February Musings & Updates
Greetings fellow nature enthusiasts,
Gray skies and a snow-covered landscape is keeping me more or less housebound, when just a few days ago I had started pruning crabapples and cleaning up brush. I would so rather be outside, but for now I'm settling for what's been happening out our window.
In the middle of the night deer have hoofed through snow and mulch covering to chow down creeping phlox of all things. Right up next to the house foundation, they have stripped evergreen euonymus of all leaves right down to bare sticks. Our 40 year old yew looks like a gigantic mushroom cap, browsed cleanly up to the height of hungry deer mouths. Iris leaves that didn't fully die back are completely chewed down to the rhizomes. Can't wait to discover the vole damage in the perennial bed. Jeez... what's next?
Wild bird life funnels me away from my frustrations. Bluejays spiral in for their daily fix of peanuts in the shell. I call, "jay, jay, jay", and I barely turn my back when the first hard landing jolts the feeder. We love having them around, as do our chickens, for jay squawking warns us all of hawks-in-waiting.
Goldfinch are now appearing in greater numbers- yes, those little chowhounds at our golden safflower feeder! We can see a slim bright gold stripe on the shoulders of some as their drab winter coats begin to wear off. Wonderful sign of what's to come!
Juncos abound in numbers greater than 30. These birds are so cheerful even in the worst wintry conditions. Our Kate loves juncos, her favorite bird "with gentle eyes". We agree!
Bluebirds are enjoying our suet as they check out and guard a favorite house in the middle of our vegetable garden. Go figure, right? But nesting territory challenging is now underway; it's time to clean out all bird houses. Did I hear the plaintive call of the chickadee 2 weeks ago? Yes, I did!
Speaking of residences, the housing market at Nashua Farmers' Exchange is alive and well. We have recently received a birdhouse shipment from Heartwood. This Mississippi company produces beautifully designed pieces that we dub as functional, fun, and full of funk!
Just some of our birds houses from Heartwood!
Heartwood Bird Feeder—A work of art!
Heartwood crafts their birdhouses from native cypress, some with roofs of hand-hewn shingles, some with roofs of copper or zinc- many with copper accents and copper clean-out ports. Just for fun, we brought in one of their exclusive post-mounted bird feeders. All I'll admit to is that it is one beautiful piece of art for the garden!
Shifting gears to seasonal upcomings, it's time to let your mind go to seed and think gardening! Our 3 lines of garden seeds for 2024 are here along with all your seed starting supplies. Before the rush begins, come in with your questions. For all the questions you forgot to ask, please join us for our seed-starting seminar scheduled for February 24th at 10 AM. Stay reminded on our website.
Order forms for pre-paid bare root plants as well as for baby chicks will be available early February. As a heads-up, some bare root plants will be shipped as early as late March and will need to be planted early April. Of course, chicks are not scheduled to arrive until early May. Please check our website or call us for updated details.
Before I sign off, may I ask you to answer one of the fun facts from our latest wild bird seminar? Only those who were not present at the seminar may participate! Here it is...how many caterpillars per day does it take a pair of nesting chickadees to feed their young from hatch to fledge (fledge is 16 days)? Answer at the end of the blog- no, you can't look yet!
Well, that's it for now.
Hope you are having safe, happy, and, itching-for-spring start to 2024!
Yours in nature,
Judy Ratta- Harrington
Answer: 400-800 caterpillars per DAY!