Ideas For Your Backyard

 The Bufflehead, with its striking white sides and white patch on its head, is smaller than most cavity nesting ducks. They are dependent on nest boxes. There are many duck houses available online, check out the one you may need.

Breeds in Alaska east to western Quebec, and south in mountains to Washington and Montana. Winters in southern U.S., south to Mexico, Gulf Coast and northern Florida.

Whether you have  fancy birdhouses or the natural rustic birdhouse, it’s time to make sure that they are clean and in good repair.  The cold weather is coming and our little feathered friends will appreciate a clean dry place to rest or stay over as they begin the long trip to a warmer climate.

The birds are beginning to plan for winter.  Are you?  Birds have already begun to scout for food sources for the winter.  As they flit about, they’re watching for food, watch and shelter.  When the cold weather begins, they will know exactly where to go, so now is the time to make sure that you have bird feeders are ful.  And be sure to keep them filled, as they will come to depend on this source once they have begun to  use it. 

This is also a good time for you to prepare lodging (if you haven’t already done so) for them.

Summer is over and the days are growing shorter! The birds are looking for a place to live. If you want to encourage them to your backyard, you’ll need to start now. If you wait until the cold weather is here, they will probably never know what you have to offer.

Remember the bushes and trees you planted this spring? The ones that have all the berries on them. And those sunflowers (don’t cut them down and discard them), they are full of seeds! The birds will have a feast with all the seeds and berries and the well fed insects that they can find. 

 Black oil sunflower, white millet, niger, safflower, cracked corn, broken nuts and chopped up fruits. Offer suet in hanging baskets.  What do you have to offer?

 I am particularly fond of Blue Birds and Cardinals, so we have plenty of blue bird houses on our property.

Who doesn’t enjoy seeing a butterfly.  They are so beautiful and graceful.  They flit from flower to flower, to bushes and trees.  Sometimes they land on other things.  Yesterday while sitting on the front porch a butterfly appeared and landed on my husbands’ hand.  The moment was so surreal.  Was it trying to communicate?  I don’t know.  We know we just sat as still as could be so as not to scare it away, and we enjoyed the moment admiring one of God’s creatures.  What can you do to encourage butterflies to your yard?  Do you have colorful plants or a butterfly house? 

With thoughtful planning you can encourage specific birds to your backyard.  Do you have favorite types of birds?  You can hang any  birdfeeder in your backyard.  Perhaps you like it because it is whimsical.  Maybe the design follows a particular theme, be it color, shape or size.

But did you know that certain foods and seeds will attract specific birds?  Be creative and see what you can attract with a variety of foods. Try popped popcorn (without salt or butter), hulled sunflower seeds, peanuts, soaked raisins,  pieces of fruit (orioles like oranges), fruit seeds (melons, apples), grapes, or mealworms.

Happy Birding

Bats are in need of protection if they are to survive.  They have proven themselves as valuable members of our ecosystem, and we must increase the awareness of people who have the ability to protect or to destroy these little creatures.

Bats are declining, world-wide, at an alarming rate, due to human misunderstanding.  They have typically only one offspring per year, making their comeback slow and in need of our help.

Bats eat an amazing amount of mosquitos. Some experts estimated that one bat can eat between 600 to 1000 insects, mosquitoes included, within a period of one hour. And the guano is a great fertilizer for your garden. Check out the bat houses that are available online.

Barn Swallows breed from Alaska across Canada throughout the United States, and south through central Mexico. With the proliferation of human-provided nesting sites, the North American Barn Swallow population has increased in most places during the 20th century. Numbers are especially up in the central and eastern United States. Barn Swallows show strong fidelity to their natal site, most nesting within 20 miles of their birthplace and some much closer. Members of a pair typically stay together to raise a second brood and return in successive years to the same nest site. If you have the right habitat, barn swallows are easy to attract. A simple nesting perch may be placed under the eaves, inside a garage or barn, or on the side of a building.

This lovely fountain is not a tradional fountain, but has the classic symbols of faith and the music of a dancing waterfall bring a joyful spiritual aura to your garden! Stunning fountain features a substantial faux-stone cross with the look of hand-hewn granite; from the graceful mouth of the topmost twining lily, clear cascades of water sparkle and shine. An absolutely amazing decoration, and an eloquent declaration of devotion!  This would be a lovely addition to your Florida Room, deck or patio

Straight from the kitchen of a Santa Fe gourmet, this darling decoration recalls the fabled cooking pots treasured for generations in the Southwest.  Four graceful earthtone vessels with jute hanging loop are ready to brighten any corner!