would the label say?

Lesson Two: Reaping the gardening rewards is another phase of gardening where I get marked "Needs Improvement". Harvesting any of my vegetables at the most optimal time has always been a challenge for me. I'm not sure why but I always tend to wait a tad too long. As if maybe I don't want the cycle to end. But each phase of gardening has a beginning and an end. And you do the rest of your garden justice by not only planting on time, but harvesting on time as well.

According to the 'Garlic Experts', my garlic was not quite ready two weeks ago. But somehow I felt it was. The rule is there should have been some scapes appearing (not one was produced on either of my varieties). Garlic experts say to watch for the leaves turning brown and harvest when only 4 green leaves remain. Only a few leaves were browning and the tops stood tall and green. I felt it was time to harvest but still I hesitated. I would water deep instead.

Until today. I knew it was time! And guess what? I should have harvested two weeks ago! While the majority of this (yet to be named) garlic had formed beautiful heads, the result of my watering and waiting had added a few small cloves at the base of some heads that will fall off when I clean up the garlic. Not a big deal, but one more bit of knowledge and one more step toward next year and becoming a better gardner.